A 3rd Vikings QB Is on the Way
They didn’t forget about it.
A 3rd Vikings QB Is on the Way
Some Minnesota Vikings fans have wondered for six weeks when the purple team will sign a third quarterback, showcasing only J.J. McCarthy and Brett Rypien this offseason.
And after free agents like Jameis Winston, Gardner Minshew, Joe Flacco, and Drew Lock have signed elsewhere — not with the Vikings — folks have freaked out about it, insinuating that Minnesota has forgotten about the QB2 job or has handled the process carelessly.
But thanks to Kevin O’Connell, a man now well-known nationwide as a foremost “quarterback whisperer,” onlookers learned Monday that a third quarterback is indeed on the way.
Now, it’s just a matter of who and from where.
Kevin O’Connell on Adding a 3rd Quarterback
O’Connell spoke with reporters at a pre-draft press conference on Monday, and in short order, he announced that a third quarterback would soon join his depth chart. It’s not all that mysterious.
“We’ve been patient and really evaluated a lot of different ways we could potentially do that. There’s potential trades and free agency and still the draft. We’re going through a process of just figuring out who is the player that we want to solidify that room with knowing that J.J. and Brett are here working, starting today, and eventually we’ll complete that room and still have a competitive situation in there, however you look at it,” O’Connell said.
He also said that he and his boss, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, have a “pretty detailed plan” regarding signing another quarterback.
The key phrase from O’Connell? Eventually complete that room.
It’s coming.
The Trade Options
If Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell prefer the trade route, approximately three options exist, at least from a perspective that would earn fans’ approval.
These players could be traded during the draft or sometime after:
- Sam Howell
- Will Levis
- Aidan O’Connell
Per Kevin O’Connell’s typical “whisperer” tactics, Howell, Levis, or Aidan O’Connell would be approved by most.
Free Agent QBs
This list was much larger one month ago, rest assured. However, if the trade route doesn’t materialize — the Vikings would have to spend a late-round draft pick in a trade, and they’re already short on draft picks — these free agents could make sense as QB2 in 2025:
- C.J. Beathard
- Tyler Huntley
- Desmond Ridder
- Ryan Tannehill
- Carson Wentz
Every player not named Tannehill on the list can be signed after the draft and not cancel a Vikings’ compensatory draft pick in 2026. Tannehill can be added at any time because he didn’t play football last year.
The Case for Carson Wentz
Brevan Bane of PurplePTSD.com, VikingsTerritory‘s partner website, recently made the case for Wentz, who is probably fans’ primary target in April.
“In a scenario where the Vikings don’t need to give up any draft capital and can just sign a guy on a cheap deal to come in and provide support for McCarthy, Wentz seems like a pretty good Vikings QB option, given his similarities to Sam Darnold and what KOC was able to do with that type of QB with their first-round pedigree that has, to this point, not lived up to the hype around halfway into their playing careers,” Bane wrote.
“You’re not bringing in this guy to be the starter; you’re bringing him in to backup J.J. McCarthy and be your ‘break glass in case of emergency’ option. Carson Wentz arguably provides the most upside of the currently unattached quarterbacks on the market and is a very small risk for the Vikings at this point in the game.”
Wentz last supported Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City in 2024.
Bane added, “The Aaron Rodgers drama is seemingly over, and as quarterbacks fall off the board of options, it seems as if the Vikings are down to a pool of Carson Wentz, Ryan Tannehill, and some other quarterbacks that have become more expendable after offseason moves like the Seahawks’ Sam Howell.“
Drafting a Quarterback Is a Little Weird
O’Connell mentioned drafting a quarterback, which is weird for two reasons:
- Minnesota has just four picks this week; do they really want to use one on a quarterback?
- Would a rookie passer provide veteran experience behind McCarthy? Nope.
Don’t hold your breath on a rookie signal-caller as the fix.
A Handshake Agreement in Place?
There’s also an element of a handshake agreement already in place.
For example, perhaps Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell have already chatted with Carson Wentz or Mike White, telling either man, “You will be our guy after the draft when we don’t have to ruin our draft pick formula next year.”
Minnesota is one of the few teams — perhaps the only — without a proven QB2 right now. Other teams may not be banging down Wentz’s door with a free agent deal.
In that vein, maybe Wentz and Minnesota’s brass are in cahoots.
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