The Minnesota Vikings put their foot down on Tuesday, naming Kyler Murray the team's starting quarterback over former first-round pick JJ McCarthy. McCarthy is just 23 years old, suffered a season-ending injury in his first year, and looked like a rookie in his second campaign. The Vikings have seen enough, and with most of the roster littered with veterans ready to win now, Kevin O'Connell doesn't have time to wait on the Michigan product to embrace a playbook that finally forces him to do more than hand the ball off.
All jokes aside, we do feel bad for McCarthy. If he can't succeed in Minnesota, where the QB whisperer O'Connell has turned around countless careers (and Murray may be next), then his next destination likely won't be as hopeful. There is one team that could use a backup and heir-apparent to their veteran Pro Bowl starting QB, but Vikings fans won't like it.
How the Lions could trade for Vikings QB JJ McCarthy
The Vikings learned the hard way what happens when they give up on a QB project too soon. Sam Darnold won a Super Bowl, and Daniel Jones looks like a perennial Pro Bowler in Indianapolis. They risk doing the same with McCarthy, who never really got a fair shake in Minneapolis and is now backing up the former No. 1 overall pick Murray. There is no coming back from this.
If the Lions didn't play in the NFC North, then they'd be an obvious choice as a landing spot for McCarthy. As productive as Jared Goff has been, he's also in his early-30's and has a potential out in 2028. It helps that the Lions' backup QB is now Josh Dobbs after Teddy Bridgewater retired for good this time. McCarthy would be a useful addition to the QB room on two fronts, then, but the Lions would have to overpay.
On Tuesday, I mocked three possible McCarthy trades, all of which graded out as a fourth-round valuation. None of those teams play in the same division as the Vikings, however. It helps that the Lions draft pick, should all go well this season, will be near the tail end of the third round.
Would the Lions make this trade?
To put it short, the Lions aren't paying a third-round premium for a backup quarterback unless they really believe in McCarthy's ability to progress in their system. McCarthy did play his college ball at Michigan, meaning he'd have a special place in fans' hearts right away. The Lions are familiar with his game, and can play to his strengths outside the pocket and in a run-heavy scheme thanks to Jahmyr Gibbs, who just signed an extension of his own.
The best chance this deal has of getting done is if the Lions can trade a conditiional third-round pick, meaning that if McCarthy plays a certain number of snaps in 2027, then it becomes a third rounder. If he sits on the bench all year long behind an always-stable Goff, then it becomes a fourth.
Verdict: Only if the pick has conditions
Would the Vikings make this trade?
At this point in his career, McCarthy is little more than a backup quarterback with starter potential. While I can certainly relate to the hesitence the Vikings would almost certainly feel at trading McCarthy to a division rival, if the Lions make the best offer by a wide margin, then that should end the discussion. Again, it's not as if McCarthy is an All-Pro starting quarterback right now. It's unlikely he ever reaches those heights, and therefore he won't haunt the Vikings for years to come. If McCarthy does reach his potential, then the Vikings will have seller's remorse no matter where they trade him.
A third-round pick in a loaded 2027 draft class — albeit conditional — is a nice asset to add to the Vikings cupboard. If Minnesota would prefer, perhaps the Lions could trade a fourth-round pick and another Day 3 selection as well, rather than a third.
Verdict: Yes, if the Vikings want the best return
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