Vikings Head Coach Clears the Air on QB Trade Talks
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in the last few days that the Minnesota Vikings could be players in the NFL trade market early this week for an extra quarterback, but that theory may be incorrect.
Kevin O’Connell addressed an elephant in the room on Monday — whether the Minnesota Vikings need an extra quarterback at the NFL’s trade deadline.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said otherwise on Monday, a day after his football team downed the Detroit Lions for the first time in three years.
O’Connell is pretty content with his current quarterback setup.
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell Dials Back QB Trade Theories
Minnesota will probably stay put.
O’Connell “Pretty Comfortable” with this QB Room
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday — so a day away. Schefter mentioned Minnesota as a team that could be quarterback shopping, but O’Connell seemed to disagree on Monday.
“To have that third guy, John Wolford, in there with Josh and Jordan, I feel pretty comfortable with that room right now,” he told reporters.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert added, “Asked if he is interested in adding a veteran QB at the trade deadline, Kevin O’Connell says he’s feeling pretty comfortable with the QB group right now. Talked extensively about John Wolford, signed to the practice squad last week. Said they hope to get him onto the 53.”
That does not sound like a team that will be banging at the door of another general manager, looking for a veteran passer like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins. It sounds like a team content with their own.
J.J. McCarthy Balled Out in Week 9
The Vikings’ 22-year-old passer delivered on Sunday. He accounted for 3 touchdowns — 2 via air and one on the ground — and produced clutch moments when his team needed him the most.
And that was after seven weeks of adversity, where some fans had even called McCarthy a “bust” because he had a single bad game in Week 2. McCarthy took five games to recover from a high ankle sprain, but when he returned to the lineup, the man did not disappoint.
Per EPA+CPOE, McCarthy produced a better game in Week 9 than quarterback counterparts Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix, and Daniel Jones, to name a few.
Max Brosmer as the “For Real” Backup Now
The broader implication of O’Connell’s comments? Max Brosmer as the QB2.
Carson Wentz quarterbacked the Vikings for five games before succumbing to a torn labrum and subsequent surgery. In his final outing, a Week 8 blowout at Los Angeles, O’Connell refused to insert Brosmer until the waning moments of garbage time.
O’Connell later told reporters that he didn’t want to expose Brosmer to the brutality of the Chargers’ defense, questioning whether an onslaught of sacks and pressures could rattle Brosmer’s confidence.
Now, though, those fears must be alleviated.
If something happened to McCarthy this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, Brosmer would enter the game and let the chips fall. There’s no one else with Wolford on the practice squad.
Free Agency Contingency Plans?
Let’s pretend McCarthy fell injured again, Brosmer stunk, and Wolford didn’t move the needle. If O’Connell’s hints are correct, the team would be forced to consult a slim free-agent quarterback market or steal a passer from another team’s practice squad.
These passers are available on the open market:
- Jeff Driskel
- Taylor Heinicke
- Desmond Ridder
- Ryan Tannehill
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson
- Kyle Trask
And from other franchises’ practice squads that Minnesota could grab without a trade:
- Hendon Hooker
- Kyle McCord
- Brett Rypien
- Clayton Tune
- Bailey Zappe
Yes, it would be slim pickings if Minnesota had to resort to a non-McCarthy, Brosmer, or Wolford option.
O’Connell on Wolford
O’Connell also noted on Wolford, “I think with bringing John in, it was something where we wanted to make sure we had a third guy in the room, a guy I know very well.”
“He immediately picked up where I remember being with John — super smart, has a pretty high level of quickness and athleticism, quick twitch for a release and kind of a tight window thrower kind of guy that can activate a lot of different throw types. And he’s got experience understanding how our pass offense works and how we want to operate. So as he said, he’s the old man in the room now, and I think that’s important for two young guys.”
O’Connell and Wolford worked together for the 2020 and 2021 Los Angeles Rams. He might be the last line of defense the rest of the way at quarterback.
Minnesota’s next game is six days away, a contest at home against the Ravens that sportsbooks expect it to lose by three or four points.
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