The Vikings See a Bit of Salt Rubbed in the Wound

At this stage, there’s a ton that needs to be determined. Nevertheless, there’s a case to be made that the Vikings are seeing some salt rubbed in the wound.

The New York Giants won on Sunday, overcoming the Houston Texans in overtime to further solidify the team’s lead in the NFC East. Part of what made the latest win notable is that J.J. McCarthy had a solid day at the office, igniting near universal praise for his gritty, gutsy ability to win. As a result, there’s some lingering thoughts about whether Minnesota made a major error by moving off the kid less than three years into his career.

The Vikings See J.J. McCarthy Shine in New York

In the online football chatter, all of Ari Meirov, Mina Kimes, and Bill Simmons (and surely many others) offered up reactions. And, to be sure, there’s good reason.

Mr. McCarthy went 20/28 (71.4%) for 252 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. New York scored 27 points, doing so with a ton of production from the runners, at least as it relates to hitting pay dirt. All of Tyrone Tracy, Jameis Winston, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary brought the ball into the endzone on the ground.

At the end of the day, the manner in which the ball gets into the endzone doesn’t matter. McCarthy’s great strength was found in moving the football. Doing so allowed the Giants to scamper for scores.

Keep in mind, folks, that Minnesota moved on for a 5th. How often does a 5th-Round pick work out? Look to recent Minnesota history to help calibrate your expectations.

In 2023, the Vikings sunk a 5th into Jaren Hall, a passer with limited arm talent but a ton of intangibles. Essentially, the sort of quarterback who could become a great backup if things were to go well in his development (not so). That’s the sort of passer whom a team targets in the 5th.

New York got a 23-year-old J.J. McCarthy for a 5th. Even if he’s a humdrum QB2 over the long term, then New York did remarkable work.

The Vikings, meanwhile, aren’t looking great right about now. The in-house QB3 is Max Brosmer. Respectfully, Brosmer can’t make the throws that McCarthy made on Sunday. In fact, he’s nowhere close to as competent as the passer who got traded away roughly two years after getting chosen at No. 10.

Consider, as well, that the Texans boast a fearsome defense. Trying to pass the ball when Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson are flying off the line of scrimmage isn’t for the faint of heart. McCarthy still made several high-level throws. Truly wild that Minnesota moved off a young, hard-working, talented quarterback for a 5th.

In time, J.J. McCarthy may prove that he’s a dud. A bust. A player who can’t be trusted for anything other than being maybe a QB2 or a QB3. After all, the trade with the Giants is weeks old; after all, McCarthy’s NFL career isn’t yet three years old.

Nevertheless, the point: trading him for a 5th before seeing him ascend to being New York’s QB1 (an entirely predictable outcome) represents poor work from the Nolan Teasley front office.

Some salt is going to get rubbed into the wound if he continues leading his new team to wins, especially since Kyler Murray has mostly been a game manager while McCarthy has been a playmaker over in The Big Apple. The possibility exists that the Vikings’ internal leadership was so sidetracked by avoiding another Sam Darnold gaffe — moving on from a strong veteran — that the move off a young, unproven arm becomes the real whiff.

Next up for the Vikings is a game against the Detroit Lions.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.