The Vikings’ 4 Realistic Options at QB in 2024
The Minnesota Vikings will play their next regular season game in eight months, so the franchise has ample time to prepare for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s third act.
Minnesota finished 2023 with a 7-10 record after a plethora of injuries and turnovers.
The Vikings’ 4 Realistic Options at QB in 2024
Foremost, determining the QB1 is paramount, and the choice will dominate all things Vikings football for the next 1-3 months. So, as a starter kit, these are the team’s four quarterback options for 2024.
4. Trade for a Veteran
The longest of longshots regarding these scenarios, the Vikings could theoretically swing a trade for a player like Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals), Zach Wilson (New York Jets), or Trey Lance (Dallas Cowboys).
The Cardinals’ brass recently hinted that Murray isn’t for sale and that the veteran passer will remain the QB1 despite Arizona’s possession of the 4th overall pick. But general managers and coaches have bent the truth before, and if Murray became for sale, perhaps the Vikings would inquire.
Don’t count on a trade for a quarterback, but the possibility exists.
3. Kirk Cousins Only
Here, the Vikings would say no thanks to using his 1st- or 2nd-Round draft capital and just keep Cousins as QB1 with no contingency plan for the future. Cousins will be 36 in August and is recovering from a torn Achilles. It wouldn’t be weird one iota if he appeared diminished upon his return.
This route, however, ignores that possibility. The Vikings would re-sign Cousins for 1-3 years and worry about the future at quarterback next offseason.
Generally speaking, this scenario is unlikely, but always remember that the current coaching staff adores Cousins.
2. A Rookie Only (No Cousins)
An undefined percentage of the Vikings’ fan base is ready for this option, and truth be told, it could be the wisest choice.
Minnesota could stay put and draft a quarterback like Michael Penix Jr. or J.J. McCarthy with the 11th pick, or it could trade up the board for Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels if a bartering team allows it. Depending on the outcome of Justin Jefferson’s upcoming extension, the Vikings will have about four years to pair him, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Christian Darrisaw together with a rookie quarterback. Assuming the unknown young quarterback is any good, he’ll get a fat contract soon after Addison’s expires.
Why not rip off the Band-Aid and let the hypothetical rookie quarterback grow and mature now — instead of two years from now when Jefferson-Addison-Hockenson-Darrisaw could come to an end?
That would be the rationale here, anyway: saying goodbye to Cousins and starting life with a rookie.
1. Cousins and a Rookie
Probably the most likely route, the Vikings can re-up with Cousins for a year or two and still draft a rookie quarterback. This feels like the safest method and one that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might prefer. It blends both worlds.
Cousins was still very productive in 2023 before the Achilles injury — he was on pace for 5,000 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions — so Minnesota might enjoy letting him have another crack at the Vikings’ offense with a rookie waiting in the wings, not unlike Jordan Love from 2020 to 2022.
This measure will probably be the one when all is said and done.
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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.
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