Dec 25, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) looks on against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports.
If the Minnesota Vikings lose this Sunday at the Carolina Panthers — they probably won’t — the club will hit an 0-4 record with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the way to the Twin Cities.
Not ideal.
And because you might be searching for a starter kit regarding what’s next for Minnesota at quarterback in 2024 and beyond, we’ve got you comprehensively covered.
The options are ranked in order of likelihood (No. 1 = most likely).
The Options:
Before you freak out, this option would be a free-agent passer to pair with a rookie quarterback or Jaren Hall — the ‘ol patchover plan.
Increasingly in the NFL, rookie quarterbacks are allowed to hit the field in Week 1 and learn on the fly. C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, and Anthony Richardson can tell you all about it.
Yet, there’s always a chance that Minnesota drafts someone who isn’t fully trusted as a true-blue rookie and signs someone like Mayfield or Minshew, for example, to bridge the gap.
The Vikings selected Hall in the 5th Round of April’s draft, and there’s a bijou chance he’s handed the scepter after Kirk Cousins departs. Generally speaking, Hall as QB1 is a longshot because late-round quarterbacks not named Tom Brady rarely work out. Everyone just remembers Tom Brady and assumes there are more. But outside of Brady and perhaps Brock Purdy, that’s about it from the last 20+ years.
Still, there’s a possibility Minnesota secretly loves-loves Hall and anoints him QB1 in 2024. Washington did it with Sam Howell in recent months.
As the regular season stands on September 30th, the Vikings are 0-3 with a quarterback living on the final year of his contract. That absolutely screams swan song for Cousins. Why would the Vikings run it back after six seasons with Cousins and one Wildcard playoff win?
However, in the off-chance the Vikings turn this season around, barnstorm the league, and do something wild like visit the NFC Championship, yes, Cousins could return for a seventh season.
Too, there’s a flicker of hope that Cousins re-signs for a year or two on a team-friendly deal so he doesn’t have to “start all over again” elsewhere at age 36.
The Options:
Adding a contract like Murray’s or Stafford’s could be tricky because purple money will soon shift to Justin Jefferson’s bank account, but stranger things have happened.
The Vikings haven’t hit on a quarterback in the draft since Daunte Culpepper, and even he didn’t last that long. Trading for a quarterback like Murray is a surer thing, and for a franchise that struggles tremendously at picking passers out of the draft, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could opt for a trade.
The working theory is that Murray won’t play much this year while recovering from injury, and the Cardinals could use one of their fancy draft picks on Caleb Williams, meaning Murray would get left out in the cold (hot of Phoenix?) The same logic goes for the Chicago Bears and Justin Fields.
A trade is more expensive, but perhaps the Vikings take the plunge on a veteran rather than a rookie.
At 0-3, Minnesota could end up with a record so poor that it nets a Top 5 draft pick. It would allow them to draft Caleb Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (North Carolina), and just like that, you’d be rejuvenated about Vikings football in a heartbeat.
What’s more, Adofo-Mensah could trade the farm for Williams or Maye, planting his flag with one of the two tantalizing prospects. Adofo-Mensah has talked ad nauseam about not shying away from risks, and trading “everything” for Williams or Maye would be the haymaker of risks.
Minnesota was reportedly interested in Bryce Young if he slipped down the draft board five months ago — and him only, apparently — so don’t rule out a splash trade to finally put the Vikings hat in the ring for a rookie franchise quarterback.
The Options:
Let’s face it: the Vikings probably won’t be bad enough in 2023 to fetch a Top 3 pick. Like the 2020 season, Kevin O’Connell and Co. will likely turn this season around to respectability.
The good news for that outcome? Oodles of quarterback prospects await the Vikings in next April’s draft. After the delicious Williams and Maye scouting reports, nearly a dozen other promising prospects await NFL assignment.
And if the Vikings don’t re-sign Cousins, one of those names above will probably become the Vikings QB1 for the long haul.
Ultimately, making a rookie the QB1 successfully balances the books for Justin Jefferson’s impending and mammoth extension. NFL teams typically can’t do both — pay the All-Pro WR and the $40M+ QB. That’s why the Vikings are probably on the way to making a young quarterback on a rookie deal the solution.
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.