Vikings Rumors Heat Up on a J.J. McCarthy Trade, the Trade Push for Drake Maye, Blake Brandel
The rumors were thick for the Minnesota Vikings during the bye week, easy to monitor with a week off. Each week, VikingsTerritory logs the week’s top rumors, and Week 7 is no different.
The Purple Rumor Mill is a two-part, weekly series from VikingsTerritory, featuring J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye, and Blake Brandel fodder this go-round.
So, heading into a meeting with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, here’s the purple rumor mill for October 18th.
Vikings Rumors for Week 7 — Part I
All the rumblings about the Vikings at the moment.
Rumor: J.J. McCarthy’s trade price tag could be a 2nd- and 3rd-Round pick.
This one arrived courtesy of SKOR North‘s Phil Mackey. He proposed the idea of a McCarthy trade this week, which, of course, caused fans to spitball.
Mackey tweeted Wednesday, “If you’re selling JJ McCarthy stock, I’ll buy it. I’m still in. BUT … it’s been 18 months — 23 possible regular season or postseason games — and he has only been physically available for two of them… So here’s my question … If a team called and offered you 2nd + 3rd round picks right now for McCarthy … would you take it?”
His account has over 60,000 followers, and thus, a conversation gained legs.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said one year ago that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations, so for Minnesota to trade McCarthy flippantly would force O’Connell to go back on his word.
McCarthy’s durability is worth keeping an eye on, no question — but the silver lining is that neither injury, a meniscus tear nor a high ankle sprain, projects as a horrid long-term concern. The injuries are annoying but not overly structural.
Meanwhile, Mackey spent years on X (Twitter) and his show lobbying for the end of the Kirk Cousins era, pushing hard from 2020 through 2023 for Minnesota to pivot toward a rookie quarterback on a cheaper deal. The Vikings eventually did exactly that, drafting McCarthy — and now, ironically, Mackey’s hinting at another shake-up involving the very setup he once championed.
As O’Connell hinted, though, patience might be the smarter play. McCarthy won’t be sidelined forever — and odds are he’ll be back under center within the next couple of weeks.
Rumor: Minnesota attempted to acquire Drake Maye during the 2024 NFL Draft with a king’s ransom offer.
SI.com‘s Albert Breer applauded the New England Patriots this week for resisting the 2024 NFL Draft temptation of trading their third overall pick to the highest bidder.
Breer noted, “And here’s some credit to the Patriots for having conviction in Drake Maye in 2024. The opportunity was there for a team riddled with holes to build up capital by using the No. 3 pick as a trade chip. The Vikings offered the Patriots the 11th pick, the 23rd pick and their 2025 first-round pick (along with Day 3 pick swaps that favored Minnesota) to go up eight spots to No. 3 and get Maye.”
“The Giants offered their 2025 first-rounder to move up three spots, from No. 6 to No. 3. In the Giants scenario, the Patriots would’ve had their shot at Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix. In the Vikings scenario, they could’ve gotten McCarthy or Nix. And ultimately, they decided that Maye was better than those quarterbacks and the combination of draft capital they would’ve gotten after taking one of the other guys at No. 6 or No. 11.”
Intense Vikings fans knew that Minnesota did the diligence on Maye’s draft profile, and even the fact that it tried to swing a deal for him in April 2024.
Breer’s reporting is yet another confirmation of Minnesota’s Maye pursuit a year and a half ago.
Rumor: Blake Brandel may now be the Vikings’ starting center.
Ryan Kelly is on injured reserve due to multiple concussions, and reserve center Michael Jurgens also missed Week 5. Minnesota had no alternative but to toss Brandel in at center, and to an extent, he played well in London.
With Kelly unlikely to return anytime soon, Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips talked about Brandel this week. He spoke with reporters Tuesday and said, “The way Blake handled this game, I think we might be looking at a situation where this could be his best position of all five across the line. And getting Jurgens back into practice is just a plus for us. And we’ll see where all those guys are at throughout the week as we assess.”
“Going back to years past, Blake hasn’t played a lot of center, but they’re always working those guys because of these situations, the interior backups particularly, have to at least be swing guards. Having some center flex centers that are only centers, kind of limit you with your roster. Generally, they have to at least function at guard. So those guys get worked in throughout the offseason.”
Those sound like words aimed at a guy who might stick at his current spot. Yes, Brandel could be Minnesota’s starting center for the foreseeable future.
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