Viking Rumor Buzz: J.J. McCarthy to ARI, Dillon Bell, QB Battle Timeline

The slow part of the Minnesota Vikings‘ calendar is upon us, as the team concluded minicamp and will begin training camp at the end of July. In the meantime, the rumor mill is alive and well. The NFL machine constantly keeps theories alive.

Rumor: J.J. McCarthy may be a trade candidate for the Cardinals.

Fansided‘s Wynston Wilcox claimed last week that Minnesota should or could trade McCarthy to Arizona.

He opined, “The writing is on the wall; Kyler Murray is the new quarterback in town, and the Minnesota Vikings even brought Carson Wentz back too. That should tell J.J. McCarthy everything he needs to know about his job security in Minnesota.”

“The only good thing about McCarthy staying in Minnesota for now is that both Murray and Wentz are injury-prone; outside of that, he’s as good as traded already. I feel like only the New York Jets would be foolish enough to take a crazy gamble on a quarterback like McCarthy, but the Cardinals also make sense for a couple of reasons.”

McCarthy ended 2025 on an uptick, ranking as the league’s sixth-best passer per EPA+CPOE from Week 14 to Week 18.

Wilcox continued, “For one, if Jacoby Brissett doesn’t get his contract situation resolved, Arizona could use this as an opportunity to find another young passer to try and develop. The Cardinals have a lot of holes to patch on this team, and wasting a high pick on a quarterback is a risk that isn’t necessarily worth it in my opinion. That’s why they ultimately get away with a fifth-round and seventh-round pick here.”

“Because of Murray and Wentz’s injury history, I could see the Vikings waiting to trade McCarthy. That said, if he survives Week 1, his value could skyrocket if a team desperately needs a quarterback good enough to start in the interim.”

The Cardinals might need a youthful quarterback option, but in all likelihood, Minnesota isn’t selling.

Rumor: Dillon Bell is a breakout option for Vikings training camp.

ESPN found one surprise player from every franchise’s minicamp, with Bell getting the honor in Minnesota.

Kevin Seifert explained, “It can be difficult to gauge receiver skill sets in spring practices, when NFL rules prohibit physical coverage techniques. But it was eye-opening to see Bell — an undrafted rookie from Georgia — working extensively with the second team during drills.”

“That placement spoke volumes about his initial impression with Vikings coaches, who in essence were putting him in the (early) mix to be the No. 4 receiver behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings.”

For the past two months, Vikings fans have been unusually optimistic about Bell, and now there’s evidence to support the summer buzz.

The real challenge, however, is yet to come. Bell must sustain his minicamp momentum through training camp and the preseason. That’s when early summer praise either materializes into a genuine roster opportunity or dissipates into offseason chatter. The NFL is full of stories — particularly in June — about under-the-radar players who shine before pads come on. Yet, by July and August, many of these players fade from relevance.

Bell’s true evaluation begins in Eagan, followed by three preseason games. The final decision on his roster spot will come on cutdown day in August.

It’s the nature of summer standouts: a player can perform exceptionally well in the preseason and still not secure a spot on the 53-man roster. Vikings fans witnessed this last year with outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy, who generated significant summer excitement but ultimately didn’t make an impact in the regular season.

Stay tuned on Bell. The Vikings could use a sweet gadget wideout.

Rumor: Former Viking Jeremiah Sirles believes the team will install a QB1 by August 9th.

Sirles often appears on SKOR North’s Purple Daily program, and he served up the opinion this week, “I don’t think anyone right now is going, ‘Yeah, I hate this competition.’ I think people are way fine with this competition. But if it goes past the night scrimmage on whatever day, that’s usually like a week, two weeks into camp — if that goes past the night scrimmage without declaring a starter, then I’m gonna start to worry a little bit.”

“It’s more as an offensive lineman going, ‘How long are we gonna let this go before declaring a starter? Week 1 is not that far away, and we need to have as much time on task with QB1 as possible.”

Most quarterback battles get a verdict from the head coach around August 18-20, at least as of late, so the Vikings would evidently bump up the timeline a bit if Sirles is correct.

Murray remains the heavy favorite to win the competition, according to oddsmakers.