After failing to have a proper plan behind J.J. McCarthy heading into last season, the Minnesota Vikings are not going to make that mistake again. McCarthy will at least have to win the starting job over an offseason addition, and an outside addition may bump him to No. 2 on the depth chart.
Of course, other teams don't just let good quarterbacks leave their ranks, so many of the most realistic possible additions either have warts (Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa) or are simply backup-caliber. That said, the Vikings have an appealing situation for any available quarterback, and McCarthy's vulnerability as the starter is a big factor in that equation.
The Minnesota Vikings ideally won't get down to a desperation option at quarterback
Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune recently took a look at key decisions the Vikings' reshaped front office will have to make regarding a number of players on the 2025 roster.
Here's Goessling's evaluation of one of McCarthy's backups from last season, Carson Wentz.
"As the ethics of playing Wentz through his painful left shoulder injury became a topic of national discussion in October, sources said one of the reasons the quarterback carried no ill will toward the Vikings was because his stint as the team’s starter might help him earn a contract in 2026. Could that contract be with the Vikings? It’s possible, though the team might circle back to Wentz after considering its options at QB. Assuming Wentz, 33, plays in 2026, he’d likely do so on a one-year deal.”
Based purely on getting the chance to play when McCarthy was first injured, Wentz immediately defended Kevin O'Connell, making him a sacrificial lamb until an injury to his non-throwing shoulder
was so severe (disclocation, torn labrum, fractured socket) that he literally could not play anymore. The contrast with how McCarthy was treated as he worked his way back from his ankle injury was noticeable.
If he wants to play next season, Wentz should be able to find an opportunity to be a backup somewhere. He also, most likely, wouldn't have to wait until late-August (when the Vikings called him last summer) for that opportunity. Unless he wants to wait that long for the perfect opportunity to surface, but if that's the case, retirement is probably a better idea.
If the Vikings get to where they're considering bringing Wentz back, then all of their other plans to add a quarterback this offseason have gone unbelievably awry. Let's hope it doesn't get anywhere near that point, and it truly shouldn't.