The first preseason will play a major role in determining who can start taking the lead in the Minnesota Vikings‘ QB battle between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray. Nonetheless, if McCarthy loses the competition, could that spell the end of his time with the Vikings?
Last season with the Vikings, 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.
As a result, Minnesota brought in competition in Murray, and both players are now going toe-to-toe in practice. Still, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes that McCarthy should be on the trading block before the start of the 2026 NFL season if the former first-round pick loses the battle.
“The caveat here is that the Minnesota Vikings should only consider moving J.J. McCarthy if they’re 100 percent certain that free-agent addition Kyler Murray is the better option at quarterback,” Knox wrote in an Aug. 10 article. “If McCarthy looks like the better 2026 option, Murray, who is on a one-year deal, could become the more sensible trade candidate. Right now, though, it feels unlikely that McCarthy can take hold of the quarterback competition.
“McCarthy missed his rookie season following knee surgery and only showed occasional flashes this past season while dealing with more injuries. The mere fact that Minnesota brought in Murray felt like a sign that the Vikings were close to moving on from their 2024 first-round pick. Of course, McCarthy is a former first-round pick who has a very limited NFL resume. Some team is going to give him a second chance.”
Vikings Could Look to Trade J.J. McCarthy Before Value Lowers
Furthermore, Knox believes that if McCarthy does lose the competition, trading him would allow the Vikings to recoup a draft pick rather than further diminishing the quarterback’s trade value.
“Minnesota could recoup at least part of its investment by making him available in a trade—remember that Trey Lance was arguably an even bigger NFL disappointment and still brought a fourth-round pick after two seasons,” Knox added in his article.
J.J. McCarthy Gets Blunt Advice Amid QB Battle
While players on the team will go with the best player for the job, that doesn’t mean they won’t give their teammates advice in this competitive environment. In an interview with KFAN’s Dan Barreiro, Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill recently shared his advice for McCarthy in this QB competition.
“I’ve never been in a competition like I’ve never been in that role,” O’Neill told Barreiro in an Aug. 7 interview. “I was a backup until somebody got hurt, and then I wasn’t. So, it’s different to sit here and be like, ‘Well, this is how I handled it or this is how I would handle it. ‘ Like, I don’t know how I would handle it. I think the only thing I could say is any position and any player is one rep at a time, one practice at a time.
“As soon as anybody starts looking, as soon as I look at the big picture of who’s my matchup week one, and who’s my matchup week two, and when we have a three-game road stretch, and why we got to go to Mexico and go out of the country again, like all that stuff doesn’t help me play better.”
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