3 former Vikings QBs Minnesota could trade for after the J.J. McCarthy injury

Despite all of the heartbreak Minnesota Vikings fans have dealt with during the last handful of decades, Wednesday's unfortunate injury news about rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy wasn't any easier to swallow.

McCarthy is now expected to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus, just days after he gave Vikings fans a glimpse of the future with an impressive performance in the team's preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Minnesota is now Sam Darnold's team, but it's possible that the Vikings might be interested in adding another veteran signal-caller to the roster before the start of the 2024 season to make up for McCarthy's loss. If this ends up being the case, who are a few former members of Minnesota's roster that the team could add to its quarterback room?

Former Minnesota Vikings QBs the team could trade for after loss of J.J. McCarthy

Taylor Heinicke

Current Team: Atlanta Falcons

Back in 2015, Taylor Heinicke got his start with the Vikings after he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion University. Heinicke wound up lasting a little more than two years with Minnesota before the team eventually moved on from him before the start of the 2017 regular season.

Since then, he's had stints around the NFL with the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Commanders before signing with the Falcons in 2023.

Heinicke is in the middle of his second year with Atlanta, but after the team signed Kirk Cousins and used a first-round draft pick on Michael Penix Jr. earlier this offseason, even he knows that he's probably not going to still be on the roster after the Falcons make their final cuts in a few weeks.

If the Vikings are interested in adding Heinicke to their locker room, they could probably wait and see if Atlanta does actually leave him off of its final 53-man roster. But if Minnesota believes that the veteran signal-caller could have other interest from other NFL teams if he were to get cut, then sending the Falcons a late-round draft pick to acquire him before final rosters are made might be something worth considering.

Josh Dobbs

Current Team: San Francisco 49ers

Considering Josh Dobbs just spent half of the 2023 campaign with the Vikings, he might be one of the more obvious players the team could target in a trade before the start of the upcoming regular season.

Dobbs got off to a blazing start with Minnesota last year, leading the team to wins in each of his first two appearances. But his performance quickly went in the wrong direction as opposing teams began to figure out how to exploit his weaknesses and he was benched midway through the Vikings' Week 14 win over the Raiders.

Currently, Dobbs is battling with Brandon Allen for the No. 2 quarterback job with the 49ers behind Brock Purdy. If Dobbs doesn't win the role, there's no guarantee that San Francisco will keep him on its final 2024 roster.

So, just like with Heinicke, Minnesota can just wait and see if Dobbs is cut by the 49ers when they make their final 53-man roster or they can trade for their former quarterback to prevent him from getting scooped up by another team if he's made available.

Case Keenum

Current Team: Houston Texans

Case Keenum has certainly experienced success when filling in for a Vikings quarterback dealing with a knee injury in the past, so why not do it again?

Almost seven years since he last appeared in a game for Minnesota, Keenum is now 36 and fighting for a backup job in Houston. He's proven to be a reliable backup during his NFL career and his experience has helped some of the top young quarterbacks in the league like C.J. Stroud and Josh Allen achieve an impressive amount of success.

Keenum also not only has a previous history with the Vikings, but current Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell was also the quarterback's offensive coordinator when the two were with the Washington Commanders in 2019. So, there's already a familiarity with O'Connell that could help Keenum quickly adjust to the Vikings' current offensive scheme.

Just like with Heinicke and Dobbs, it likely wouldn't take much of an offer for Minnesota to land Keenum in a trade before the start of the 2024 regular season. It just depends on whether or not the Vikings are interested in adding another veteran passer to their roster in the near future.

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