Do the Vikings have the next Tony Romo in their locker room?

Could Jake Browning actually end up being the quarterback of the future for the Minnesota Vikings?

Last Saturday night’s practice at the TCO Performance center wasn’t supposed to be a showcase for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jake Browning. But thanks to the NFL’s current COVID-19 protocol forcing the Vikings to keep three of their signal-callers away from the facilities, Browning was the only arm available for the team to utilize.

It was a great opportunity for the 25-year-old quarterback, who is in the middle of his third year with Minnesota, and he took full advantage of his big chance last Saturday.

Following his performance during last weekend’s night practice, Browning has received praise from several coaches and teammates including Mike Zimmer, Klint Kubiak, Garrett Bradbury, and Oli Udoh.

Could Jake Browning emerge as the next starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

Despite Zimmer’s disappointment with the current vaccination status of Kirk Cousins, he’s still expected to remain the Vikings’ starting signal-caller for the upcoming season.

After that, however, who knows what will happen? Especially if Cousins is forced to miss some games in 2021 due to issues related to COVID-19.

If Cousins remaining unvaccinated results in him missing games this year, Browning could be the next guy in line depending on how the next few weeks go.

Let’s say Browning fills in as Minnesota’s starter at some point during the 2021 season and the team not only wins, but the offense performs better than it did when Cousins was starting under center. What would the Vikings do in that situation?

We’ve seen plenty of scenarios like this play out in the NFL in the past. Guys like Kurt Warner, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, Warren Moon, and Jake Delhomme all went from being undrafted to performing at a high level as starters. Warner and Moon even made it all the way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

If Browning gets an opportunity to start in 2021, will he make the most of his chance just as he did last Saturday night in the TCO Performance Center?