Vikings Misses and Myths: Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Darrisaw’s ACL Recovery, Fire Kwesi
Every Sunday morning, we dust off the myths and misses regarding the Minnesota Vikings for the week, and this edition arrives with just a few games to go before the 2026 offseason. Vikings Misses and Myths examines all the bad, false, and wild purple takes from the week.
This one’s a quick cleanup of the week’s loudest takes — who’s actually plausible, what’s medically realistic, and which “he’s gotta go” narratives are built more on vibes than facts.
This week is a hodgepodge of quarterback, injury, and general manager fodder.
Three Talking Points That Need a Reality Check This Week
There are the Vikings nopedy nopes for Week 16.
The Nopedy Nope: Tua Tagovailoa could join the Vikings in 2026 via trade.
Miami finally pulled the lever this week, sending Tua Tagovailoa to the bench and handing the offense to rookie Quinn Ewers. Even before that move became official, though, Tagovailoa’s future had already drifted into speculative territory — and Minnesota was quietly part of the background noise for 2026.
Sporting News’ Jarrett Bailey leaned into that idea Tuesday while mapping out potential next stops for Tagovailoa, placing the Vikings among a handful of theoretical fits.
Bailey acknowledged the recent shift in Minnesota’s quarterback picture, writing, “J.J. McCarthy has put together consecutive good performances, so perhaps the Vikings quarterback radar is a bit more quiet than it was a month ago. However, if McCarthy struggles and looks inconsistent through the next three weeks, maybe they’d entertain a trade for Tua.”
He also tied the idea directly to scheme, adding, “In a Kevin O’Connell system that values pre-snap motion and doing everything possible to make things easy on the quarterback, Tua could be the next graduate of the KOC Quarterback School.“
Minnesota wasn’t alone on Bailey’s list. The Cardinals, Colts, and Jets also surfaced as possible destinations, reinforcing how fluid Tagovailoa’s outlook has become now that Miami has made its pivot.
Trading for Tagovailoa would be awful, as Minnesota would be forced to absorb a lot of his hefty contract. If the Dolphins release him and shockingly absorb $70-$100 million in dead cap, then signing Tagovailoa to a league-minimum contract might make sense.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on trading any assets for Tagovailoa. The contract is too big.
The Nopedy Nope: Christian Darrisaw would have a normal 2025 season after a 2024 ACL tear.
The Vikings placed Darrisaw on injured reserve Friday. He’s done for the rest of 2025. Before the Vikings officially moved him to IR, there was already a strong hint about where things were headed.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert provided it Thursday, relaying an exchange that didn’t exactly inspire optimism. Seifert wrote, “Christian Darrisaw said he preferred not to talk today when approached in the locker room. He said he couldn’t answer a question about whether he will play again this season.”
That response carried weight. When a player avoids the topic altogether — especially this late in the year — it often signals a longer view rather than a quick return.
Darrisaw tore his ACL in late October of 2024, and despite his attempts to push through it, the knee has never appeared fully settled. The season is over for him, and the Vikings are once again staring at the same uncomfortable question: how much progress has really been made, and what does that mean heading into the offseason?
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Darrisaw’s season going swimmingly after the ACL tear. Can’t have nice things.
The Nopedy Nope: Firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah theories after the 4-8 start to 2025.
Public sentiment around Kwesi Adofo-Mensah cratered after the Vikings were flattened in Seattle. It wasn’t just a loss — it was a referendum. J.J. McCarthy looked overmatched through six startes, Max Brosmer was unplayable, and Minnesota walked out of Lumen Field sitting at 4–8 with no visible quarterback future. That’s how a general manager loses the benefit of the doubt.
To make matters worse, McCarthy left the week before concussed — his third injury already — shelving him again and reinforcing the idea that the Vikings might have whiffed badly at the most important position in sports.
The fire-Kwesi noise wasn’t fringe chatter. It was loud-loud.
But that narrative has shifted, and it’s shifted for one reason: McCarthy.
In a two-game window, he’s gone from looking historically overwhelmed to clearly ahead of schedule. The difference has been jarring. The footwork isn’t pretty, but it suddenly works. The reads sped up. The ball placement followed.
For Adofo-Mensah, nothing exists in isolation. Every trade, every miss, every reach is downstream from the quarterback decision. If McCarthy becomes the guy — and right now he’s flashing like one — the ledger changes fast. Almost all past sins stop mattering if McCarthy trends as a franchise quarterback.
The Verdict: The Vikings probably won’t fire Adofo-Mensah if his team finishes the season strong.
You must be logged in to post a comment.