The Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback situation remains up in the air, and a trade between two other teams could end up shaping how it plays out. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins flipped 2028 day three picks, allowing the former to acquire quarterback Quinn Ewers, a move that could create ripple effects across the quarterback market over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Ewers will likely slot into Jacksonville as the backup quarterback, but the speed at which Miami moved on from him tells you quite a bit about what the Dolphins thought. Despite being one of the highest-graded quarterback recruits of all time according to 247 Sports, Ewers didn’t have the strongest arm coming out of Texas. The Dolphins parting ways with him this quickly opens their backup quarterback position, and that could mean they have interest in J.J. McCarthy.

Could the Dolphins pursue J.J. McCarthy?

While Miami did give quarterback Malik Willis a significant amount of money to be their starting quarterback, it’s not so much that they are fully committed and won’t explore other options. If the Dolphins have a belief that McCarthy could be their guy, it’s a non-zero proposition. They bring him in to be the backup and developmental quarterback with the hopes that he can be a future starter for them.

It’s an interesting scenario for the Vikings because it would provide them a path to move on from McCarthy while potentially recouping value. Plus, the Dolphins do have extra picks in the fifth and seventh rounds, and owner Stephen Ross is a Michigan alum. Does that necessarily matter? It may or may not. We won’t know

Nick Mullens could be on the move

On the other side of the Ewers trade, the Jaguars may be done with quarterback Nick Mullens, who spent multiple seasons with the Vikings as their backup. If Mullens ends up on the move, Minnesota may want to acquire him to fortify its backup quarterback position.

The fit makes a ton of sense. Mullens has been in this style of offense for his entire career and spent three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Last season, he was with former Vikings assistant Grant Udinski in Jacksonville. The familiarity with the scheme and the coaching staff gives him a leg up over most options on the market.

None of these scenarios are guarantees by any stretch of the imagination, but the Ewers trade does create potential opportunities for the Vikings to move on from McCarthy and improve their backup quarterback situation. Whether general manager Nolan Teasley has any interest in either of these options remains to be seen, but things are getting more and more interesting by the day.