Purple Rumor Mill: The QB2 Options, The Aaron Rodgers Fizzle, McCarthy the Maniac
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the March 23rd edition.
Vikings Rumors: The QB2 Options, The Aaron Rodgers Fizzle, McCarthy the Maniac
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the Vikings, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: The Vikings QB2 options are down to Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco, and a trade.
Courtesy of Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, folks may have some transparency on Minnesota’s QB2 aspirations this week. He tweeted Wednesday, “Said it with KFAN’s Paul Allen yesterday, but here’s where I’d keep my eye for Vikings backup QB options: a veteran with a clear role like Flacco or Tannehill, or a trade. The comp pick formula matters here. They’re also excited about where J.J. McCarthy is at.”
Flacco, Tannehill, or a trade.
Minnesota probably won’t sign Trey Lance or Drew Lock. Doing so could ruin the precious compensatory draft pick formula for 2026, which is apparently a high priority.
It’s worth noting that the Vikings could wait until the summer to sign a backup quarterback. That would not affect the 2026 compensatory formula.
Rumor: Aaron Rodgers to Minnesota has lost all steam.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted Wednesday, “And told the Vikings are not pursuing QB Aaron Rodgers and don’t consider him an option as they move into the next phase of the offseason, as Tom Pelissero, leaving J.J. McCarthy atop the QB depth chart. Again, Rodgers-Vikings was never likely. But it has been discussed.”
And Pelissero of NFL Network posted to X: “The Vikings have rejected multiple trade calls on J.J. McCarthy, telling other teams they’re moving forward with him as their quarterback, sources say. The team plans to add a veteran. But they’re not pursuing Aaron Rodgers at this time. McCarthy now enters the offseason as QB1.”
“The Vikings continue to explore multiple options for a veteran QB addition, whether through free agency or a trade. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers’ options are now focused on the Steelers and Giants,” Pelissero added.
RIP to Rodgers-Vikings rumors.
Rodgers also met in person with the Steelers’ brass on Friday.
Rumor: J.J. McCarthy is a football maniac.
Chatting with Good Morning Football this week, former Vikings safety Bynum didn’t hold back on McCarthy. “I trust him. J.J.’s somebody that I trust. Just a leader, first and foremost. The way that he carried himself as a leader but also still following the right way and still listening and humbling himself to learn from the other guys,” he said.
“But the one thing that stood out to me from him, as soon as he got in, he was throwing that ball. He was a gunslinger in practice. First and 10, simple concepts, he’s throwing the deep ball, he’s trying to fire it downfield. That’s something that I respected out of a rookie.”
He also called McCarthy a “maniac,” which, in football preparation-speak, is praise.
“Going forward after his injury, he’s sitting there in the defensive team meeting room trying to learn our defense and trying to learn any way he can. He’s kind of a maniac when it comes to football,” Bynum added.
This is fantastic QB1 theater.
“The way that he carried himself while he was hurt, I can only imagine how he’ll carry himself when he’s healthy. When they give him the keys to the program to be able to go and just carry himself as that leader, and they let him know ‘you’re the guy, we’re rolling with you,’ I think J.J.’s going to grow. And like I say, J.J.’s somebody I can trust.”
There’s still a long way to go before McCarthy realizes his upside, but Bynum’s comments can only be interpreted positively.
One Vikings Player Won the Month of March
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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