Vikings Rumors Heat Up on Mac Jones, a Frustrated Kevin O’Connell, Jalen Reagor
Welcome to Week 12 of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 run, and as usual, the rumor mill is humming. The Purple Rumor Mill never sleeps, and this week’s batch has plenty to chew on.
Vikings rumors are heating up around Mac Jones, a frustrated Kevin O’Connell, and Jalen Reagor as pressure builds heading into Week 12.
Minnesota has about six weeks to flip the season. If it doesn’t, a handful of the rumors floating around right now won’t stay hypothetical for long — they’ll be waiting for the team the moment the offseason hits.
Vikings Rumors for November 23rd, 2025
A glance at Sunday’s rumors before Packers-Vikings.
Rumor: Mac Jones may be a trade option for the Vikings during the offseason.
Indeed, the Mac Jones chapter of 2025 has officially entered Vikings chatter.
Florio wrote this week, “There’s already chatter in some circles that, in the 2026 offseason, the Vikings will explore trading for 49ers quarterback Mac Jones. For the Vikings, it could make sense to bring in a veteran who would compete with J.J. McCarthy.”
“The top-10 pick in 2024 hasn’t done enough to have the presumed starter role next season. A true competition could force the issue, getting McCarthy to make the improvements that the Vikings want to see, or else.”
Florio has a big enough megaphone to turn this into a real rumor.
Jones will enter the conversation for Minnesota if McCarthy doesn’t level out over the final seven games. The twist is that McCarthy has been money in clutch moments — and then nowhere near that level the rest of the afternoon. It’s one of the strangest things in the league right now: a 22-year-old quarterback whose switch only flips when the game’s on the line.
Before the fourth quarter, McCarthy has battled accuracy issues and basic operational stuff. If he doesn’t find steady footing soon, the Vikings will need a legitimate competitor in 2026 to push for the starting job.
Jones would be an apropos option if Minnesota fancies an honest-to-goodness QB1 battle in the summer of 2026.
Rumor: Kevin O’Connell is frustrated with J.J. McCarthy.
Via The Athletic‘s Mike Sando, a coach in the shadows thinks he’s seeing something before anyone else.
The unnamed source told Sando, “The receivers are visually frustrated, and they are open all over the tape. All of them — Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson, and the tight end T.J. Hockenson. That should be a Cincinnati offense, but all you hear from Minnesota is about how rosy and great it is there. What I see is a quarterback who feels like he is really frustrating the play caller.”
Sando also added his own view: “When O’Connell does study the tape, he’ll see a frustrated Jefferson failing to reach for a pass so errant that it sailed over the receiver’s head. He’ll also see two Bears defenders so eager to pick off one underthrown ball, they collided with sufficient force to send one of them to the sideline for a stint.”
How much O’Connell buys into that idea is impossible to know, but the timeline is straightforward: McCarthy has seven weeks to close the gap. If he finishes the season hovering around 50% completions with the same accuracy issues, Minnesota isn’t marching into 2026 with him as the lone QB1 plan. It would draft another quarterback or sign someone in the Will Levis or Anthony Richardson tier. Or the Jones angle, mentioned above.
Still, the entire thing sits in McCarthy’s hands. Five sketchy games are on tape. Seven remain. This is the window for real progress.
Rumor: Former Vikings WR Jalen Reagor, looking for work, auditions for the Seahawks.
Seattle didn’t sign Jalen Reagor, but he did get a look. The Seahawks brought him in for a workout this week before ultimately choosing Jerry Rice’s son, Brenden.
NBC Sports’ Charean Williams noted, “The Seahawks signed wide receiver Brenden Rice and running back Velus Jones to the practice squad, the team announced on Tuesday. They released tight end Marshall Lang and cornerback Mike Reid in corresponding moves.”
“Rice and Jones were among eight players who worked out for the Seahawks on Tuesday. Former Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker threw to Rice and wide receivers Montorie Foster, Jaylen Johnson, Dymere Miller and Jalen Reagor. Center Doug Kramer also tried out.”
So Reagor got the full look, even if he didn’t land the job. Seattle now has the tryout on file.
The former 1st-Rounder will continue to look for work and hope a practice squad assignment materializes.
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