New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) warms up at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Nfl Ny Jets Vs Jacksonville Jaguars Jaguars At Jets. © Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK.
Kirk Cousins is only under contract for one more season, and the team might trade for a young quarterback sometime between now and November 2nd.
That’s the working theory from SI.com this week, floated by NFL writer Conor Orr.
Minnesota also has veteran Nick Mullens and rookie Jaren Hall on the roster, but it is unclear if either man will assume QB1 duties if Cousins indeed departs in free agency next March.
Orr had a few examples in mind for the Vikings grand quarterback plan, including Zach Wilson of the New York Jets, Mac Jones of the New England Patriots, or San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Trey Lance.
He wrote in his article Wednesday titled 100 Bold Predictions for the 2023 NFL Season, “The Vikings will make a relatively low-cost and high-upside maneuver to secure their quarterback for 2024 ahead of the market.”
The move would actually be on-brand for Adofo-Mensah, who swung trades during his first season as boss for ‘high-upside’ players like Jalen Reagor, Ross Blacklock, and T.J. Hockenson.
“Trey Lance? Zach Wilson? Mac Jones? The Vikings are not going to catch as many good-luck heaters as they did in winning 13 games a year ago. They will be middling and will also have to confront life after a very good quarterback who commands a fully guaranteed salary each season,” Orr added.
Aaron Rodgers took Wilson’s job in New York, and it’s even a little bit odd that the BYU alumnus is still on the Jets roster. He was theorized as the team’s big savior two years ago, but by the end of the 2022 season, Wilson had become the butt of jokes, most self-inflicted. Still, Wilson is 23 years old, a former 1st-Rounder, and is younger than several 2023 rookie quarterbacks.
Perhaps the blandest of Orr’s three options, Jones might not last long in New England. The Athletic reported in March that Jones and the Patriots, mainly head coach Bill Belichick, had a “rift” that may not be salvageable. On the football side, Jones is hot and cold as a passer and assuredly lit up the Vikings in a loss on Thanksgiving night last year. But as the Vikings examine life after Cousins, getting in bed with a blasé pocket-passer might not flip the script enough.
Finally, Lance has been the object of some fans and media entities’ desires for months. The 49ers have a hodgepodge of possible QB1s, including Lance, Sam Darnold, and the upstart Brock Purdy. In theory, if San Francisco leaned fully into Purdy, Lance could be expendable, and the Minnesota native could find his way to the Vikings via trade. His trade value is at an all-time low.
Otherwise, the Vikings options are to extend Cousins into his age-36 season, 2024. Or — do it the old-fashioned way by selecting a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Left up to Orr, though, the forecast is a Wilson, Jones, or Lance.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.