A new J.J. McCarthy trade partner has come to light, and this may be what the Vikings were looking for
The Minnesota Vikings held onto their former first-round quarterback through cutdowns, but a Monday night injury in New York may have created the perfect trade partner.
The Minnesota Vikings have spent the last six months fielding questions about a potential J.J. McCarthy trade. There were even discussions about it at cutdown day, but the Vikings chose to hold on to him because they did not find a trade partner with requisite value. The messaging coming out of the building was simple: they still believed in McCarthy and wanted to continue developing him. Even so, it was not denied that they were at least interested in a potential trade.
After two weeks of the regular season, a potential option has emerged, and there’s a lot of intrigue behind it.
Jaxson Dart’s injury changes things in New York
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a knee injury on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. It was initially described as an MCL injury, and then on Tuesday, reports indicated it could be a longer-term situation, potentially costing him the entire season.
Even though options are still being weighed at this point, if Dart does miss the entire season, the question becomes whether the Giants can afford to just roll out Jameis Winston, who you know what you’re going to get, or whether they should swing for the upside and play McCarthy.
The interesting thing about New York being an option is that general manager Joe Schoen strongly considered McCarthy at 6th overall in 2024, according to longtime New York sports writer Gary Myers. There’s already a level of familiarity and belief in McCarthy’s talent from the Giants’ front office.
There’s also a coaching connection. Giants head coach John Harbaugh’s brother, Jim Harbaugh, coached McCarthy at Michigan and called him the best quarterback in that draft class. That family pipeline matters here, especially with understanding more about who McCarthy is.
From a schematic standpoint, the Giants could run a similar offense with McCarthy to what they ran with Dart because it would be RPO-centric. New York has weapons to utilize in that system, and running back Cam Skattebo creates an interesting dynamic in the backfield.
The likely cost is probably going to be a mid-round pick. The Giants don’t have a fourth-round pick, but you could structure a deal where maybe it’s a third-round pick for McCarthy and a fifth-round pick coming back to make the value a little more fair. It could easily be less than that.
The Vikings would be in an interesting spot to make that happen. Would they? Who knows. If Minnesota could get a decent-round pick for McCarthy, it’s a non-zero proposition. It could also be the best possible situation for McCarthy because he would get a fresh start, which is something he needs at this point.
The next step is waiting for the official Dart prognosis. Once that comes down, the curiosity surrounding this potential deal will only grow.
