The Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets all have a quarterback problem.
For the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers could very well retire or opt to go someplace else. The Jets’ Justin Fields experiment failed miserably and he’ll likely get cut, and the Dolphins appear to be done with Tua Tagovailoa after he was benched in 2025.
With no set starters in place for 2026, all three teams will be exploring the free-agent and trade markets, as well as the NFL draft for their next signal-callers.
Speaking of the trade market, all three teams should have their eyes on the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, McCarthy’s future as the starter is anything but set in stone after former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired recently.
Seifert is hearing that the firing has created more urgency for head coach Kevin O’Connell and “all bets are off” with McCarthy and the team could “take a big swing” at a veteran quarterback to replace McCarthy this offseason.
“The best way to put this, based on what sources have said, is that all bets are off,” Seifert reported. “The general manager who drafted McCarthy No. 10 in 2024 has been fired, and the coach who was in full agreement with that decision is now under considerably more scrutiny.”
“If anything, these events increase the chances that the Vikings will take a big swing at finding a veteran quarterback who could start in 2026,” Seifert added. “The only thing more damaging than making the mistakes the Vikings made last season would be to repeat them this year.”
McCarthy was easily the biggest roadblock for the Vikings making the playoffs last season, so it would not be totally shocking if the team decided to go in a different direction after making the mistake of not signing a veteran in 2025.
McCarthy showed some flashes, but not enough to overshadow all of his struggles. The former No. 10 overall pick has also had injury issues after missing seven games in 2025 and all of 2024.
If the Vikings bring in a legitimate veteran quarterback to start, it’s conceivable that Minnesota could opt to trade the Michigan product.
While McCarthy is far from guaranteed to shore up the starting job of the Steelers, Jets or Dolphins, it would be worth it to take a flyer on him in the hopes the 23-year-old can turn it around and become a long-term answer.
Given what we saw last season, McCarthy isn’t going to cost much in a trade, so there won’t be a ton of risk with acquiring him.
