Vikings Addition Of Carson Wentz Creates A J.J. McCarthy Trade Scenario Option

The Minnesota Vikings adding Carson Wentz on a one-year contract on Thursday is a back-end of free agency move that typically gets only modest attention because it merely adds depth for a team about to have a starting quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy.

But this move, admit it publicly or not, also gives the Vikings flexibility once that competition is settled (in Murray's favor). Or perhaps even before that because, let's face it, the Vikings know Murray will be their starter and Wentz has proven himself as their backup. 

Specifically, it gives the team the ability to trade McCarthy if it can find an interested suitor.

McCarthy Valuable Despite 2025

Here me out: McCarthy is valuable. 

He was the No. 10 overall draft pick of the 2024 draft. The Vikings did a thorough draft evaluation on him and decided he could be and, indeed, would be their future starting quarterback. 

The team's confidence in McCarthy was apparent when the Vikings declined to offer either Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones contracts that would effectively guarantee them as their starters for 2025 despite some evidence either could be a better option than the inexperienced McCarthy.

McCarthy was coach Kevin O'Connell's guy.

McCarthy was also then-general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's guy.

But McCarthy kind of disappointed last season after missing his rookie season with a knee injury. That is one of several reasons Mensah was fired. And it's the primary reason the Vikings locked in on Murray this offseason.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - NOVEMBER 2025: Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) walks off the field at the end of the game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, November 16, 2025. Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears. (Photo by Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

McCarthy Better Than Draft Eligible QBs

So now the Vikings will see how far McCarthy has come since the end of last season and how capable of competing with a veteran starter he actually is. 

And here's the truth: When Murray wins the starting job, he will immediately have a grasp on the team's QB job of the future. All he has to do is play well in 2026 and the Vikings, having learned their lesson with Darnold winning a Super Bowl and Jones having success in Indianapolis, will be unlikely to let him merely walk away. 

That would make McCarthy the perpetual backup.

But what if some other team sees McCarthy as perhaps something more than that? 

What if some other team looks at the lean quarterback landscape in the coming draft and believes McCarthy is better than perhaps all but one (Fernando Mendoza) of those prospects?

McCarthy, at 23 years old, is actually younger than some of the QB prospects in the coming draft class. He is a month younger than Alabama's Ty Simpson. He's won a national title. He'd likely be a first- or second-round pick if he came out in this draft.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 21: J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass against the New York Giants in the second quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium on December 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

Interest In McCarthy Availability

What's to prevent a team – or teams – from engaging the Vikings about a potential trade for McCarthy?

And what's to prevent the Vikings from listening? Of course, they would listen.

What if, say, the Steelers, Dolphins, Browns, Cardinals or Jets see McCarthy as a viable future QB prospect better than what the current draft is offering, and make a play for him in trade after the first or second round?

The Vikings – set for 2026 with Murray as the starter and now Wentz as an experienced backup – would be foolish not to engage.

Improbable? Maybe.

But, as one source told OutKick Thursday morning, it would be personnel department malpractice for any team thinking of drafting a quarterback this year not to consider calling the Vikings about a trade for McCarthy.