The Minnesota Vikings received some bad news when it comes to the status of their rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, will miss the entire season because of a torn meniscus.
With the rookie’s season over before it truly began, the Vikings need to find a way to strengthen their quarterback room. Although this is never an ideal situation, the timing of the news perhaps couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Vikings are currently in Cleveland for several joint practices with the Browns followed by a preseason game on Saturday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Browns currently have four quarterbacks in camp and are likely only going to keep three. Could the two teams make a trade prior to the Vikings departing for Minnesota on Saturday after the game?
Deshaun Watson is the obvious starting quarterback for the Browns, while Jameis Winston has a firm hold on the No. 2 quarterback role in 2024. That leaves Tyler Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson competing for the third spot on the 53-man roster.
Thompson-Robinson was the Browns’ fifth-round pick in 2023 and had a strong preseason last year. Even though he had some struggles when thrust into action during the regular season last year, DTR is off to a good start in preseason action once again. In the first preseason game, he went 14 for 18 for 134 passing yards against the Green Bay Packers.
Now against another NFC North foe, the 24-year-old quarterback is slated to start according to head coach Kevin Stefanski. Tyler Huntley will then finish out the game at quarterback.
Huntley was an intriguing acquisition for Cleveland this offseason after the 26-year-old quarterback spent four seasons as Lamar Jackson’s backup in Baltimore. Despite the Browns not necessarily needing him during the season, Huntley was an asset this offseason. As Deshaun Watson worked his way back from his shoulder injury, Winston and Huntley took a majority of the reps for a while.
With the regular season quickly approaching, Huntley certainly seems to be the odd man out. The good news for Huntley is that a quarterback needy team is getting a good look at him this week. Unless the Vikings make a surprising major trade for a starting quarterback, the team needs a strong backup for Sam Darnold.
If the Vikings like what they have seen from Huntley, then it may be worth a trade right before leaving Cleveland this weekend. This could end up being a win for both teams.