Vikings Must Consider Trade for $34 Million QB as JJ McCarthy’s Struggles Continue
Posted November 24, 2025
The Minnesota Vikings don’t have any answers at quarterback outside of JJ McCarthy, which isn’t a situation the franchise is likely to leave absent remedy heading into the 2026 campaign.
After a surprising road win over the Detroit Lions in his return from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the better part of two months, McCarthy has lost his last three starts. In those three losses, McCarthy has completed just 51.6 percent of his passes for an average of 162 air yards per outing to go along with two TDs and six INTs. Minnesota has averaged 14 points per contest across that stretch.
The Vikings turned to Carson Wentz (2-3) for five games during McCarthy’s injury, but Wentz is out for the year following shoulder surgery. Minnesota’s current QB2 is undrafted rookie Max Brosmer who has yet to start an NFL game.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah bet huge on McCarthy by letting Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave in free agency, and McCarthy’s play to this point has cleaned them out and effectively ended the team’s chances at a postseason berth with a 4-7 record in one of the better divisions in football this year.
The Vikings are going to have to make some tough personnel decisions in 2026 due to salary cap issues (currently $37 million in the red), so drafting another QB in the first round is unlikely given all the other needs the team is likely to have. A big and expensive free agency swing doesn’t track either, given Minnesota’s financial situation and the lack of signal-callers headed to the market.
As such, the best move is likely a trade for a high-talent player in need of a fresh start, and Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson fits the bill.
Anthony Richardson Trade Represents Far Cheaper Option for Vikings Than Signing Quality Free-Agent QB
GettyQuarterback Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts.
The former No. 4 overall pick of the Colts in 2023, Richardson is still just 23 years old.
He lost his starting job to Jones during the preseason and has made noise about wanting out already. Should the Colts re-sign Jones to a multiyear contract, which appears likely after an 8-3 start and legitimate playoff aspirations, Richardson makes sense as a trade candidate.
Richardson will not be nearly as expensive as even a middle-of-the road veteran free agent would be. He will play the fourth and final year of his $34 million rookie contract in 2026, assuming whichever team holds his deal come next spring decides not to option the fifth-year attached to the initial agreement of every first-round pick.
Kevin O’Connell, JJ McCarthy Reaffirm Confidence in Coach-QB Relationship
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Richardson is a project with an extensive injury history across a short professional career, exactly the same as McCarthy. The difference is Richardson has at least as talented an arm as McCarthy and far more explosive abilities than McCarthy will ever possess.
The Vikings need some QB insurance, and O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah will risk losing their jobs if they throw away two seasons in a row with a playoff-caliber roster because they doubled down on McCarthy in 2026 without a viable backup plan.
McCarthy made it clear that he’s still confident following a six-point showing in a blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, November 23.
“Confidence is always high, no matter what, because the guys in that room, because of the trust and faith in my abilities,”
McCarthy said.
However, O’Connell acknowledged the difficulties his young QB is experiencing and the kind of pressure that puts on everyone else on the roster to play essentially perfect football.
“[You want to] give him a chance to grow but not [put] the game totally in his hands, where the variance of a young quarterback will cost our whole team,” O’Connell said. “And I think there’s a needle to thread there.”
Patrick Mahomes quietly confirms something that should concern the entire AFC
The rest of the league is going to be panicking after this win.
Until Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are eliminated from playoff contention, the other teams in striking distance won't be resting easy. It felt like Mahomes and the Chiefs were close to seeing their dynastic run come to an end, but they found a way to gut out a win over the Colts in overtime and now sit at 6-5.
They're still not in a great position moving forward, as Next Gen Stats gives them a 55% chance of making the playoffs but hey, that's better than the 28% chance they'd have had if they had lost to Indy. This win didn't just keep Kansas City's playoff hopes alive but it might have ignited this team, which is exactly what Mahomes confirmed in his postgame press conference.
"This is exactly what we needed," Mahomes said following the Chiefs' overtime victory over the Colts. "To win against a really good football team when things aren't going your way... We could have folded... We needed a win like this... Now let's try to win off this."
Patrick Mahomes confirms what Chiefs rivals feared might be coming
It didn't look good for Mahomes and the Chiefs entering the fourth quarter, as they trailed 20-9 and looked lifeless offensively. The defense settled in, however, and completely shut down the Colts offense and that allowed the offense to get the team back into the game and send it to overtime where, well, the rest is history.
Mahomes' comments are exactly what opponents don't want to hear as we enter crunch time in the regular season. Mahomes and the Chiefs catching fire and sneaking into the playoffs on a big win-streak would be worst-case scenario for all of the AFC opponents because who is going to want to play a red-hot Chiefs team in the playoffs? Nobody, that's who.
Mahomes saying point blank that this win proves to him and the rest of his teammates that they can bounce back when things aren't going their way is nightmare fuel for everyone else. It's not even like they did it against a bad team either, they did it against the 8-2 (now 8-3) Colts, who are vying for the top seed in the playoffs.
Mahomes is right. This win was exactly what he and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs needed because now they know they're capable of bouncing back when things aren't going their way. Now they know they still have some of that dynasty magic left in them. For the other potential AFC hopefuls, that is downright terrifying.
