Ranking every Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback since 1990

Quarterback No. 3

Randall Cunningham (1997 - 1999)

After retiring from the NFL in 1996, former Vikings head coach Dennis Green convinced Randall Cunningham to return to the league and sign with Minnesota for the 1997 season. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of Cunningham's NFL career.

He didn't see the field much during the 1997 regular season, but in the Wild Card round of the 1997 playoffs, Cunningham started in place of an injured Brad Johnson, and he helped the Vikings erase a 16-point deficit to upset the higher-seeded New York Giants. Then in a losing effort the following week against the San Francisco 49ers, all Cunningham did was throw for 331 yards and three touchdowns.

Then came the 1998 season when Cunningham was sensational as a replacement for Johnson once again. Except, this time, Cunningham got to step in as a starter for Minnesota in Week 2 of the regular season and he never gave up the role after that.

The veteran quarterback was part of the magical 1998 Vikings offense that helped lead the team to a 15-1 record in the regular season, the best record in the history of the franchise. Cunningham played a major part in Minnesota's success that year by throwing for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Sadly, his impressive performance in 1998 still wasn't enough to propel the Vikings to the Super Bowl, as the team's journey was cut short by the Atlanta Falcons in that season's NFC Championship.

Cunningham returned as Minnesota's starting signal-caller for a final season in 1999, but with Brian Billick no longer the team's offensive coordinator, the quarterback struggled and he only ended up appearing in six games.

Despite the end to his to his tenure with the Vikings not turning out very well, Cunningham's amazing performance in 1998 is something that no Minnesota fan will ever forget.