It sounds insane, but Tom Brady could sign with the Vikings in 2023

Soon-to-be free-agent, quarterback Tom Brady, spent a good portion of his life growing up in Minnesota. Could this lead him to the Minnesota Vikings in 2023?

On Sunday, we shared the rumor about the Minnesota Vikings possibly being a “dark horse” to sign free-agent quarterback Tom Brady this offseason.

For now, it’s just a rumor and nothing more. But after diving a little deeper, Brady actually has some very interesting connections to the state of Minnesota.

Could these connections end up with the future Hall of Famer signing with the Vikings this offseason? Many things would have to be figured out for that to happen, but Brady winding up in purple and gold for the 2023 season isn’t something that should be ruled out just yet.

Why Tom Brady might want to sign with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023

Back in the 2017 season, Brady helped the New England Patriots earn a spot in Super Bowl LII to take on the Philadelphia Eagles inside Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium.

Leading up to the matchup, some interesting information about Brady’s past relationship with the state of Minnesota became more widely known to the public, including the fact that his mother grew up in the small town of Browerville, Minnesota.

Here’s what Brady had to say in February of 2018 about the state that the Vikings call home.

"“I love coming back here. I’ve got a lot of family here. It’s a great state. It’s pretty unbelievable to actually be playing here.”"

The superstar quarterback actually spent multiple summers during his childhood in Browerville with his grandparents, and he said in 2018 that some of his “[greatest] memories” as a kid were spent in the small Minnesota town.

So now that we know Brady is fond of the state that the Vikings play in, it seems a little more believable that he could sign with them this year.

But before Minnesota can even consider signing arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, they would first have to figure out what to do with Kirk Cousins.

Cousins is entering the final year of his contract, and with the Vikings only having one playoff win in his five seasons with the team, the front office might be interested in finding a new starting quarterback as early as this offseason.

The best way for Minnesota to move on from Cousins this year would be to trade him, as that would create $17.5 million in cap space. However, the veteran quarterback has a full no-trade clause in his current deal, so he would have to approve any trade that the Vikings might attempt to involve him in this offseason.

If Minnesota can find a trade partner that Cousins is okay with, then Brady to the Vikings this year becomes much more realistic.

Now, some Minnesota fans might want nothing to do with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Brady will turn 46 in August, and he’s coming off a 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that ended with a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs.

Compared to 2021, when he threw for over 5,300 yards and 40 touchdowns, Brady’s performance this season was certainly a step back, with 4,694 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns. But his struggles in 2022 could easily be attributed to poor play-calling and the Bucs not having as much talent on the offensive side of the ball as they had in 2021 and 2020.

Just think about what Brady could do in the Vikings’ offense with weapons like Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook.

Even if they did wind up signing the future Hall of Famer this offseason, Minnesota would still have plenty to fix on the defensive side of the ball in order for them to become a legitimate contender in the NFC in 2023. But adding Brady would certainly get them on the right path.