Vikings Named Possible Landing Spot for Speedy QB
The Minnesota Vikings might need a new QB2 this offseason, with most NFL pundits and Vikings fans expecting Sam Darnold to join a new team via free agency or franchise tag-and-trade.
Vikings Named Possible Landing Spot for Speedy QB
The purple team drafted signal-caller J.J. McCarthy last April as its quarterback solution of the future, and all signs point to McCarthy as the QB1 next season.
And according to Bleacher Report, speedy Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields could make a lot of sense for Minnesota as a backup in 2025.
“Maybe Fields will never be a classically elite quarterback, but in the right environment he could absolutely work as a game-changing offensive weapon on a consistent basis. Imagine him in a special role with the Vikings, for example?” BR’s Brad Gagnon wrote last week.
The Vikings also have Daniel Jones and Nick Mullens in their roster orbit as QB2 options in 2025, although both are scheduled to hit free agency in March.
“There were signs. Not enough of ’em for him to hold off Russell Wilson during a resurgent season for the veteran future Hall of Famer, but Justin Fields flashed his incredibly deep and unique athletic ability during a stronger-than-many-expected early-2024 run with the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Gagnon added about Fields’ upcoming free agency. “The 2021 No. 11 overall pick threw just one interception on 161 attempts and posted a career-best passer rating of 93.3 while helping the Steelers win four of the six games he started.”
The Chicago Bears chose Fields 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, where he started 38 games in three seasons. However, when Chicago produced a miserable season in 2023 with Fields at the helm, it became eligible for the draft’s first overall pick and later selected Caleb Williams from USC. Fields became the odd man out and landed in Pittsburgh via trade.
Ironically, the Vikings actually tried to trade up the draftboard for Fields in 2021. Thanks to a wild interview from former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer last August, Spielman, indeed, sought a trade for Fields.
“The first round, Rick tried to trade up for Justin Fields, who hasn’t done anything. When he picked Mond, I walked out of the room. I left the building,” Zimmer told Star Tribune in an explosive, grudge-filled sitdown.
Interestingly and unrelated to Spielman or Zimmer, the Vikings also poked around the Justin Fields Sweepstakes last offseason. Chicago traded Fields to Pittsburgh, but not before chatting with a few teams, including the Vikings.
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, in a report from May, the Vikings did diligence in exploring the Fields trade sweepstakes, which resulted in Fields to Pittsburgh for a conditional 6th-Round draft pick. “Chicago, intending to move the three-year starter as it prepared to select a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, was willing to give Fields some say in his next destination. The Steelers were one of four teams on Fields’ radar prior to the start of free agency, along with the Vikings, Raiders and Falcons, a source familiar with Fields’ thinking said,” Pryor wrote.
So, BR named Fields as a viable QB2 option, at least on paper, plus Minnesota explored his free agency one year ago.
Perhaps Fields is a real QB2 candidate for the 2025 Vikings.
He’ll turn 26 in March.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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