So, that J.J. McCarthy Trade Rumor Did Get an Answer (Sort Of)

Nolan Teasley was asked about possibly trading J.J. McCarthy. Given that it’s a pertinent topic, the question is a good one to ask (at least if you ask me).

Part of the problem is that Mr. Teasley didn’t appear particularly keen about digging into the issue. His answer about whether teams had been calling: “That’s something I’ll probably keep internal. We get calls all the time but it’s not something I would directly comment on [in] regards to any player.” Teasley, in short, opts to keep his cards close to his chest. Maybe teams called; maybe teams didn’t. All that he’s saying is that front offices talk commonly about trades but he wouldn’t go any further.

Does J.J. McCarthy Get Sent Packing Via Trade?

Of course, the possibility remains that Mr. McCarthy will get sent packing. Any trade needs a pair of partners to do business.

Presumably, there are teams out there willing to send out a draft pick(s) to snag the 23-year-old quarterback. The issue is simply that nobody in their right mind would hand over anything close to what the Vikings had to pay to get him in the first place: the No. 10 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Minnesota can therefore hang onto the young fella or sell for pennies on the dollar.

In his column earlier today, Jeff Diamond wrote about the McCarthy trade issue.

“If another team offered a first round pick for McCarthy,” Diamond writes, “it would be hard to pass up. That’s certainly not going to happen after his injury-prone and inconsistent play last year (although he did end the season with better play and four straight wins) and in preseason this year with his accuracy still a major concern.”

More from Diamond: “There’s no way Teasley and O’Connell would trade McCarthy for the minimal return of probably a fourth round pick at this point (which is what the 49ers received from the Cowboys for Trey Lance in 2023 and Lance was the third overall pick in 2021 but was often hurt and inconsistent and he was beat out for the starting job by Brock Purdy).”

Similarly of note is the work of Tom Rudelius, a math nerd who ventured into the precedent of recent NFL history to gauge what J.J. McCarthy could demand on the trade market.

After spilling some digital ink, Rudelius writes that “it’s hard to imagine that McCarthy could net more than a 5th Round pick at this point. Part of the reason why the price for former 1st Round QBs has dropped in recent years is probably because none of the QBs in the table above have brought any meaningful value to the team that traded for them.”

Would Nolan Teasley move on from J.J. McCarthy if the offer involved recouping a 4th or 5th? That’s a good question, but it’s hard to know if there has even been some trade discussions happening at all.

In 2025, McCarthy went 6-4 as Minnesota’s starting quarterback. Pushing his team to that winning record came despite completing a horrible 57.6% of his passes while only climbing up to 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns. Keep in mind that he had 12 interceptions alongside 6 fumbles.

At 23, J.J. McCarthy still has a lot of football in front of him. Whether that football gets played in the North Star State is an open question.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.