Could the Vikings Trade Sam Darnold If J.J. McCarthy Looks Ready To Start?
In the second quarter of the 2017 NFC Championship game, the Minnesota Vikings scored the opening touchdown but allowed 14 points to the Philadelphia Eagles. Late in the game, playing on the road, Case Keenum led the Vikings into Eagles territory. It felt like Minnesota needed points to keep the game from getting out of hand. They were facing a third-and-five.
Keenum dropped back to pass and looked to throw downfield. As he was about to throw, Derek Barnett stripped him of the ball, and the Eagles recovered. Philadelphia would win 38-7, but Barnett’s strip-sack lingered longer than many other plays in the blowout.
It was a reminder of one of the most infamous trades in Vikings history. Minnesota sent a first-round pick to the Eagles for Sam Bradford. Philadelphia selected Barnett with that pick. He turned the ball over and helped the Eagles run flea flickers while their fans chucked beer cans at anyone wearing purple. After beating the Vikings in the NFC Championship, they won the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
It’s the type of trade a franchise wants to avoid. But, seven years later, the Vikings may have the chance to flip the script.
Saturday’s preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders saw the unofficial beginning of life without Kirk Cousins. Sam Darnold looked solid, going 4 for 8 (with a pair of receiver drops) for 59 yards on the opening drive. Still, J.J. McCarthy was the main event, completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
Nobody expects McCarthy to start Week 1. There’s a 99.9% chance that Darnold is the starting quarterback when the Vikings travel to the Meadowlands for their season opener against the New York Giants on September 8.
But what if the Vikings could create their own Bradford trade before the season begins?
It’s a theory that doesn’t seem complicated. The Vikings have insisted that they will give McCarthy as much time as he needs to develop, and the 21-year-old did not look like a polished product against the Raiders. There were times when his processing speed could have been faster. His interception to Las Vegas’s Jack Jones was exactly the type of mistake a young quarterback makes.
Still, he showed enough arm talent and moxy to make Vikings fans think about his potential, which is where the foundation of the Bradford trade began.
The Eagles traded up for Carson Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft and selected him with the second-overall pick. Wentz was considered a long-term project coming out of FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Eagles had Bradford to buy time while Wentz was slated to learn under head coach Doug Pederson.
The plan seemed set in stone, especially when Wentz suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs during the first preseason game. However, that’s when the Vikings came calling.
The Vikings were coming off a division title in 2015 and starting to develop the foundation for the team that got to that NFC Championship game in Philadelphia. Blair Walsh‘s brutal miss ended Minnesota’s playoff run prematurely, but the Vikings appeared to have an answer at quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater.
Vikings fans know what happened next. Bridgewater took an awkward step during training camp and suffered a career-threatening leg injury. Minnesota was down to Shaun Hill, needed a quarterback, and their options were running out.
