The Minnesota Vikings remain vague on whether J.J. McCarthy is QB2 or QB3 on their roster. On Sept. 2, Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley didn’t want to come out and say what the QB depth chart looks like.
“I wouldn’t really necessarily comment on depth immediately, but I’m pleased that he’s part of the present version of the Minnesota Vikings and excited about his future,” Teasley said (h/t Pro Football Talk).
Last season as the starter, McCarthy had 310 pass snaps, leading to a 61.8 overall PFF grade. He also threw for 1,632 passing yards and 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, while recording 19 big-time throws and 15 turnover-worthy plays.
Despite this production and battling for the starting QB job during OTAs and part of training camp, some believe that McCarthy is QB3, even if the Vikings don’t want to clarify their depth chart right now ahead of their Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers.
As a result, NFL analyst Mark Schlereth gave the Vikings some candid advice, saying it’s time for the player to get a change of scenery.
“I do [think the Vikings should move on from McCarthy],” Schlereth said on a Sept. 3 appearance on “The Jim Rome Show.” “I think he needs a change of scenery. I think there’s no question about that.
“But if they’re sitting there trying to get value for him, what are you going to get, like half a year’s supply of Gatorade? Like, what’s he worth? You’re not going to trade any valuable draft picks for J.J. McCarthy.”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Urged to Go to QB Rehab
Schlereth also believes that McCarthy should take the route Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield took, going to a place where they could learn and develop. Darnold was a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, and Mayfield was a backup with the Los Angeles Rams.
“At this point, the best thing for [McCarthy] to do, and we’ve seen this with Baker Mayfield, we’ve seen it with Sam Darnold, who just won a Super Bowl,“ Schlereth added. “They all went somewhere where they could get some quarterback rehab. Sam Darnold spent a year in San Francisco backing up before he went to Minnesota. Baker Mayfield got some time with Sean McVay in Los Angeles before he went to Tampa Bay.
“We’ve seen that kind of reclamation project go with those guys, and it worked really well. So I think the best thing they can do for the kid and the best thing he can get done is to move on from Minnesota and just say, hey man, let me go find another place and let me learn the game a little bit, because it certainly hasn’t worked out here so far.”
J.J. McCarthy Might Have Too Rich of a Contract
Recently, Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for The Athletic, speculated that McCarthy’s contract would be too rich for a team to take on if he’s QB3 rather than QB2.
“[$5.5 million] is backup-level money for a player that I don’t believe many throughout the NFL believe is worthy of a backup spot right now and that’s most likely validated by the Vikings’ choice,” Lewis said on the Sept. 1 edition of “The Alec Lewis Show.”
“They haven’t made this public at this point to make Carson Wentz the No. 2 behind Kyler Murray. So, to pay a potential QB3 $5.5 million, which is backup-level money, that has dissuaded some teams from being interested in sending extra draft capital to then do that, if that makes sense.”
Vikings Get Pointed Advice on J.J. McCarthy Ahead of Week 1