The Indianapolis Colts don't need the Minnesota Vikings' problems. Yet, in a recent Bleacher Report article about how teams should be interested in acquiring certain quarterbacks, Indy is linked to Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy. No offense to B/R, but the logic isn't sound.
The key reason is that the Colts already have their own version of McCarthy in the person of Anthony Richardson. While McCarthy's Michigan Wolverines team in college was far more successful than Richardson's Florida Gators, both quarterbacks were chosen in the first round of their respective drafts because of their arm strength and ability to run.
So far, neither QB has transitioned well to the NFL, and there is no reason to believe they will ever work out. Plus, McCarthy has almost certainly been pushed ot QB2 with the Vikings, as the team acquired Kyler Murray this offseason. Richardson has been pushed to QB2 (at best) with Indianapolis after the team acquired Daniel Jones last offseason.
Indianapolis Colts should have zero interest in acquiring the Minnesota Vikings' J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy and Richardson are peas of the same pod, and having neither on the roster is probably Indy's best option. The Vikings can do what they want, of course, but that's of little concern to Colts fans.
Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport also writes, "McCarthy doesn't project as a long-term NFL starter. But there are some teams (the Colts and Chargers perhaps) that could use an upgrade at QB2 or a short-term fill-in."
That's a stretch. First of all, McCarthy doesn't necessarily offer Indy an upgrade at QB2. Besides Richardson, Indianapolis also has Riley Leonard. Leonard showed in Week 18 against the Houston Texans last season that he has a strong arm and can move well, too. McCarthy might not be better than either Richardson or Leonard.
Tellingly, Davenport also has Anthony Richardson as part of his article and says, "If another team can turn (Richardson) around, it would be huge for both Richardson and that franchise—because recent reporting suggests the Colts may not even view him as their primary backup anymore."
Exactly. The Indianapolis Colts don't need J.J. McCarthy because they already have their version, and their version, Richardson, might not even be the immediate backup. He shouldn't be. Leonard should, especially as Leonard has three years left on his rookie deal and Richardson has one and has requested to be traded.
Leonard is also cheaper than McCarthy, who has two years left on his rookie contract, with cap hits of nearly $6 million and nearly $7 million, respectively, in the next two seasons. Leonard's cap hit never exceeds $1.3 million. Adding McCarthy creates a depth chart issue involving Leonard and costs more money.
Like Anthony Richardson, McCarthy also hasn't been able to stay healthy for long stretches of time. He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, and in 2025 he had a hairline fracture in his throwing hand, an ankle sprain, and a concussion at various points.
When he did play, he threw 11 touchdowns but had 12 interceptions, extremely close to Richardson's career numbers of 11 and 13, respectively. McCarthy also completed just 57.6 percent of his passes.
All of this could just be Bleacher Report speculating to be speculating, but if the possibility of the Colts acquiring J.J. McCarthy ever becomes reality, the team should just say no. They already have their own McCarthy, and he's not very good, either.
Add us as a preferred source on Google