The Minnesota Vikings created a path this offseason to moving on from J.J. McCarthy.
By signing Kyler Murray, they made it less necessary to keep their trust in the former No. 10 overall pick out of Michigan.
And in a particular setup, maybe the Vikings would even consider trading McCarthy now.
That’s an idea ESPN’s Bill Barnwell writes about in a new article on Monday. He thinks the Vikings and Los Angeles Rams could make an NFL Draft trade that also involves McCarthy.
In the proposal, the Rams would get the Vikings’ 18th pick, along with their 97th pick and McCarthy.
The Vikings would move up five spots in the first round, to the No. 13 overall pick.
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It’s not too big a move up the board, and so maybe Minnesota wouldn’t want to give up quite so much.
But at this point, McCarthy’s value is not very high.
“At the right price, though, taking a flyer on McCarthy would make sense,” Barnwell writes. “The Vikings are unlikely to move forward with the 2024 10th overall pick as their quarterback of the future, having signed Kyler Murray to take over as their starter in 2026 before deciding on McCarthy’s fifth-year option after the season. Getting something for the 23-year-old quarterback would make sense if the organization has decided it is going to be heading in a different direction. This move up would get the Vikes ahead of the Bucs and Jets if they want to look toward secondary help in Round 1.”
For the Rams, it seems a worthy flier on McCarthy.
“This trade would value McCarthy as being worth the 112th pick in a typical draft by the Jimmy Johnson chart, a selection in the middle of the fourth round,” Barnwell writes. “That feels about right to me. And the Rams would be on the hook for $6.6 million over the next two years, which isn’t much for a developmental backup quarterback.”
There hadn’t been a ton of chatter before this about McCarthy potentially being involved in a trade on draft night. Now, it’ll be something worth keeping an eye out for.