Carson Wentz will start at quarterback for the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, when the 6-1 Buffalo Bills visit U.S. Bank Stadium for the biggest litmus test of the 2026 season so far.

Starting quarterback Kyler Murray is out with a hamstring strain that the team has dubbed a “week-to-week” injury. In the meantime, head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters on Friday that he has “a ton of confidence in Carson,” but the timing of Minnesota’s QB change has insiders across the NFL talking.

To add even more intrigue, their game on Monday will end about 16 hours before the NFL trade deadline, which hits Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT. Minnesota hasn’t made a move at the position yet, but their thirst for a QB has been ramping up as the week has gone on.

Minnesota Vikings QB trade rumors all over the place

Before Murray got hurt in Detroit, the Vikings were reportedly bullish on him and weren’t pursuing QB help. That report also said they wouldn’t be interested in Daniel Jones, even if the Colts made him available.

A local report also said there was “zero dialogue, zero interest” in Jones before the Lions game. Of course, that was before Murray performed poorly against the Lions and before his injury left Wentz as the Week 9 starter.

However, the tone shifted hard on Thursday night, when James Palmer reported on Prime that the Vikings haven’t ruled out a QB trade. Then Friday, Adam Schefter (ESPN) said on his podcast that he’s keeping an eye on the Vikings’ QB position this weekend.

Colts listening on Daniel Jones trade calls… maybe

But Saturday morning, the steam got even hotter. According to Ian Rapoport and Schefter, the Indianapolis Colts have received calls from multiple teams about Jones and are now willing to listen.

Schefter specifically named Baltimore as a team that checked in before trading for Jacoby Brissett. The only other team he mentioned was the Minnesota Vikings, noting that “speculation has also included’ them are part of the speculation too.

But the Ravens are hardly the only team to call the Colts about their starting quarterback, according to league sources.

Speculation has also included the Minnesota Vikings, a team Jones has history with and a team with a Super Bowl-caliber defense that shouldn’t be ruled out.

The second insider pointed to a defense good enough to win a Super Bowl. The Vikings allow 13.3 points per game, the fewest in the NFL, and lead the league with a 64.9 opponent passer rating. They also rank second with 25 sacks.

The Colts (2-6) aren’t interested in moving Jones unless the offer is fair, according to the report, and they preferred to wait until this week to decide whether to trade him at all. Their goals are to add as much draft capital as possible and reduce financial risk.

That risk is a $10.51 million injury guarantee on Jones’ contract for 2027, which becomes fully guaranteed March 15 if he’s still on the roster. If Indianapolis falls out of the playoff race, a benching could come into play.

Tom Pelissero is hearing something different than ESPN

Sources told ESPN that Jones could waive the guarantee to play elsewhere. For now, though, he is still the starter. Colts head coach Shane Steichen said this week that “Daniel gives us the best chance to win right now.”

To add more confusion, Tom Pelissero (Netflix, Ringer) isn’t as convinced the Colts are ready to move Jones. Additionally, he wrote Saturday in his Substack (The Sweep) that the Vikings have not seriously discussed trading for a QB, to this point. If they do, he writes, the easiest one to land is probably Kirk Cousins.

The 6-1 Vikings, amid their offensive struggles, have not seriously discussed trading for a QB—including a potential reunion with Kirk Cousins. But all it takes is one more QB injury this weekend to create another urgent situation.

If that happens, the most logical trade target remains Kirk Cousins…While the Raiders have no urgent need to trade Cousins, they also believe Mendoza is ready. So, even while in the playoff hunt, why wouldn’t they entertain an offer that brings them draft capital and takes Cousins’s $10 million guaranteed option bonus that’s due in March off their books?

There has been some trade interest in Daniel Jones, but the Colts have told interested teams they aren’t trading him… If any legitimate starting QB can get moved by Tuesday, it’s Cousins.

Daniel Jones’ vs Kirk Cousins history with the MN Vikings

Jones has been through Minnesota before, but not like Kirk Cousins. After the Giants waived him in November 2024, he joined the Vikings’ practice squad on Nov. 29 and moved to the active roster on Jan. 7, 2025. He never played a game for Minnesota.

He signed with Indianapolis in March 2025 and re-signed this past March on a two-year, $88 million deal. This season, he has completed 162 of 268 passes for 1,542 yards, 5 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, with a 68.7 passer rating. He’s been sacked 22 times.

Meanwhile, Cousins has been one of the most productive passers in the league through eight weeks, tossing for 2,124 yards, 19 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions.