{"id":861381,"date":"2026-04-08T18:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861381\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:32:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:32:21","slug":"rams-named-in-mega-trade-idea-for-vikings-qb-j-j-mccarthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861381\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams Named in Mega Trade Idea for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jj-mccarthy-minnesota-vikings_d87274.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>(Photo by Patrick McDermott\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/minnesota-vikings\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a> will hold a QB competition to determine not only their Week 1 starting QB, but also the pecking order of their QB depth chart, as Carson Wentz, J.J. McCarthy, and Kyler Murray. <\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, many expect Murray to win this competition, and there\u2019s even the possibility that McCarthy falls to QB3 if Wentz is healthy and performs like he did last season before suffering his season-ending injury to his non-throwing shoulder. <\/p>\n<p>With the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" title=\"NFL\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"219189\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> Draft right around the corner on April 23, could the Vikings receive a call on McCarthy to see if they are open to dealing him and giving him a fresh start somewhere else? <\/p>\n<p>FOX Sports NFL columnist and reporter Ralph Vacchiano believes there\u2019s a possibility and names the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/los-angeles-rams\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Rams<\/a> as a potential trade destination for McCarthy. <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/stories\/nfl\/nfl-player-each-nfc-team-should-trade-during-2026-draft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">In his column published on April 8<\/a>, Vacchiano notes that the Rams\u2019 second-round pick (61st overall) could be what it takes to land McCarthy to back up Matthew Stafford. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Vikings sure look like they\u2019ve moved on from the former 10th overall pick (2024) by signing Kyler Murray,\u201d Vacchiano wrote. \u201cGiven Vikings coach Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s success rate with QBs, maybe that\u2019s a red flag for the rest of the NFL. But McCarthy is still young and has only 10 games of experience. He could benefit from learning under McVay on a loaded offensive team. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd not only do the Rams need to start thinking about who their quarterback will be after 38-year-old Matthew Stafford is done, they have to be prepared if he breaks down this season. Right now their backup is Stetson Bennett. McCarthy would at least be an upgrade over that. And that\u2019s important for an expected Super Bowl contender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kyler Murray Gets Clear Message to Win Starting Job<\/p>\n<p>Although Murray is the favorite to win the Vikings\u2019 starting job, former\u00a0NFL\u00a0edge rusher Chris Long shared what Murray needs to improve once the battle begins to ensure the former No. 1 pick comes out on top and is starting for the Vikings in Week 1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I watch him play, and I watch every single snap of him throwing the ball last year, and as you know, I watch a ton of games, he doesn\u2019t see the field that well late in downs,\u201d Long said on the\u00a0<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=in16eBKFVWI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">March 25 edition of \u201cGreen Light with Chris Long.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things he needs to improve. Listen, I love the mobility he brings to the table, but he has to be better at seeing the field late in downs. If you\u2019re just relying on your vision, it hasn\u2019t been great so far. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s all 5-foot-10. I think it\u2019s just how certain people see the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vikings Announce J.J. McCarthy Update Before QB Battle<\/p>\n<p>After a rollercoaster 2025 season, the Vikings are forcing McCarthy to earn the job, and Kevin Seifert of ESPN shared what head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell said regarding the latest on the young QB\u2019s efforts to do just that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKevin O\u2019Connell said that J.J. McCarthy is back in Minnesota after spending the early part of the offseason training in California, and has been in the building most days working out in the weight room,\u201d\u00a0<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SeifertESPN\/status\/2038642747989762555\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Seifert wrote on March 30 on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/eddierazo91\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area &amp; California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/eddierazo91\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Vikings\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Patrick McDermott\/Getty Images) The Minnesota Vikings will hold a QB competition to determine not only&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-861381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116370521796881094","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}