Despite some recent arguments to the contrary, the Minnesota Vikings have been all-in on J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season and beyond.
It’s the rest of the quarterback room that’s been in question since the start of the new league year.
It took until the end of April, during draft weekend, for the team to solidify its QB room. The Vikings first swung a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for Sam Howell, who was left on the clearance rack after Seattle drafted Jalen Milroe in the third round. They then signed former Minnesota Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer after he went undrafted.
Minnesota’s quarterback room of McCarthy, Howell, Brosmer and Brett Rypien definitely leaves much to be desired. The team opted for Howell’s cheap contract (he’s due just $1.1 million in 2025) and Brosmer’s upside over paying for a more established veteran behind McCarthy. The Vikings' two projected compensatory picks for 2026 definitely played a role in those decisions as well.
ESPN insider Dan Graziano sees that changing, however. He recently pitched a surprising trade between the Vikings and Atlanta Falcons that would send Kirk Cousins back to Minnesota as McCarthy’s backup and mentor.
“Well, it makes sense for all three sides, really, counting Cousins himself,” Graziano wrote. “He wants a chance to start and could use his no-trade clause to nix a deal to any place he doesn't want to go. But if he has to be a backup, we know he liked living in Minnesota and playing for the Vikings. Plus, J.J. McCarthy is still an unknown after his major knee injury, so maybe this could turn into more than just a QB2 destination. In this scenario, the Vikings would agree to pay $10 million of the guaranteed money on Cousins' contract for 2025.”
As for the terms of this hypothetical deal, Graziano has the Vikings sending a 2026 fifth-round pick, as well as a 2027 seventh-rounder and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for Cousins.
While Cousins would be a serious upgrade over Howell as QB2, given his lengthy NFL career and experience in Kevin O’Connell’s system, the money aspect would be the toughest hurdle. The Vikings opted against paying big money to retain guys like Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones this offseason, so it would be a curious decision at best to turn around and do the same for Cousins.
There’s a potential out in Cousins’ deal after the 2025 season that would result in a dead cap hit of $45 million. The Falcons would obviously have to commit to absorbing the majority of that sum, as the Vikings have already committed around $300 million in free agency this year.
This trade pitch feels like a serious long shot, especially for a team that’s been short on draft capital in recent seasons. Crazier things have happened in the NFL, though.
If Cousins somehow makes his way back to Minnesota, the Vikings would have essentially traded a one-year rental of Cousins and some Day 3 future draft capital to Atlanta for explosive rookie wide receiver Tai Felton, who Minnesota selected this year with the third-round comp pick they got for Cousins in the first place.
That right there constitutes the ultimate chess not checkers type of move.
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