The Minnesota Vikings did a lot this offseason. But there's one thing that they haven't done yet and that's sign J.J. McCarthy to his rookie deal. It feels strange that this hasn't happened yet.
Caleb Williams signed his on Tuesday, Jayden Daniels signed his in June, Drake Maye signed his in May, Michael Penix signed his in June and Bo Nix signed his in May. Why hasn't McCarthy signed his yet? What is going on? Well, we might have an answer to what's happening here.
McCarthy's agent Brian Ayrualt might be the key here. He reps Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson. When the Jets were trying to sign Wilson to his rookie deal back in 2021, the process got dragged out so long that the deal didn't get done until July 29th. Two days after the Jets had started training camp.
Another client that Ayrault reps is Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson. He didn't sign his rookie deal until July 22nd. Just 24 hours before he was expected to report to training camp.
There's two pretty good examples of what's going on here, here's another big one. Ayrault is a guy that's going to fight for every penny for his client. There's some rumors out there that McCarthy and Ayrault are looking for the full signing bonus right away. While that's unverified at this time, it is worth noting that this is the same thing that Wilson was looking to get from the Jets and Ayrault got it for him.
So when this deal does happen, look for McCarthy to probably get the same thing, even though Caleb Williams, who went first in this years draft, isn't getting his up front.
McCarthy is expected to report with the rest of the rookies on July 21st. So look for the deal to happen within the next few days.
