The Minnesota Vikings, unless they wanted to roll with Brett Rypien as J.J. McCarthy's backup (possible, but unlikely), were in the market for a quarterback. Former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has still been floating around as a possibility for the Vikings next season, but those thoughts have finally come to an end.
On Saturday, the final day of the 2025 draft, the Vikings made a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Sam Howell. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was first with the details.
A little over a week ago, as seemed obvious after they signed Drew Lock in free agency to backup former Viking Sam Darnold, ESPN's Brady Henderson reported the Seahawks were open to trading quarterback Howell, and teams had called.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert added to the already lingering idea the Vikings would have interest by calling Howell's availability "worth keeping an eye on."
Minnesota Vikings obviously had former Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Howell as their top target and not Aaron Rodgers
While a competition to be Darnold's backup was an inherent expectation, Howell was already basically sitting No. 3 on the Seahawks' depth chart after their reunion with Lock. Former Viking Jaren Hall is also on their roster.
Then, in the third round of the draft, Seattle took Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Any doubt about Howell being traded was gone, and the Seahawks effectively neutered any leverage they might have still had.
After a nice first two seasons at North Carolina, Howell was seen as a potential top draft pick very early, looking toward the 2022 draft.
But a disappointing final season for the Tar Heels, following an exodus of a lot of NFL draft pick skill position talent (Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome), Howell was not drafted until the fifth round by Washington.
Howell made just one start for Washington as a rookie, in the regular season finale. He started all 17 games in 2023, and after letting him take plenty of lumps (with the bad combo of a league-high in pass attempts and sacks taken), the Commanders' then-new regime gave him a goodbye "thank you" by trading him to the Seahawks last offseason. He appeared in two games as Geno Smith's backup last season.
Washington gave Howell a raw deal in his lone year as a starter, and the kind of season that was for him has irretrievably wrecked other young quarterbacks. But there's arguably no better coach in the NFL than Kevin O'Connell at resurrecting a quarterback's psyche, and Howell is next in line to benefit.