The Minnesota Vikings won't be on the practice field at TCO Performance Center again until training camp starts in roughly six weeks. But while the team gets a break before the grind of the 2026 season starts, talk about the quarterback situation is not going to subside all that much, if at all.
There are many possible tentacles to the situation. It's worth wondering if Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy would handle being the backup very well. On that front, within the broad assumption Murray will be named the starter, the idea of trading McCarthy has surfaced easily.
Maybe the Vikings are trying to pump up McCarthy's trade value, with an unveiled showcase to come during preseason games.
In a June 13 column, Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press offered a logic line when it comes to the Vikings' quarterback situation. It pays off with the possibility of trading McCarthy, if circumstances align of course, but the bigger picture thoughts aren't as outlandish as they seem.
"It seems unlikely that Carson Wentz re-signed with the Vikings to be the third-string quarterback this season, or that Kyler Murray signed with the Vikings to be the second-string QB."
"Curiously, a few weeks ago, during the rookie mini-camp, the Vikings brought in former Dallas-Baltimore QB Cooper Rush for a tryout. Remember, it was Rush who five years ago — subbing for injured Cowboys starter Dak Prescott in a Sunday night game in Minneapolis — passed for 325 yards and two second-half TDs to lead Dallas to a 20-16 victory."
"Depending on training camp performances, if the Vikings were to get a decent offer — say a third-round draft pick — for QB J.J. McCarthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if Minnesota starts the season with Murray, Wentz and perhaps Rush as its top three QBs."
Thought exercise about Vikings' QB situation is so crazy it makes sense
Let's look at each part of Walters' theory.
Wentz could have retired this offseason, or signed somewhere else to be the backup. Being the Vikings' No. 3 quarterback would go a long way toward keeping him from becoming Kevin O'Connell's human pinata again, but is that worth coming back for, even though the Vikings are the team he rooted for as a kid?
Murray's other options, in terms of an opportunity to start, are unclear. But it's safe to assume he would not have signed with the Vikings unless he was basically told he'd be the starter. He did exactly what Daniel Jones did when he left the Vikings for the Indianapolis Colts in 2025. Find the most vulnerable starting quarterback in the league, and sign there to "compete" with him.
Rookie minicamps often include players who aren't rookies. But of all the quarterbacks who could've received, let alone accepted, an invite to Vikings' rookie minicamp, Rush lands in interesting fashion. He has been in the league as a backup since 2017, with 16 starts on his resume.
While any opportunity to "do" football shouldn't be set aside as nothing, O'Connell noted the value Rush and the team got out of having him around at rookie minicamp.
"As I told Cooper, it’s almost like a free agent visit. He gets to know us, we get to know him. He’s played a lot of football over the years in the National Football League. I think it can open up that world to him, or if there’s an opportunity in the future, he can make that a really positive situation for himself and become our first phone call.”
Rush remains available as the Vikings head into their pre-training camp break. It's hard to imagine he has gotten zero interest from other teams, so he is waiting for a shoe to possibly drop in Minnesota?
Getting a third-round pick for McCarthy would have to be considered a win for the Vikings. But it may take circumstances with other teams to bring an offer like that before the season starts.
A lot of things seem possible with the Vikings' quarterback situation. While McCarthy being traded is straight-forward in terms of meaning Murray won the starting job, the residual domino effect on Wentz, and even possibly involving Rush, should not dismissed.
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