The options and implications of the Vikings' QB decision

Kevin O'Connell talked about losing his starting quarterback on Monday as a decision looms concerning what's next

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — When Teddy Bridgewater went down with a season-ending knee injury in August 2016, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman traded for starting quarterback Sam Bradford. There is somewhat of a familiar feeling seven years later after Kirk Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in Green Bay, ending his season and forcing the Vikings into a difficult decision regarding what to do next at QB.

The biggest difference in the Vikings’ present situation is the timeline for when the team expected to compete for a championship. In ‘16, the Vikings were coming off an NFC North title with a young team that they believed could be in the mix for the NFC with competent quarterback play so they sent a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was an all-in move that ultimately did not work, though Spielman was right about the overall team strength as Case Keenum led the Vikings to the NFC Championship in 2017.

Now the team is in the midst of a “competitive rebuild” in which they overhauled a large percentage of the 13-win 2022 roster in hopes of getting younger and putting themselves in line to soon be strong enough to be considered a favorite for the Super Bowl rather than a long shot.

But it’s hard to look at a team that has won four of its last five games with Pro Bowl-caliber players at key offensive positions and terrific defensive play and say that they are rebuilding. And it can’t be ignored that they do not play a team that’s presently over .500 (before MNF) until December 17th.

“What are the resources?… is it a short-term only thing? Is it something that could be more long-term? Is it something that truly is an upgrade versus just the sheer dealing with the reality of a tough situation right now? That’s what we have to work through,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Monday.

“We signed up to live in this kind of dual world that sometimes can feel like it’s competing against each other a little bit,” he added.

Is it really a dual world now? When the Vikings took their offseason approach of letting go the likes of Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and Dalvin Tomlinson, they did not know whether unproven players would be able to fill their shoes. At first it didn’t look that way as they started the season 1-4. It certainly seems lately like that is the case as inexperienced defenders like Josh Metellus and Cam Bynum have become playmakers and receiver Jordan Addison proved again against Green Bay that he is a rising star in the NFL.

There are only four teams who have scored more points offensively in the NFC and they moved into the top 15 on defense by holding the Packers to 10 points at Lambeau.

It seems odd to take a team with this much talent — including on the coaching side as we have seen from O’Connell’s passing game and Brian Flores’ impact — and say that they should roll with rookie fifth-rounder Jaren Hall and veteran backups Nick Mullens and Sean Mannion. Not that it’s impossible for Hall to win games but it would be a lot to ask him to save the season when Sunday was his first ever playing experience.

There appears to be options as the Vikings head into the trade deadline on Tuesday. Could they pry away a former quality starter like Andy Dalton from the Panthers or get Jameis Winston from the Saints?

Those might be the types of moves that might not be enough of an upgrade to pull the trigger. Dalton has only won 33 of 86 starts since 2016 and Winston has a backup-level career 87.3 QB rating with a few blips of quality play here and there. (Side note: Nick Mullens has a 88.0 career rating). It’s plausible that either player or someone of similar ilk could produce quality QB play over the next nine games and get the Vikings into the postseason but asking them to come in midway through the year and play far above their normal level feels like a stretch.

Where the “rebuild” part enters the discussion is that going 8-9 does very little to help the Vikings’ future. They have to believe that the player they acquire can get them into the postseason. While the Vikings may feel that they are better than the Falcons, Saints, Rams or Commanders, there is likely to only be one playoff spot to fight for and they need to get it to justify giving away any type of draft capital.

There is now-and-later options. Could they make Mac Jones into the starter he looked like he was ready to become as a rookie? Could they reassess not acquiring Trey Lance before the season?

Things have gone so sour in New England that it is easy to forget Jones took the Patriots to the playoffs as a rookie with a far better supporting cast and coaching than he has presently. Getting him from the Patriots would give the Vikings some insurance for next year if Cousins does not return (he is not under contract) and if they either can’t find the quarterback of their dreams in the draft or Drafted QB X isn’t ready to play.

Lance would be much more of Hail Mary but still could have potential upside and enough running ability to even the playing field. And if he didn’t work out, well, you know the rest about the draft status.

The price tag matters though. Would the Patriots send Jones to the Vikings for a third-round pick? Would the Cowboys move Lance after just trading for him? Even if the price is small, every pick matters when there is a high potential of the Vikings picking a QB in the first-round next year.

Then there is the most Vikings-y Vikings thing that ever Viking’d. The legend option. Matt Ryan has not officially retired and Tom Brady is an alien. Either quarterback may be enticed by the idea of playing behind an offensive line that has been spectacular at keeping Cousins clean in recent weeks and throwing balls to the Jefferson-Addison combo. It would be a vastly different situation than what either player had with the Colts or Bucs last year.

“You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve received in my cell phone in the last 24 hours,” O’Connell said.

Well, this is the team that acquired Brett Favre and nearly went to the Super Bowl with Randall Cunningham, so we’d believe just about anything.

The legend idea, no matter how improbable, does give the Vikings a legitimate chance of making the playoffs and doesn’t hurt them in the long run or cost anything, save for whatever cap space they aren’t able to carry over to next season. It also sends the message to this up-and-coming team that there is belief in what they are doing, rather than being looked at as a “competitive rebuild” club.

But it still seems wildly unlikely considering players like Ryan, Brady, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino etc. are probably not interested in a sudden mid-season return.

Does that mean playing Hall is the best option? It has to be in the back of someone’s mind that there might be a Dak Prescott or Brock Purdy scenario here.

O’Connell admitted on Monday that he was told of the serious nature of Cousins’ injury right away and factored it into putting Hall in the game.

“I did want to see Jaren [Hall] go in the game and function,” the head coach said. “A lot of the feedback that I got from the guys in the huddle was he was outstanding calling plays, cadence, snap counts, center-quarterback exchange. Those are all things that go through your mind…I was really using some of those opportunities to show Jaren [Hall] my confidence in him, but also give him some opportunities to play quarterback and convert a big third down there.”

Using Hall the rest of the way would give the Vikings a chance to evaluate him as a future option. But if he can’t perform at a high level, it would seem to let a season slip away from a lot of very good players and potentially hold back an emerging star like Addison.

It’s tricky business and the Vikings have almost no time to make the decision with the trade deadline coming on Tuesday.

This is the type of situation that will test the “culture of collaboration” that the Vikings sought when hiring O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah.

“I think I feel very, very comfortable with our dialogue, my ability to express football-wise where I think we’re at, where I think we’re going,” O’Connell said. “I think the important job for me as the head coach is to be open-minded to that dialogue and Kwesi and his staff as we work towards what we think is the right possible thing for us, really, across the board for our whole team.”

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