Barring a spectacular trade into the No. 1 overall pick, the Las Vegas Raiders have won two straight games, eliminating them from consideration for quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami.
However, that might not be as horrible as it seems. On Wednesday, January 1, ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated that the Minnesota Vikings will be contacted regarding a trade for rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. “In a limited quarterback draft class where there are far more teams that need quarterbacks than quarterbacks who actually can step in right away, I definitely think teams will be checking in with the Vikings to see if they have any interest in trading J.J. McCarthy,” Schefter told Courtney Cronin, an analyst for ESPN.
It would make sense to look into trade offers for McCarthy if the Vikings choose to give 27-year-old Sam Darnold a multiyear contract extension. Given the team’s need under centre and the fact that Las Vegas already owns the eighth choice in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, Cronin suggested the Raiders as the first possible suitor for McCarthy.
In Week 18, the Raiders can also defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, who have already secured a postseason berth and will only be competing for seeding between the AFC’s Nos. 5-7 positions. Schefter stated that adding McCarthy to the roster is probably going to cost the Raiders that selection plus a little bit more, regardless of where they choose in the first round.
“One of the best quarterback prospects in this draft, if not the best, would have been J.J. McCarthy. Well, he is recovering from the [knee injury], but so what? “It’s not really important,” Schefter went on. “And I think the Vikings would get back everything they invested in him and more if they decided to move him, which I’m not sure they will do. A [first-round selection] plus more would be involved. Given that he will age 22 later this month and that both Sanders and Ward will turn 23 later this year, McCarthy is actually younger than both of them. Just about $22 million is the total value of McCarthy’s four-year rookie contract in Minnesota, which also includes a fifth-year option for the 2028 season.
Leave a Reply