J.J. McCarthy injury opens door for 49ers to engineer creative trade with Vikings

With J.J. McCarthy out for the season, the 49ers could explore trading Josh Dobbs back to the Vikings to alleviate their quarterback situation.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings just suffered a horrible break, news arriving that the rookie No. 10 overall NFL Draft pick is going to be out for the season after undergoing surgery on his knee.

Brutal. There's no other way to describe it.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers have a duo of backup quarterbacks, both of whom are vying to seize the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Brock Purdy.

There's Brandon Allen. And then there's Joshua Dobbs.

Both quarterbacks had their plus moments in the Niners' exhibition opener last weekend against the Tennessee Titans. But Allen, who spent last season as San Francisco's QB3 behind Purdy and now-Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, likely has the edge over Dobbs simply because of his advanced knowledge and experience in the 49ers offense.

See where we're going with this?

49ers should explore trading Josh Dobbs to Vikings after J.J. McCarthy news

Hat tip to Levin T. Black for suggesting this idea, but let's dive deeper.

Darnold is now poised to start for Minnesota this season, including a Week 2 regular-season showdown against his former employer. While he might have helped resuscitate his career during his lone year in the Bay Area, there's no logical way one would assume he salvages the Vikings' upcoming 2024 campaign.

The Niners are fully aware of this. They rostered Darnold last year and didn't bother re-signing him during the offseason.

Meanwhile, Dobbs was a free-agent priority after spending the latter half of 2023 in Minnesota where he posted a 2-2 record over five games played, passed for 895 yards with five touchdowns against five interceptions, boasting a 76.4 passer rating in the process.

Dobbs is familiar with head coach Kevin O'Connell's system and has a (small) chemistry with the Vikings' top weapons, including superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

That might help.

Granted, any trade involving Dobbs going to the Vikings would involve nothing more than an extreme late-round draft pick, perhaps even a pick swap as Black suggested.

But, executing a move would alleviate the small-but-noticeable logjam San Francisco has at the position, and it would afford the 49ers an opportunity to keep promising undrafted rookie quarterback Tanner Mordecai on the 53-man roster without having to subject him to waivers and/or being plucked off the practice squad.

Will such a deal go down? Probably not. Minnesota, too, didn't bother re-signing Dobbs after his brief stay there.

It's fun to think about, though.

Read more from Niner Noise