An emergency Vikings-Cowboys trade that replaces JJ McCarthy with ultimate local product

The Minnesota Vikings have gotten the worst possible news that they could have received heading into the 2024 NFL season.

Their first-round pick and quarterback of the future, J.J. McCarthy, has torn the meniscus in his right knee and will be undergoing surgery very soon. The injury completely throws off the ideal plans for the Vikings this year.

While Sam Darnold still topped the depth chart, the idea was likely to leave Darnold as a band-aid at the position until McCarthy was ready. In an ideal world, McCarthy would have taken over a few weeks into the year after he had gotten used to the speed and pace of the NFL.

Now the Vikings are left with Darnold and Nick Mullens as their main quarterbacks and they desperately need another option or else Justin Jefferson and the entire Vikings fanbase won't be very happy.

A Vikings-Cowboys trade that improves the Minnesota QB room tremendously

An ideal option for the Vikings could be sitting behind Dak Prescott in Dallas. Dallas Cowboys depth quarterback, Trey Lance, still has some serious potential despite not sticking in a starting role in the NFL just yet.

Lance, 24, was a top 3 pick in the NFL Draft three years ago. He's faced injuries that have left him back on the depth chart. The young quarterback really hasn't been given a chance to show what he's worth in the NFL just yet.

2022 was riddled with injuries until a season-ending ankle surgery sidelined him for the rest of the campaign. Brock Purdy performed incredibly in his place. Purdy played so well that the 49ers were basically forced to bench Lance in favor of Purdy.

The young signal-caller has a 5-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio over 102 career pass attempts. He's still young and an unfinished product, but the talent and ceiling on him are incredibly high. He's the kind of player that, if he reaches his potential, he could change a franchise.

The Cowboys have their quarterback of the future and the Vikings are left with a bit of a question mark following the McCarthy injury. If Minnesota can land Lance while surrendering a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, they would be smart to do it.

From Dallas' perspective, they really don't have any intention of playing Lance in the near future. He sits behind Prescott and Cooper Rush on the depth chart as of now. Though Lance has a high ceiling, he's incredibly raw in his abilities and Dallas could begin stockpiling picks by flipping him over to Minnesota.