Vikings Trade Pitch Lands 10-Time Pro Bowler to Back Up JJ McCarthy
The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran quarterback John Wolford to the practice squad on Wednesday, October 29, but the team still has five days to take a swing at a bigger name with a more proven track record to back up J.J. McCarthy.
Wolford played for Kevin O’Connell when the latter was the offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, so clearly Minnesota’s head coach knows and trusts the 30-year-old QB to a meaningful degree. But Wolford has seen action in just seven NFL games, earning only four starts (2-2). He has thrown for 626 yards, one TD and five INTs on 58.7 percent passing and hasn’t taken a regular-season snap since 2022.
If the Vikings intend to make undrafted rookie Max Brosmer their QB2 behind McCarthy and Wolford the third-string/emergency quarterback, then the signing makes more sense. But even then, Minnesota is risking a great deal.
McCarthy missed the entirety of his rookie campaign with a knee injury. He played two games to start this season and sat out for the next six weeks with a high-ankle sprain. Even though he’s just 22 years old and the sample size is small, history says McCarthy won’t last nine straight games through to the end of the season, and a porous and injured offensive line further supports that theory.
O’Connell and company traded for Sam Howell during draft weekend, but pivoted to Carson Wentz once they realized an experienced veteran was who they needed. That type of player isn’t available in free agency currently, though if Minnesota pivots soon enough it can still find one via the trade market.
Arguably the best option is Russell Wilson of the New York Giants.
Russell Wilson Threw for 450 Yards and 3 TDs in Week 2 Against Cowboys
Wilson isn’t the Super Bowl champion superstar that he used to be, but he still has something left in the tank as he approaches his 37th birthday.
He showed as much when he put up 450 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, who are admittedly fielding one of the worst defenses in the league, but an NFL defense it remains. Wilson also has 204 games played, 202 starts, nearly 47,000 passing yards and 10 Pro Bowls to his credit, along with the aforementioned title.
Should McCarthy suffer another injury, and should the Vikings decide they still want to be competitive if he does, Wilson is a far better solution than Wolford by any metric.
Russell Wilson Should Prove Low-Cost, Both in Terms of Salary and Trade Price
Wilson is also playing on a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, but his base salary is just $2 million. Thus, if Minnesota acquired him following Week 9, he would cost the team a total of $1 million for the remainder of the season and then become a free agent in March.
His trade value is also incredibly low at the moment after the Giants benched him for Jaxson Dart. Most likely, the Vikings could acquire Wilson for a sixth-round pick, or maybe even a seventh-rounder.
“[Giants fans] also must be prepared for Big Blue to possibly sell, with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston likely available for a song,” Eric Edholm of NFL.com wrote October 24.
Browns Trade Pitch Dumps David Njoku for Draft Capital
Because of the general mediocrity–or even less-than-mediocrity–of the AFC North here in 2025, the Browns are in the odd position of being simultaneously awful offensively, great defensively, just 2-6 record-wise, and still not out of the running to win the division. With the bye week and the NFL trade deadline approaching, Cleveland appears to be at an inflection point on a few different levels.
They need assets for the long term. They need to get better in the short term.
Maybe the best way to accomplish the first without wrecking the second could be a move of tight end David Njoku, a star and a Pro Bowler three years ago who has been worn down by age (29) and a multitude of injuries since he was a first-round pick from Miami in 2017.
With the Browns having found a successor (Harold Fannin Jr.) at his position, trading Njoku in the coming days seems to be as certain a bet as Cleveland can make in the coming days.
Browns David Njoku Could Help Bucs
With that in mind, Heavy’s Max Dible proposes sending Njoku to the NFC, where he could bolster an ailing group of pass-catchers in Tampa Bay, with a third-day pick in 2026 coming back to Cleveland–a fifth-rounder, at best. It’s about all the Browns could hope for in exchange for Njoku at this stage.
Writes Dible: “David Njoku is a competent tight end who can help a high-octane offense in Tampa Bay that needs some more pass-catching due to a handful of injuries to some of its top options, including Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
“The Browns are 2-6 and drafted Harold Fannin Jr. in the third round, who looks like a hit. Njoku probably isn’t coming back after he becomes a free agent next year, so getting a fifth-round pick, or the like, for him now makes more sense than letting him walk for nothing — especially since keeping Njoku for the rest of this season isn’t likely to change Cleveland’s fate.”
Browns Building Up Draft Capital
The Browns, of course, have already been busy on the trade market this season, going back to the draft-day trade of the No. 2 overall pick to the Jaguars for what is looking like an excellent haul–No. 5 pick Mason Graham, second-rounder Quinshon Judkins and Jacksonville’s 2026 first-rounder, currently projected at No. 18 overall.
At the end of training camp, Cleveland also dealt Kenny Pickett for a fifth-round pick.
The Browns swapped a sixth-rounder for a fifth-rounder by sending Joe Flacco to the Bengals, and brought in cornerback Tyson Campbell for CB Greg Newsome, swapping down from a sixth-rounder to a seventh-rounder in that deal.
David Njoku Trade Would Be Costly
Trading Njoku would require the Browns to take on a significant chunk of dead cap next season–a payment of $24 million that does not transfer to his new team. Alternatively, the Browns could give Njoku, an impending free agent, an extension and spread out that payment, though the team is likely more inclined to simply take the lump and move on.
Njoku has 27 catches for 260 yards this season, with two touchdowns for a team that has scored only seven passing touchdowns this season.
At Pro Football Focus, Njoku has a grade of 53.8, No. 63 out of 75 graded tight ends. That’s his worst rating of his career.
