Vikings release first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy after 10 starts
Minnesota cut 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, joining a small group of quarterbacks who played ten or fewer games for the teams that drafted them.
Minnesota announced it will move on from quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who started ten games over two seasons after being selected in the first round of the 2024 draft. The decision adds McCarthy to a limited list of first-round quarterbacks who have made ten or fewer starts for their original clubs in the past 25 years, according to data compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau and reported by ESPN.
The other quarterbacks on that list include Paxton Lynch, who started four games for the Denver Broncos after being taken in 2016, Trey Lance, who started four games for the San Francisco 49ers after the 2021 third-overall pick, and Johnny Manziel, who started eight games for the Cleveland Browns after being drafted in 2014.
McCarthy recorded six wins in his ten starts before the Vikings opted to trade a future fifth-round pick to part ways with him. The team had considered cutting him before the 2026 season, but the move was delayed until now as he fell to third on the depth chart.
"We believe this is the best path forward for the organization," a Vikings spokesperson said.
The franchise will now look to other options at quarterback while hoping McCarthy does not emerge as a successful starter elsewhere.