This time last year, in a move that may have altered the fortunes of two franchises for years to come, the Minnesota Vikings allowed quarterback Sam Darnold to walk in free agency while naming former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy their starter. The outcome speaks for itself and now it appears the Vikings want to make a change.
According to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports, the Vikings are “quietly exploring an exit strategy” to move off McCarthy. Per the report, the team is “really down” on McCarthy and is ready to move off from him now after just two years with the team.
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“The Minnesota Vikings are quietly exploring an exit strategy for 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, according to multiple league sources. That’s just one of several league-shaking rumors emerging from the Combine, where contract standoffs and planned spending sprees are setting the stage for a chaotic offseason,” Pauline wrote on Saturday.
“The consensus opinion here at the Combine is that the Vikings are in the market for a new starting quarterback. In fact, a source tells me the team is really down on quarterback J.J. McCarthy and is ready to move on from their 2024 first-round pick. The team will bring in another signal caller to compete and eventually replace McCarthy, who was the 10th selection of the 2024 NFL Draft.”
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Too soon or too late?
As a rookie in 2024, McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury before the regular season, which in turn thrust Darnold into the starting lineup. Darnold went on to have a Pro Bowl season while leading the Vikings to the second-best record in the NFC while McCarthy held a clipboard.
2025 marked McCarthy’s first taste of NFL action and the results were mixed at best. In just 10 games, McCarthy went 6-4, completing 57.6-percent of his passes for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. The team finished 9-8 but had their worst-ranked offense in years.
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Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) warms up prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
(© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.)
Even so, one year as a starter – and barely over half a season worth of ball – is hardly an ideal sample size for a team to make up its mind about a player. While the Vikings might be able to find a buyer out there willing to make a trade for McCarthy, it wouldn’t come anywhere near close to what the team has already invested into his development.
Assuming the sources being cited are even reliable, the Vikings might be content to at least make McCarthy fight for his job in training camp first before simply throwing him away. If anything, the success that Darnold had with the Seattle Seahawks this past year might tempt them to keep working on McCarthy rather than let another potential star slip through their fingers.
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Will the Vikings move off McCarthy? Should they?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.