The long-awaited news that Vikings fans had been hearing rumors of since the preseason dropped on Monday around lunchtime.
It came down from The Ringer's Tom Pelissero when he reported
that the team was trading away J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings were trading him to the New York Giants in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick, which shows that the value of the former top pick has fallen off over the years since being drafted.After the trade, ESPN's Seth Walder put the move into their long-running trade-grade piece. Within it, the Vikings were revealed to have earned a B+, while the Giants earned a C.
Walder discusses it from the Vikings angle, writing, "Even though Murray is a free agent at the end of this season, McCarthy's ship had already sailed
in Minnesota after he couldn't beat out Wentz. If he wasn't going to be the Vikings' backup quarterback, his value would likely have continued to drop. To get a fifth-round pick while saving a few million across his remaining 2026 and 2027 compensation (not nothing!) makes sense. They have uncertainty at quarterback in 2027, yes. But that was true whether McCarthy was there or not."
Walder hits the nail on the head here, as it really does not impact the Vikings moving forward. If anything, this frees them up from the looking shadow that McCarthy would cast on any quarterback they have in 2026 or bring in through the draft in 2027.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: What grade did ESPN give the Vikings trading away J.J. McCarthy?
