Backup Quarterback Preferences

It’s just gotten started and this Minnesota Vikings offseason is already shaping up as a repeat of last offseason. It’s all about the quarterback. In the NFL, it’s always about the quarterback. Last offseason, the Vikings quarterback question started with Sam Darnold. After some casual negotiations, the Vikings “let” him walk. They “let” him walk because that was always the plan. The Vikings quarterback plan, hatched two years ago, was to pair Sam Darnold with first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. Play Darnold in 2024 and turn to McCarthy in 2025. It was a nice succession plan. I never understood why there were any other thoughts last offseason. Darnold playing well in his single season in Minnesota wasn’t a reason for the Vikings to deviate from the quarterback plan and break the bank for him. Why? Every quarterback that’s managed to stay upright has played well in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Darnold playing well for the Vikings wasn’t a surprise. He was just the next quarterback to do so. The plan was for McCarthy to be the one after Darnold. It made sense to stick with that plan. The wrinkle in the plan was the unexpected availability of Daniel Jones late in the 2024 season. The Vikings signed him and had him in the building for a prolonged tryout as McCarthy’s backup in 2025. It seems pretty clear that the Vikings assumed that McCarthy and Jones would top their quarterback depth chart. When Jones opted for a starting opportunity with the Indianapolis Colts, it forced the Vikings to alter their quarterback plans. That resulted in a nauseating offseason with the persistent, and idiotic, reporting that Aaron Rodgers was in the mix. Nothing good would’ve come from that signing. Rodgers is a turd and the farther he is from Minnesota the better. If I could change one thing about the Vikings 2025 offseason, it would’ve been signing Carson Wentz soon after Jones signed with the Colts. The Sam Howell experiment was a failure and adding Wentz just days before the start of the season was desperate. 

When it comes to the all-important quarterback position, this offseason is shaping up a lot like last offseason for the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy is the starter. Hopefully, he sees all 20(!) starts in 2026. A reliable, competent backup is still needed. Here are my preferences.

Mac Jones 

Kirk Cousins

My preferences start with two oft-mentioned possibilities. Both come with big “ifs.” It would take a trade for the Vikings to pry Mac Jones from the 49ers. I don’t want the Vikings paying the draft pick price the 49ers are apparently asking. As for Kirk Cousins, he’s made a career of maximizing his contracts. Those demands have to come down if he wants to sit the bench in Minnesota. So, I don’t think either Jones or Cousins are realistic. Cousins is probably a bit more realistic than Jones.

After Jones and Cousins, my backup quarterback preferences are:

Carson Wentz

Geno Smith

Derek Carr

Marcus Mariota

Jimmy Garoppolo

Case Keenum

Jake Browning

It’s not a scintillating group. Then again, being forced to go with the #2 quarterback isn’t a scintillating situation for any team. My hope for the Vikings is that J.J. McCarthy misses zero games and the only snaps for the backup are victory snaps. He was able to stay healthy in high school and college. Hopefully, he can revert back to those healthy ways for the remainder of his NFL career. 

As long as I don’t have to hear any idiotic Aaron Rodgers rumors, this backup quarterback search shouldn’t be as tiresome as last season. That’s mostly because I don’t expect it to last as long. Deciding on the backup quarterback early in the process might be my greatest preference.