This offseason is an interesting one for the Minnesota Vikings. They have some big decisions to make at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy returning from injury as a potential starter and Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, Nick Mullens, and Brett Rypien all expected to become free agents.
The Vikings' success last season with Darnold could tempt Minnesota to find another experienced passer. They could want to see if they can keep the momentum going from their 14-3 effort during the 2024 NFL season.
The purple and gold have enough salary cap space to make some moves but don't have a lot of draft capital to make a trade if that is the desired route. If the right offer is on the table, Minnesota could be tempted to make it happen.
Reasonable Matthew Stafford trade package could tempt Minnesota Vikings this offseason
Tyler Sullivan at CBS Sports recently shared an article that outlined a potential trade package that would send Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
Here is the deal Sullivan outlined:
Vikings get:
- Matthew Stafford, QB
Rams get:
- Vikings 20245 first-round pick (No. 24 overall)
Considering the Minnesota Vikings used a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, using another top pick to get another passer seems a bit excessive. However, any indication that the young passer isn't ready to start could tempt the team to make a trade like this.
The article mentions the connection between Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and Stafford and a possible desire to bring back Sam Darnold or another experienced quarterback to make a serious run at the 2025 NFL season.
While that could be tempting, Minnesota has a lot of needs that need to be filled this offseason. That first-round draft pick could be used to land a defensive back, running back, or to improve either side of the trenches. Using that pick to trade for Stafford would mean missing out on a young prospect in favor of a 37-year-old quarterback.
However, many fans will argue that the quarterback position is the most important spot on an NFL roster to get right and investing that pick in the position would be getting a proven commodity instead of gambling on J.J. McCarthy,
There is a lot of time between now and the start of the 2025 NFL season. Much could happen with the quarterback position or the rest of the Minnesota Vikings roster between now and then. Keeping an eye on the situation is highly recommended for fans.