Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
On Sept. 28, the Minnesota Vikings decided to end the J.J. McCarthy era as they traded their former first-round pick to the New York Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick. As a result, McCarthy gets a fresh start in New York and moves from QB3 to backup.
Moreover, if Jameis Winston continues to perform as he has in these last two games after the season-ending injury to Jaxson Dart, McCarthy could see the field sooner rather than later.
Regarding the Vikings, they are content with their QB situation, with Kyler Murray as the starter and Carson Wentz as the backup. Despite being an NFC North rival, Green Bay Packers‘ Micah Parsons didn’t hold back his thoughts on Minnesota’s decision to trade McCarthy.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m disappointed in the Vikings for that,” Parsons said in a Sept. 28 video on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel. “I’m so disappointed. I love it for the Giants because obviously they need a backup quarterback, but this guy is in his third year in the league. He was injured his rookie year, and Sam Darnold started. Sam took off.
“They decided not to let Sam Darnold come out of the building. The whole point was he was going to be the franchise guy. If you’re saying, “Hey, we’re not going to pay Sam Darnold, who’s a Super Bowl champion now,” what are we doing as a front office? How are we going to keep allowing this? And this is just across the league.”
Micah Parsons: NFL Teams Give Up on Young QBs Too Early
Moreover, Parsons believes that the Vikings, like other teams, are giving up on QBs way too early. Lately, some QBs, such as Sam Darnold, have been able to turn their careers around and remove any bust label that they might have after leaving the team that drafted them in the first round.
“Way too early,” Parsons added. “I would say, from this generation, we’ve seen guys develop later than earlier. We see the special guys develop earlier, but not everyone develops at the same rate. Honestly, him getting traded in his third year, and to say he’s the third quarterback behind Wentz was crazy. I think that’s crazy.
“When he’s the third quarterback, though, that says something. That’s like, ‘We really aren’t rocking with you. You’re not our guy,’ and that’s the disrespectful part, because if you’re injured your first year, you come in your second year where your line is banged up the whole year. We can say the Vikings’ offensive line probably played two full games together.”
Vikings’ Brian O’Neill on J.J. McCarthy Trade to the Giants
With the McCarthy era in Minnesota over, Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill shared his thoughts on the trade while speaking to the media on Sept. 28. Moreover, O’Neill noted that McCarthy should take a page from other QBs who have been able to turn their careers around.
“It’s the nature of the business,” O’Neill told reporters. “I was able to see him, give him a big hug today, and wish him well. We’ll obviously stay close and stay in touch, but I think the thing that should hopefully serve him well is that, in the past couple of years here, he’s had good examples of quarterbacks that have had different journeys throughout the NFL.
“You can take one look at Sam [Darnold] of all the places he’s been and how he’s been able to persevere through it and Kyler’s had a different path. Carson [Wentz’s] had a different path. He’s seen a lot of different examples of it’s not always linear, and I know he’s made the right stuff. I have no doubt he’s going to have a bright future in the league, and I’m going to miss him as one of the guys, but that’s the nature of the beast that we live in.”