Handling of injuries aside, in terms of taking it out of the player's hands when necessary, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has gained a reputation as a quarterback guru.
Kirk Cousins had a good run before his Achilles tear in 2023. Sam Darnold revived his career in 2024. Daniel Jones was able to get a needed reset of his career with the Vikings late last season, even just being on the practice squad and observing on game days.
Until further notice, and despite skeptics being out there until further notice, Minnesota is committed to J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback. But it's always wise to cultivate depth at the most important position on the field, and leave few stones unturned in pursuit ot that depth.
While it's a different situation now, last season's addition of Jones shows the Vikings aren't afraid to go against the grain to add a quarterback to the mix.
Trade proposal sends another disappointing QB to Minnesota Vikings
Unless something happens to McCarthy against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Minnesota will not be trading for a quarterback before next Tuesday's trade deadline. But that won't stop the ideas from coming out, in deference to the doubt about McCarthy.
On his recent list of a dozen trade deadline deals "we'd love to see", Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr proposed the Vikings acquiring quarterback Justin Fields from the New York Jets for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick.
"With Carson Wentz battered to the point of being placed on injured reserve and the Vikings staring out at a very fine line between competency at the quarterback position and a deep, empty ravine, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell snag Fields from the Jets after the strength of Fields’s performance last week against the Bengals.
Fields is the perfect high-upside quarterback for O’Connell to mix into the fold should J.J. McCarthy struggle to play with his injured ankle. The move is an attempt to restock the cupboard in Minnesota after both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones left for high-end starting jobs elsewhere.
O’Connell learned a valuable lesson about hubris and the limitations of coaching this offseason by also eschewing Aaron Rodgers after McCarthy’s promising spring. Fields, who is not valued by Jets ownership, would likely welcome the change with open arms."
On the surface, the Vikings trading a Day 3 draft pick to take a flier on Fields isn't that outlandish. But Orr lost the plot with the token mentions of Darnold, Jones, and Rodgers.
The idea that Minnesota made a big mistake letting Darnold and Jones leave continues to ignore the core realities of both situations.
Darnold wanted a longer contract than the Vikings were willing to give him after his disastrous final two games last season, and he got one from the Seattle Seahawks. Jones simply wanted a better chance to compete for a starting job, which he obviously found with the Indianapolis Colts.
No less an authority than Rodgers himself said things never got very far when he talked to O'Connell. Still, some national analysts have to harp on Minnesota somehow missing the boat with the future Hall of Famer.
The whole idea of trading for Fields, however unlikely it is, is independent of what the Vikings did or did not do with their quarterback situation during the offseason. But in the name of narratives that won't go away, the two things apparently had to be tied together as the trade deadline nears.