J.j. Mccarthy Makes Vikings' Final Roster Despite Speculation He Was On The Bubble

A year ago, it was inconceivable that all eyes would be on J.J. McCarthy, and whether he'd stick with the Minnesota Vikings, during the NFL's roster cutdown weekend.

For now, he’ll avoid the ignominy of being one of the rare quarterbacks drafted in the top 10 to be cut after 10 or fewer starts.

McCarthy has made the Vikings’ final 53-man roster, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. There was speculation he could be traded for very little or simply cut, but the Vikings aren’t throwing in the towel yet.

The fact that it was a question shows how far McCarthy needs to go to get back in the Vikings’ long-term plans.

McCarthy was the 10th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Vikings traded up for him. McCarthy missed his first season with a knee injury but Minnesota chose him over Sam Darnold to be their 2025 starter. McCarthy even won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his play in the season opener.

The Vikings soured on McCarthy quickly. After the team named Kyler Murray the starter shortly into training camp and they had McCarthy competing with Carson Wentz to be Murray's backup. That wasn’t a good sign.

At every step since early last season, the situation for McCarthy in Minnesota has worsened. He struggled to run the offense, took on more injuries and the Vikings missed the playoffs. Minnesota actively looked for a new starter in the offseason and landed on Murray, who failed with the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings named Murray the starter before the first preseason game, an indication that they were never serious about having Murray and McCarthy compete for the job.

After that, McCarthy wasn't even guaranteed the backup job. In the second preseason game he made some plays but missed others, including a terrible throw on a fourth-and-goal to a wide open receiver at the goal line. McCarthy suffered an ankle injury and was held out of the preseason finale, but many wondered if the Vikings were keeping him out as they tried to trade him.

McCarthy remains on the Vikings for now, but the situation is clearly tenuous. McCarthy said, after Murray was named the starting quarterback, that he wanted to be in Minnesota. But there haven’t been many signs that the Vikings hold out much hope that he can become a franchise quarterback, other than keeping him on the roster for the start of this season.

There is a possible path back for McCarthy, who is just 23 years old. Murray is on a one-year deal and has his own questions as an NFL starter, and Wentz has on the backup portion of his career. The Vikings still desperately need a quarterback of the future.

A year ago they hoped that it would be McCarthy. At least he’s still on their roster.