Most Overlooked Loser From Vikings' J.J. McCarthy Trade

One Vikings player will likely be sadder than others to see J.J. McCarthy head to the Giants. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Most Overlooked Loser From Vikings' J.J. McCarthy Trade

Originally posted on Minnesota Vikings on SI
By Adam Carlson | Last updated Oct 1, 2026 9:56 AM ET

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The Vikings traded quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the Giants on Monday, finally ending an era in Minnesota. That said, things won't be much different for the Purple and Gold moving forward, minus the lack of off-field distractions. Since McCarthy was the QB3, it was a long shot that he'd play an offensive snap during the 2026 NFL season, barring an injury to those ahead of him on the depth chart.

Even if we wouldn't have seen much of the on-field version of McCarthy this year, there was a locker room full of players who were rooting for the young quarterback to succeed. One of those individuals is Vikings rookie fullback Max Bredeson.

Max Bredeson didn't just lose a teammate when the Vikings traded J.J. McCarthy—he lost a friend

After all, Bredeson and McCarthy were teammates at the University of Michigan and won a National Championship together before becoming teammates in Minnesota. The two got to know each other well over the years, and seeing "Nine" traded for a fifth-round draft pick couldn't have felt good for his former Wolverines teammate.

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It's hard to measure the bonds that are created in a sport like football. The sport brought McCarthy and Bredeson together, and it seemed like fate when they both ended up in Minnesota within a few years of each other, judging by the rookie FB's post-draft comments (h/t Vikings).

"We came (to Michigan) in the same recruiting class. It's actually crazy, we threw with the same quarterback coach in high school. (J.J.) turned out to be a better quarterback than I am, fortunately. But known him for a while. Best friends through playing at Michigan, the great wins we got to have together. Just grew close to (him) through all that.Max Bredeson on J.J. McCarthy

Those bonds can not only strengthen the chemistry between two players, but they can also send a ripple effect through a locker room. The history McCarthy and Bredeson share gave hope that the future would hold success as well.

Bredeson revealed that McCarthy was urging Minnesota to select Bredeson ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft (h/t Vikes Verified). The idea of reuniting with his college tight end/fullback made a lot of sense, considering the retirement of former fullback C.J. Ham.

#Michigan FB Max Bredeson is awfully fond of the idea of reuniting with JJ McCarthy - said that JJ is “pushing for it” pic.twitter.com/OvT2ekbZMD
— Vikes\/erified (@VikesVV) February 27, 2026

The Vikings drafted Bredeson in the fifth round to help a struggling offense. It seemed like the duo of him and McCarthy would play a role in the franchise's future, but any hope of that ended with the quarterback's trade to the Giants.

In the meantime, Bredeson is still carving out a role for himself. The 23-year-old fullback has played 51 offensive snaps and 33 special teams snaps in three games, registering a solo tackle. He's also been used as a blocker but hasn't excelled in that regard, playing to 53.6 run-block and 43.7 pass-block grades on Pro Football Focus.

It will be interesting to see how the Vikings' locker room reacts to McCarthy's trade. Time will tell whether those bonds are strong enough to withstand the trade or whether this deal will negatively impact Bredeson and the rest of the team.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Vikings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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