NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported this week that McCarthy's trade value is "considered low," a notable fall for a player the Vikings took 10th overall just two years ago.
Vikings insider Alec Lewis of The Athletic backed that up on his YouTube show, suggesting McCarthy is now more likely to stay in Minnesota simply because no one wants to pay what it would take to get him.
Trade That Just Proved The Point
Lewis pointed to a transaction to make his case.
Green Bay traded backup quarterback Kyle McCord to the Dolphins for a mere sixth-round pick this week, and Lewis argued McCord is actually the better asset. "Kyle McCord, who was a backup with the Packers, was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-round pick," Lewis said. "He has more years of control than J.J. McCarthy remaining. He's also coming at a lower cost than J.J."
That comparison stings given where McCarthy actually sits on Minnesota's depth chart right now.
Kyler Murray is the entrenched starter after a decisive camp competition, and Carson Wentz has taken over as the clear No. 2, pushing McCarthy down to QB3.
Lewis didn't hold back on what that says about the price tag. "[$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," Lewis said. "And that's most likely validated by the Vikings' choice."
Minnesota Might Just Sit Tight
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported his name barely came up when he called around the league about backup quarterback trade possibilities.
"I've called around the league on trade possibilities for backup quarterbacks, his name really didn't come up a lot yesterday and this morning," Fowler said. "But they have Carson Wentz, who was one of their backups last time. So they want to make Wentz the two and McCarthy the three, or do they want to move on? That's sort of the question that looms around the league right now."
Head coach Kevin O'Connell gave McCarthy a rest day recently after he split reps with Wentz, and the Vikings ultimately kept him on their initial 53-man roster despite the swirling trade chatter.
Vikings GM Nolan Teasley has declined to say whether the team engaged in any trade conversations before last weekend's cutdown deadline, calling that information "internal."
With McCarthy's 2026 cash payout sitting at roughly $2.8 million and the balance of his contract fully guaranteed into 2027, Minnesota may simply be stuck holding a former top-10 pick nobody wants to pay full price for, at least for now.
