The Minnesota Vikings took a massive U-turn in their quarterback plans. Just two years after taking Michigan star J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick, they signed Kyler Murray to compete with him in training camp.
McCarthy’s injuries and erratic play cost the Vikings a playoff berth last season. They have a stacked roster, and they can’t afford to wait for his development.
As such, teams might wonder whether the former national champion will be on the trade block. According to Alec Lewis of The Athletic, that’s a possibility, but they’re not actively trying to move him:
“This cannot be completely ruled out. Two factors matter in the overall calculus: How perturbed are McCarthy and his camp by the Murray signing? And what would other teams offer?” Lewis wrote.
The Vikings, however, need to recoup their investment. They traded picks Nos. 11, 129, and 157 picks to the New York Jets for the Nos. 10 and 203, so they may only consider moving him if they can get a valuable return:
“Trading McCarthy would leave no murkiness around the hierarchy in the quarterback room. The Vikings invested too much in McCarthy, though, to pull the plug for anything other than top-tier compensation,” he added.
McCarthy’s camp should be the first to push for a change of scenery. The Vikings are high on Murray, and McCarthy needs every single first-team rep he can get; that’s not going to happen with the former No. 1 pick also in town.
In all likelihood, he’s looking at a year on the sidelines with a clipboard in his hands.
Whether the Vikings can get anything close to the pick they used to get him might be wishful thinking at this point. Even at his age, his trade value might not be high, especially with another young reclamation project like Anthony Richardson also up for grabs.
Read the full article here
