Kyler Murray is back as the Minnesota Vikings starter after clearing the NFL concussion protocol and will return to action in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a result, J.J. McCarthy will go from the backup QB to the third-string signal-caller.
While the team has said everything positive about McCarthy as QB3, the question is: if a team comes calling needing a quarterback and calls the Vikings for the former Top 10 pick, will Minnesota pull the trigger on a trade?
The NFL trade deadline is on Nov. 10, and with two games through the season, injuries and poor play from quarterbacks are beginning to pile up. Because of this, a team could call for McCarthy and Vikings on SI’s Adam Carlson has a couple of destinations for the former first-round pick; one of them is the 0-2 Atlanta Falcons.
On Sept. 21, Atlanta named Michael Penix Jr. its starter for the Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers. Nonetheless, if he doesn’t impress, it could be time to look at external options to salvage their season, and that is where McCarthy could come in.
“Tagovailoa and Penix are interesting quarterbacks when they are healthy, but neither one should be trusted to play a full season,” Carlson wrote in a Sept. 20 article. “Rush doesn’t provide the depth needed to win games and hasn’t led a team to a win as a starter since he left the Cowboys after the 2024 NFL season.”
J.J. McCarthy Better Option for the Falcons Amid 0-2 Start
Moreover, McCarthy showed flashes last season that he can play at the NFL level; however, he hasn’t found that consistency, leading the Vikings to sign Kyler Murray and re-sign Carson Wentz this past offseason. However, in Atlanta, he could at least raise the floor and take advantage of the weapons there.
“McCarthy would immediately raise the floor of the Falcons’ quarterback room while getting a player nine years younger to hold down that role,” Carlson added in his article. “Atlanta could even make him an inactive emergency quarterback on game day if Tagovailoa and Penix are both healthy.
“Even with his time missed last season, McCarthy won six of the10 games that he started for the Vikings and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 1. There is potential for him to thrive in Atlanta, and the cost to acquire him would be a mid-to-low-round draft pick that wouldn’t break the bank for the Falcons.”
Vikings Get Strong Take on QB Situation From Ex-NFL Player
Speaking of the Vikings QB situation, recently, former NFL running back LeSean McCoy would prefer that Minnesota go with Wentz, who has the team off to a 2-0 start. While it wasn’t pretty in Week 2, Wentz didn’t turn the ball over and put the defense in bad field position.
“I always said that I didn’t think [Murray] would finish the season as a starter anyway,” McCoy said in a Sept. 17 video from the “Speakeasy” YouTube channel. “They’re not paying him big money. He’s on a try-it type of deal and, to be honest, if you look at him in his whole career, he has really great flashes and has tons of bad moments. Yeah, he is not a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Emerges as Potential Trade Option for 0-2 Team