JJ McCarthy has lived to fight another day in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Vikings quarterback McCarthy officially finished Sunday’s roster cutdown day still on the team’s 53-man roster, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. This was despite rampant speculation over the last several weeks that McCarthy could be either traded or released by the Vikings.
McCarthy, still only 23 years old, was Minnesota’s first-round draft pick in 2024 (No. 10 overall). But his development up to this point has been derailed by a combination of injuries and overall ineffectiveness.
The former Michigan champion McCarthy served as the Vikings’ starter last season after Sam Darnold left in free agency to sign with the Seattle Seahawks. But over 10 total starts, McCarthy threw for just 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns to an ugly 12 interceptions (also missing time due to ankle, hand, and concussion issues).
Earlier this offseason, Minnesota signed ex-Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray in free agency and recently named Murray as their QB1 for next season. That had led to conjecture from other teams that McCarthy could potentially be available.
But as a former first-round pick still on his rookie contract, McCarthy never really made sense as a roster cut for the Vikings (or as a trade candidate while at the nadir of his value). McCarthy also apparently still has some believers in the organization, and that has been proven true this week with Minnesota’s decision to keep him on the roster.
Still, McCarthy has plenty of work to do at this point to even serve as a viable QB2 in the NFL. After all, McCarthy was also pretty horrible during recent preseason play for the Vikings.
