The Minnesota Vikings may base some of their decision-making in the 2025 offseason on what happens in the upcoming playoffs, but there's no question that veteran quarterback Sam Darnold has done his part to make a case as this team's long-term starter at the most important position on the field. With that in mind, 2024 1st-round pick JJ McCarthy is still waiting in the wings after recovering from a preseason knee injury that has cost him his entire rookie year.
McCarthy has tremendous talent and even coming off of injury, he would likely be head-and-shoulders the QB1 of the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft class if he were part of it. As such, the Vikings may hold one of the most valuable chips of the 2025 NFL offseason regardless of whether they put JJ McCarthy on the trade block or maybe even decide to tag and trade Sam Darnold.
If McCarthy is the one they decide to move on from (not that they have to move on from either in 2025), there are a handful of teams that should be lining up to trade whatever it takes (within reason) to get him.
5 NFL teams that need to give the Vikings what they want for JJ McCarthy in 2025
1. Los Angeles Rams
If Sean McVay is turning down such lucrative television deals these days, it's not just because he thinks he's got a shot within the next 2-3 years to win a title with the Rams. He undoubtedly believes they are building something special there, and I tend to agree.
McVay has Matthew Stafford for the time being, but for how much longer? As rumors have continued to linger about Stafford's potential retirement, quarterback questions for the long-term of this Rams franchise loom large. The interesting connection here is obviously Kevin O'Connell being a branch of the Sean McVay tree. The line of communication here would be open, for certain, and McVay could benefit from Sam Darnold's success by giving McCarthy an ideal landing spot.
2. New York Giants
There was a lot of smoke leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft that the New York Giants absolutely loved JJ McCarthy, but it turned out to be smoke in mirrors. They obviously didn't love him that much because they took Malik Nabers instead.
With that in mind, you can't help but wonder if the Giants are going to be kicking themselves over a number of their QB evaluations last year as they seemingly decided that it was Jayden Daniels or bust, and they knew they weren't getting Daniels, either.
Getting a Mulligan on McCarthy would be interesting given some of the weaponry the Giants were able to find in their stellar 2024 draft class.
3. New York Jets
There might not be a more desperate team for a quarterback in the NFL this coming offseason than the New York Jets.
Okay, there's desperation to differing degrees all over the league, but the Jets are the saddest franchise in the league right now. The Aaron Rodgers experiment didn't work out, and from the sounds of it, the Jets will have to decide between their young core of players or Rodgers this offseason. If he's back, guys might start asking for trades.
Depending on who ends up being the Jets' head coach, I could see the Vikings sending McCarthy here. He would have a high-volume target from Day 1 in Garrett Wilson and a stud at running back in Breece Hall to lean on.
4. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of areas of need, but one key driving force in a potential Raiders-JJ McCarthy trade (hypothetical, of course) could be Raiders new minority owner Tom Brady. Brady and McCarthy obviously share the bond of being former Michigan Wolverines quarterbacks and you can't help but wonder how quickly Tom Brady is going to make his presence felt in Vegas.
Again, this will likely depend on the staff that gets brought in. I don't think the Vikings would just trade McCarthy to the highest bidder but will actively seek to send him to a situation that is favorable for his long-term prospects.
5. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans might be in line to take the first quarterback off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft as things currently stand. It's going to be fascinating to see if this 2025 draft class at quarterback is more like the 2022 class where the league simply decided that the players available weren't as good as the media was making them out to be.
And that's been accurate to this point.
So is this another 2022-type of crop? If so, the Titans might need to dangle that 2nd overall pick at the Vikings and see if they can tempt them to trade McCarthy to Nashville.