Vikings Connected to Another Wacky QB Rumor
Dustin Baker
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Earlier this week, it was Kyler Murray. A mock draft from former general manager Mike Tannenbaum suggested the Minnesota Vikings might trade for the Arizona Cardinal during the draft.
Vikings Connected to Another Wacky QB Rumor
Most yawned at the proposition, but the quarterback rumors didn’t end there. The next one involves Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, a free-agent-to-be next March.
For starters, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Tuesday, “The Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott have a mutual understanding of his contract situation, sources say, with no offers from Dallas despite him being in a contract year. Owner Jerry Jones said, ‘We are where we are, locked and loaded for this year.’ No indication a deal is coming.”
The tweet hinted that Prescott could be on a Kirk Cousins-like path — an ultra-productive quarterback who will play out the final year of his contract and presumably hit the open market if no extension is finalized.
Naturally, folks began to wonder where Prescott could land next offseason, and because the Vikings don’t have a quarterback on the roster outside of Sam Darnold or Nick Mullens who could start at the moment, Minnesota made the cut on one man’s list.
Joe Lombardo from Gridiron Heroics began the Vikings-Prescott theories and wrote, “The Vikings could go from losing Kirk Cousins in 2024 to shopping at the top of the quarterback market and landing Dak Prescott in 2025. Certainly, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is positioning the Vikings to trade up for a quarterback in this year’s draft by acquiring an additional first-round pick from the Houston Texans. But, if Minnesota can’t move up they’ll need to find a long-term solution in 2025.”
He also smushed Prescott together with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, and Seattle Seahawks for possible destinations in 2025.
“If the Vikings can re-sign All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, and with Jordan Addison on the opposite side of the field, Minnesota has the kind of receiving duo in place to vault into the playoff conversation with Prescott behind center. Thanks to having more than $104 million in projected cap space for 2025, Minnesota could be positioned to make the strongest offer to Prescott, if they don’t walk away from this year’s draft with their franchise quarterback in the fold,” Lombardo concluded.
Minnesota is expected to conduct a trade sometime between now and April 25th, the first night of the 2024 NFL Draft, that would net the purple team a quarterback of the future. Oddsmakers’ frontrunners for the job are J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), Drake Maye (North Carolina), and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington).
Selecting one of those men in four weeks would completely nullify any Vikings participation in the would-be Prescott sweepstakes.
Otherwise, if Minnesota does not draft a quarterback, the franchise would roll with Sam Darnold in 2024, hope for the best, and bide their time for Prescott’s free agency, per the Lombardo plan.
Prescott will turn 31 in July.
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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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