Daily Norseman
One of the key takeaways from OTAs is that Kyler Murray is going to win the Minnesota Vikings quarterback competition, if it really was a competition to begin with. It was also apparent that McCarthy’s view of his situation has changed, with a sense of betrayal coming through in his comments with the media.
That being the case, with Kyler Murray being the guy going forward, what should the plan be for J.J. McCarthy?
The choices for McCarthy are clear. Either keep him and let him play out his rookie contract as a backup or trade him. The Vikings don’t really need McCarthy as a backup- they have Carson Wentz- and having McCarthy stew in the locker room for this season and next may not be the best way to help Kyler Murray lead the team.
That leaves the option of trading McCarthy, which isn’t as straightforward.
The key wrinkle in trading McCarthy is trying to maximize his trade value and deciding whether the potential added value is worth it. Here is what I mean:
The Vikings had some inquiries into McCarthy’s availability around the time that they signed Kyler Murray. They may have also got a reading on what team(s) were willing to provide in compensation. My guess is that it was around the level of a fourth-round pick- same as the 49ers traded Trey Lance for to the Cowboys after two seasons. I would think McCarthy might fetch more than that, simply because Lance only had three starts in those two seasons and came from DII, but McCarthy does have durability concerns that Lance didn’t have. Also, Anthony Richardson didn’t garner much trade interest although he had an eye issue that teams may have concerns about and he is also in the last year of his rookie contract. But for argument’s sake, let’s say McCarthy’s current trade value is a fourth-round pick- same as Lance’s when he was traded.
What would it take to increase that value to a third-round pick? Or a second-round pick?
The first thing the Vikings could do is shop McCarthy and see if that drums up additional interest and potentially a higher offer. The other things that could increase his value are largely outside of the Vikings’ control. For example, an injury could suddenly increase the need for McCarthy’s services and therefore give the Vikings the leverage to demand a third-round and maybe even a second-round pick, although that seems unlikely.
The Vikings could also showcase McCarthy in preseason games to see if that increases his value, but that isn’t guaranteed. There is also a scenario where a team isn’t happy with their backup QB situation now and may be interested in acquiring McCarthy in time for training camp and may value that more than seeing him in preseason first.
What is known is that the trade value for a player decreases as the remaining length of the contract decreases. Teams will pay more for getting McCarthy...
