Consider the question begged.
The phone is practically already ringing.
The ghosts have been dispensed, Sam Darnold is slinging it, and the Vikings are playoff-bound — with a chance to secure a first round bye in Detroit on Sunday.
What, then, does Minnesota do with the man drafted 10th overall last year?
The presumed would-be franchise quarterback who, without ever taking a meaningful snap, has seen his starting job all but stolen away?
Where will J.J. McCarthy be come training camp 2025?
NFL insider Adam Schefter called into ESPN radio to address the purple elephant in the room.
“In a limited quarterback draft class, where there are far more teams that need quarterbacks than quarterbacks that can actually step in right away, I definitely think teams will be checking in with the Vikings to see if they have any interest in trading J.J. McCarthy,” Schefter said.
“The [Vikings] may say ‘we don’t,’ and that’s the end of it,” he continued. “But do I think teams will explore that option … of course, absolutely, 100 percent.”
Minnesota’s brass hasn’t seen what they truly have in McCarthy, who suffered a torn meniscus during his preseason debut.
But in Darnold — contrary to all Jets’ fans saw between 2018 and 2020 — it seems they’ve got a certified baller.
The 27-year-old joined the Vikings on a one-year, $10 million contract ahead of the 2024 season.
Justin Jefferson is still the best wide receiver in the world.
Jordan Addison has picked up right where he left off after a stellar rookie campaign.
Even Jalen Nailor is setting career-bests in Year 3.
The trio’s spectacularism is unquestionable, but how much responsibility does Darnold bear?
At least enough to beg the question. So Schefter thinks.
“J.J. McCarthy would have been a top — if not the top — quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. And, yes, he’s coming off the ACL [injury], so what? It doesn’t really matter,” the insider said.
“And if the Vikings decided that they wanted to trade him — which I don’t know that they will — I believe they will get back everything they put into him and then some.”
While the winner of Sunday’s Vikings-Lions showdown secures the one-seed and home-field advantage throughout the post-season, the loser falls down to the fifth seed and has to travel for a first-round matchup.