From staff writer at the Athletic. Zach Rosenblatt on his prediction of the Vikes QB room for 2026.
Vikings: JJ McCarthy, Joe Flacco and Anthony Richardson
This looks like an underwhelming outcome on paper considering all the buzz coming out of Indy regarding the Vikings' interest in options such as Murray, Smith and Cousins, among others. But the reality is: Minnesota is invested in at least trying to make it work with McCarthy, and the idea is that the Vikings are bringing in legitimate competition for him this offseason, not that they are finding his replacement.
Murray is possible here, especially since he becomes a free agent next week, but that would be a clear sign that they've given up on McCarthy. There was a sense from people I talked to at the combine that Cousins and the Vikings are unlikely to reunite, though it can’t be ruled out entirely. As mentioned above, I’m not sure Smith breaks free either — though if he does, he’d be my pick. I see the Vikings throwing a couple things at the wall to see what sticks. Derek Carr would be an interesting option, too, but it would be hard to believe he’d want to join the Vikings if it meant “competing” for a starting job.
Flacco makes some sense as a fallback option. He showed last season in Cincinnati that he’s still capable of leading an offense: He threw for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in nine games. He’s a good veteran presence to have in any quarterback room, especially one with two young quarterbacks, and he’s looking for an opportunity to at least compete to start — which he’d get in Minnesota. Also, according to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, Flacco was “very much in play” for Minnesota last season before it settled on Carson Wentz — who shouldn’t be ruled out entirely as an option either, by the way.
As for Richardson: His physical and athletic talents are tantalizing even if there’s plenty to be concerned about, particularly his struggles to complete passes at a consistent rate in the NFL, and that time he took himself out of a game because he was tired. Still, there’s not really any downside to adding him to the room considering a trade shouldn’t cost much, and it gives O’Connell a quarterback with tools to develop. There was also, of course, that viral moment O’Connell and Richardson shared in 2024 where O’Connell told him: “You’re a bad dude. And you’re gonna play a long time in this league. Go to work every day. Good things will happen for you. I still believe in you.”
(As an aside: I have gotten the Vikings correct in back-to-back seasons. I predicted Sam Darnold in 2024 and Wentz last year so… [shrug emoji])
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away; saw in an interview with Randy where he explained to Bill how he could run down the field and open it up the deep third, which Bill had never had before.
, Geno’s off the table!
www.nytimes.com
the size of galactic boulders.
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