Is it time for the Vikings to acquire a QB?
By: Jake Rajala
If it wasn’t obvious, the Minnesota Vikings have suffered at the quarterback spot. J.J. McCarthy wasn’t exactly the answer when he was healthy. Take away one quarter of football in Week 1, and he has a dreadful 2025 resume.
Carson Wentz didn’t prove to be a viable answer at QB while McCarthy was MIA. He overthrew WRs, took too many sacks, and couldn’t make plays with his legs. However, he deserves some props for playing through a left shoulder injury. He has that North Dakota State grit.
The Vikings are 19th in passing yards per game and 25th in passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions are third in passing TDs and 13th in passing YPG, the Packers are 12th in passing YPG and 13th in passing TDs, and the Bears are 19th in passing touchdowns, and 14th in passing YPG.
The Vikings can’t be a below passing attack if they wish to make the playoffs in a division that has three teams with at least 4 wins.
Honestly, I’d love to see the Vikings bring in a new QB. If McCarthy plays like he has played, they won’t be a playoff contender. As noted, Wentz is clearly not the answer. McCarthy and Wentz could still prove to be the short term answer. With that said, I still wouldn’t be shocked if they target a QB early in the draft in 2026.
I’m going to note the best free agent QBs and then lay out a couple of trade options.
Taylor Heinicke
Taylor Heinicke hasn’t been in a rush to play QB somewhere after losing the QB2 role to Trey Lance on the Chargers. Make no mistake: Taylor isn’t washed up at 32 years old. He can be a modest game manager, especially with his legs. Usually, Kevin O’Connell has had pocket passers, such as Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, and J.J. McCarthy. There will be more QB designed runs with him.
Jeff Driskel
Jeff Driskel is 32, but that means he could likely come with experience. He has thrown 16 TDs to 10 ints, but that doesn’t correlate to winning. He has 1 win with 10 losses. I’d love to see him in a short passing offense, such as the New England Patriots or San Francisco 49ers.
Tyler Shough
I believe it’s clear that Spencer Rattler is more valuable to the Saints than McCarthy is to the Vikings. Rattler had his worst showcase last week against the Bears. Nonetheless, the Bears are superb at taking the ball away, and the Saints defense left Rattler and Kamara out to try. The QB2 in the Big Easy is none other than Tyler Shough. He had a fine pre-season and he really showcased his arm strength and ability to evade defenders in open space.
Minshew Mania
“Don’t you forget about me”
Gardner Minshew has proven to be successful in this league. Sure, he isn’t a Top-20 QB, but he can still make plays out of nothing and throw well on the run. He also isn’t as expensive as a starting QB. The Chiefs are wise to bring him in as a backup QB. He picked up a “Harvard education” with his time in KC. He can’t stay as the QB2 there forever, however.
At this point in the season, it would require a lot of deep studying and luck to find the best QB1 in the free agency pool. As far as trading, there may be more luck. There are many quality QBs that are 30 and younger that could be vital assets to desperate teams.
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