Whether or not the Minnesota Vikings are interested in a Kirk Cousins reunion, they’ve put JJ McCarthy on notice. Also, an NFL insider hit the McCarthy debacle with a bleak Anthony Richardson comparison, according to a post on X by the Dan Patrick Show.
“It’s a similar situation to Anthony Richardson last year,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said. “I think in a perfect world, they would like to bring somebody on. “It's kind of like when you get broken up with, or somebody starts seeing other people – when they do that, it's kind of clear it's probably over.
“Similar with Anthony Richardson with Daniel Jones. When (the Colts) signed Daniel Jones, they were probably going to start him. They sort of knew where it was going. I think this is a similar situation in Minnesota. They know where this is headed, but they’ll leave a little wiggle room for maybe JJ to surprise them.”
What are the Vikings QB options for 2026?
If they don’t put their eggs into the McCarthy basket, there are a couple of quarterbacks who seem to be on their radar.
“Minnesota, I know, is considering Kyle Murray,” Fowler said. “He’s one of their stronger considerations, I would say, along with Geno Smith.
“(Minnesota) is a hot team right now for the quarterback market. Even though (the Vikings) don’t have a lot of money to spend, they have all these quarterbacks (who) are probably getting cut, that are cheap, because of the offset language.”
That’s the good news for the Vikings. But they still have to go out and land one of the guys they’re looking to get. And sometimes those things don’t fall into place.
It could dwindle down to where the best the Vikings can do for this season is McCarthy. But with his performances last year, that seems like a dead-end road.
Still, the Vikings are a good draw because of head coach Kevin O’Connell and star receiver Justin Jefferson. The right quarterback could make a Sam Darnold-like difference for the Vikings. Ironically.
