On Monday, the inevitable happened, and the Minnesota Vikings traded quarterback J.J. McCarthy after less than three seasons with the franchise. McCarthy is now a member of the New York Giants, and the Vikings are clearly all in on Kyler Murray as their starting signal-caller for the remainder of the 2026 campaign.
But what about after the season? The contracts of both Murray and Carson Wentz are set to expire in 2027, and Max Brosmer's original deal with Minnesota was eliminated after he was waived by the team earlier this year.
For those who aren't very advanced at math, that's zero quarterbacks who have a contract with the Vikings that goes beyond the current season.
With the way everything is set up, this would seem to indicate that Minnesota's starting signal-caller for the 2027 campaign might not even be on the team's current roster.
If this is the case, let's look at a few veteran quarterbacks who the Vikings could attempt to acquire in the upcoming offseason to be the franchise's new starter.
Veteran QBs who could end up as the starter for the Vikings in 2027
Justin Herbert
Current Team: Los Angeles Chargers
With how poorly things are currently going for the Chargers, this might be something that is more realistic than it was just three weeks ago.
Justin Herbert is in the middle of his seventh season with Los Angeles, and it's one in which both he and the team have gotten off to terrible starts.
The Chargers have lost each of their first three games this year, and in those three contests, Herbert has only completed 59.1 percent of his passes for 627 yards (209 per game), three touchdowns, and four interceptions to earn a disappointing 73.4 passer rating.
Herbert has never finished a season with a passer rating below 93.2, so his start this year definitely isn't the norm. Perhaps a trade to Minnesota could help him return to his expected form.
Mac Jones
Current Team: San Francisco 49ers
Back in 2024, the Vikings took a chance on a former first-round pick, Sam Darnold, who had just spent the previous year as Brock Purdy's backup with the 49ers. That ended up working out very well for Minnesota, so in 2027, they might be interested in doing something similar with Mac Jones.
Jones is set to become a free agent after the current season, and like Darnold, he is a former first-round pick who has improved his stock by backing up Purdy in San Francisco and learning from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
With San Francisco last season, Jones wound up appearing in 11 games, including eight that were starts. In those 11 appearances, he completed 69.6 percent of his throws for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions to generate a 97.4 passer rating.
At 28-years-old, Jones is still someone a team can build its future around, and while he might be one of the most expensive quarterbacks available in free agency next offseason, signing him would likely still be much more affordable for Minnesota than making a trade with the Chargers for Herbert.
Drew Lock
Current Team: Seattle Seahawks
If the Vikings want to reattempt to follow the plan that they were hoping to execute in 2024 by signing a cheap veteran free agent to be their starter and drafting a young passing prospect in the first round to be their backup for a year, then going after someone like Drew Lock in 2027 could be a path they follow.
Lock is currently in the middle of his third season with the Seahawks, and given the fact that Minnesota's new general manager, Nolan Teasley, came from Seattle, the connection between the two is something that shouldn't be ignored.
Lock has only started one game since the start of the 2025 season, and that was actually Week 2 of this year. In that matchup, he helped lead the Seahawks to an easy 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals by throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
The 29-year-old veteran is currently scheduled to become a free agent in 2027, and he will likely be one of the more affordable options available. If the Vikings want to take another shot at drafting a quarterback in the first round next year, pairing that young signal-caller with Lock might be something they consider.
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