Now that the Vikings Have Their QB of the Future, Another QB Move Is Likely to Follow
The Minnesota Vikings made J.J. McCarthy their highest drafted quarterback in franchise history last weekend.
With their QB of the future now being in place, the Vikings now must face the reality of their current QB room: one of the players will have to go by the time the 2024 season rolls around. The question is: which quarterback is out?
Which Vikings QB Is Out?
Minnesota currently has four quarterbacks on their roster: Sam Darnold, Jaren Hall, McCarthy, and Nick Mullens. Darnold hasn’t had the strongest start to his career since being drafted by the New York Jets with the third overall pick in 2018. He’s thrown for 12,064 yards, 63 touchdowns, and 56 interceptions over his first 66 career games at the NFL level.
However, the Vikings just brought him in during free agency on a one-year/$10 million contract that has $8.75 million in guarantees. Translation: he won’t be going anywhere this season.
That brings it down to two options in either veteran journeyman Nick Mullens or 2023 fifth-round pick Jaren Hall. It also seems unlikely that the Vikings would give up on Hall at this point in his career. He may have disappointed as a starter in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, but he did show some promise during his rookie year.
That would leave us with Mullens as the obvious candidate to be moved at some point during the offseason. For one, the Vikings could save $2 million against the salary cap by just cutting him. They could also pick up another Day 3 pick next spring by trading him and add to their 2025 arsenal that currently holds just three selections in next year’s draft.
Throughout that second half of the 2023 season, Mullens was Minnesota’s “break glass in case of emergency” option. When Josh Dobbs led the Vikings offense to precisely zero points through three and a half quarters against the Las Vegas Raiders, it was Mullens who stepped in to lead Minnesota to a win. When Hall was in way over his head against the Green Bay Packers, Mullens was the guy to step in and clean up the mess as best he could.
Mullens is capable of serving that backup QB role on another team, but ultimately, it doesn’t quite feel like he has a fit in Minnesota’s offense, particularly if the Vikings are going to commit towards continuing the development of Hall moving forward.
Regardless, it’s almost certain that the Vikings won’t go into 2024 with four quarterbacks on their roster. Minnesota will make some sort of move at the position in the coming months now that McCarthy is in the fold for at least the next few years.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Over the Cap.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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