Vikings Backup QB Saga Narrows to 4 Options
The Minnesota Vikings will elevate 22-year-old quarterback J.J. McCarthy to QB1 this season after selecting the young passer from the University of Michigan one year ago.
Vikings Backup QB Saga Narrows to 4 Options
Most believe Minnesota should employ an experienced, dependable veteran behind McCarthy during his first season as a starter, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah just hasn’t found one yet.
And last Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “Reunion: the Cleveland Browns and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco reached agreement today on a one-year, $4 million deal worth up to $13 million with incentives, his agency JL Sports told ESPN. Flacco now will return to Cleveland, where he won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2023. Flacco also spoke with the Steelers and Vikings but opted to spend his 18th NFL season with the Browns.”
That wiped Flacco off free agency’s big board, and Drew Lock signed with the Seattle Seahawks shortly after.
So, the Vikings are down to these options.
1. Carson Wentz
The former second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft has this playing resume through nine seasons:
- Philadelphia Eagles (2016–2020)
- Indianapolis Colts (2021)
- Washington Commanders (2022)
- Los Angeles Rams (2023)
- Kansas City Chiefs (2024)
The Chiefs trusted him in 2024 to back up the best quarterback in the business, and in theory, if that’s good enough for Kansas City, it should do the trick in Minnesota.
Wentz began his career like gangbusters through four seasons but curiously fell off around 2020, paving the way for Jalen Hurts to rise, culminating in a Super Bowl triumph two months ago.
With any luck, Wentz could become a Viking after the draft, when signing him won’t affect Minnesota’s 2026 compensatory draft pick formula.
2. Ryan Tannehill
Unlike Wentz, Tannehill could be signed this very moment and not screw up the aforementioned compensatory pick formula.
And despite a few recent rumors about the Vikings having dialogue with Tannehill’s representation, no deal has come to fruition. Tannehill actually didn’t play anywhere last season, so he should have fresh legs for his next team, assuming he doesn’t retire.
Most fans would wholeheartedly agree that Tannehill as a Viking behind McCarthy would make sense, but again, why hasn’t the deal been signed yet? He must not be that much of a priority.
Tannehill will turn 37 this summer.
3. A Trade
As more time elapses, the more likely a Vikings trade becomes the preferred strategy.
If not Wentz as a free-agent signing after the draft, Minnesota could wheel and deal for a veteran quarterback currently employed by another team.
This assortment seems to include three names through mid-April:
- Sam Howell
- Will Levis
- Aidan O’Connell
With this option, Adofo-Mensah would trade a late-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders, Tennessee Titans, or Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.
The Seahawks, Howell’s current employer, just signed Drew Lock last weekend. Howell is now expendable. The Titans are 10 days away from making Miami’s Cam Ward their quarterback of the future, putting Levis on a ticking clock of borrowed time. And Aidan O’Connell could be the odd man out if Las Vegas selects a mid-round passer like Quinn Ewers in the draft to sit behind Geno Smith indefinitely.
4. “Only” Brett Rypien
The other option — perhaps the most unlikely — is just nothing at all.
Brett Rypien lives on the depth chart right now, and Minnesota leaders have heaped praise on Rypien for most of the offseason. While his name doesn’t carry the pizzazz of a Wentz or Tannehill, perhaps the Vikings’ coaching staff just cherishes his QB2 skill set and plans to groom him for the position.
It would explain why the team has done absolutely nothing to improve the QB2 spot.
Other: Teddy Bridgewater as a HS Coach?
This brief analysis operates under the pretense that Teddy Bridgewater will return to his Florida high school to coach once again. Most high school coaches don’t coach for one year at a program and then resign.
In theory, if Bridgewater did not return to coach high school football, he’d be a QB2 option for Minnesota as well. He’s four years younger than Tannehill.
Otherwise, Bridgewater can return to his high school job, sign with the Lions late next season, and make that his annual routine — a sweet setup.
Vikings’ Top Trade Bait Player Revealed
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