{"id":906618,"date":"2026-06-01T00:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T00:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/906618\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T00:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T00:18:23","slug":"5-j-j-mccarthy-trade-landing-spots-once-kyler-murray-wins-vikings-starting-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/906618\/","title":{"rendered":"5 J.J. McCarthy Trade Landing Spots Once Kyler Murray Wins Vikings Starting Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a tumultuous season, the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> knew they had to upgrade the quarterback room. They did so in a big way, by signing former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray<\/a> to a $1.3 million contract. The Vikings did so while retaining former No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy<\/a>. Now both are set to compete for the starting QB job in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

However, early indications suggest Murray is the early frontrunner to win the job<\/a>, which is as expected for someone who\u2019s developed into a two-time Pro Bowler. Yet, if\/when Murray is named the Vikings\u2019 starter, there\u2019s a chance that McCarthy requests a trade to a new destination. Below, we dive into which teams could take a chance on the 2024 first-round pick, who, according to The Athletic\u2018s Alec Lewis<\/a>, has shown growth this offseason.<\/p>\n

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Related: Minnesota Vikings Icon \u2018Likely\u2019 to Return to Team for 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"J.J.<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Browns<\/a> have four quarterbacks on the roster. They\u2019re still looking for a long-term starter. Deshaun Watson<\/a> and Shedeur Sanders<\/a> are set to compete for the starting job, but what if Todd Monken isn\u2019t thrilled with either option? McCarthy is under contract through 2027, and if he performs well, the Browns could get control of him for an additional season. That could be attractive for a team with a lot of question marks at the position.<\/p>\n

Related: 8 NFL Trades We\u2019d Like To See After June 1<\/a><\/p>\n

\"J.J.<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

While the New York Jets<\/a> were able to land Geno Smith<\/a> at a discounted rate, chances are he won\u2019t be the team\u2019s starter in 2027. Heck, Smith might not even be the Jets\u2019 starting QB by the end of the season. This is a rebuilding squad that has a lot to prove, just like McCarthy. The Jets likely want to see how far along third-round rookie Drew Allar<\/a> is before investing in another young developmental option, but it never hurts to add more potential starters at the most important position in football.<\/p>\n

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Related: 2026 NFL QB Rankings After Aaron Rodgers Re-Joins Steelers<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NFL:<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> have a 42-year-old starting quarterback. Eventually, they need to plan for a future after Aaron Rodgers<\/a>. The Steelers do have a pair of developmental options in 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard<\/a>, plus third-round rookie Drew Allar. Between the two, there could be a future starter in there, but adding a former first-round pick with a winning pedigree can\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

Related: 4 Minnesota Vikings Positional Battles To Watch During OTAs<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NFL:<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Lamar Jackson<\/a> is more than established as the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u2018 franchise quarterback, but the 29-year-old is only under contract through 2027. The Ravens need to get him signed to an extension, but until they do, Baltimore has to continue evaluating the position. The Ravens only have Tyler Huntley<\/a>, Skylar Thompson, and a pair of undrafted rookies in Diego Pavia<\/a> plus Joe Fagnano. There\u2019s not a future starter at the position, and hopefully, the Ravens won\u2019t need one, but considering Jackson has only played in 17 games once in his eight-year career, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to have more potential high-end depth at QB.<\/p>\n

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Related: Minnesota Vikings Loosely Linked to Unique Football Prospect<\/a><\/p>\n

\"J.J.<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Unlike many other teams on this list, the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> already have their franchise quarterback, and there\u2019s never been any drama with Justin Herbert<\/a>. Yet, the Chargers still make sense as a landing spot because the rest of their QB depth chart is quite unproven, with Trey Lance<\/a> and 2025 UDFA DJ Uiagalelei<\/a>. Plus, it helps that Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was also McCarthy\u2019s head coach at Michigan when they won the College Football National Championship together.<\/p>\n

Related: 4 Minnesota Vikings Who Could Enjoy Breakout Seasons in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a tumultuous season, the Minnesota Vikings knew they had to upgrade the quarterback room. They did so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[1586,117,241,54,563,7491,2820,1800,7,1507,1519,1159,4827,895,1014,262,2444,2443,259,255,6,57,17,2721,1762,2183],"class_list":["post-906618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-chargers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-chargers","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-deshaun-watson","tag-diego-pavia","tag-dj-uiagalelei","tag-drew-allar","tag-football","tag-geno-smith","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-justin-herbert","tag-kyler-murray","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleschargers","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-shedeur-sanders","tag-trey-lance","tag-tyler-huntley","tag-will-howard"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116671984820676617","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906618","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=906618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}