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After suffering their second-straight ugly loss on Monday, the Minnesota Vikings have fallen to 6-2 and now have just hours to find a quarterback who can succeed in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, before the NFL trade deadline hits at 3 p.m. CT.
Against the Bills, in his second start of the season, Carson Wentz went 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Kyler Murray is still out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
The MN Vikings went into last night’s game saying they were not interested in adding to the QB room. Of course, that changed pretty quickly. Before the contest even ended, Ian Rapoport (ESPN) was reporting that the front office had a change of heart and was now expected to explore the quarterback market Tuesday, which they reportedly have.
So, while GM Nolan Teasley calls around, here are the four realistic targets, ranked from worst to best, who the Minnesota Vikings are likely pursuing today in trade talks. Below that is another list of next-level quarterbacks that would be, at the very least, worth making a call on.
Sanders made his first start of the season in Week 9 at New Orleans and went 19-of-31 for 297 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He has a 112.3 passer rating in three games this year.
The 24-year-old is on a rookie deal through 2028 that pays him $1,005,000 this season, which would fit under Minnesota’s cap. No reports have tied the Browns to trading him.
Smith has started all nine games for the 2-7 Jets and has 2,078 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. His 100.5 passer rating ranks seventh in the league.
This isn’t the first time Smith’s name has come up in Minnesota. The Vikings had interest in him before free agency this year. No report has the Jets shopping the 36-year-old before the deadline.
Daniel Jones spent part of the 2024 season on the Vikings’ practice squad and knows Kevin O’Connell’s offense. This year he has 1,722 yards, six touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine starts for the 2-7 Colts, with a 68.9 passer rating.
The Colts have been firm about keeping him. They told teams they aren’t moving Jones, then told Jones himself on Saturday that he’s staying.
Ian Rapoport (NFL Network) still named Jones as an option on Tuesday morning and said Monday’s loss “could change things” with Indianapolis.
A team trading for Jones now would owe him less than $3 million this season, and only about $10.51 million of his $38 million in 2027 is guaranteed until mid-March.
Cousins has the best numbers of the four. He has 2,340 yards and 20 touchdowns, second in the league behind only Joe Burrow’s 23, with eight interceptions and a 97.1 passer rating for the 4-5 Raiders.
He started for O’Connell in 2022 and 2023, and his contract runs through 2027. Las Vegas hadn’t received any calls on him as of this weekend and plans to keep starting him until No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is ready.
Alec Lewis (The Athletic) still called Cousins the most obvious option on Tuesday morning and wrote that he “would be gettable at a price.” Cousins makes $1.3 million this season but has a $10 million guaranteed roster bonus due in March.
Unlike a couple of the quarterbacks above, the four listed below are not rumored as being gettable on the trade market. However, as Dan Orlovsky pointed out before Monday’s debacle of a QB performance, you can’t know until you call.
These quarterbacks are either playing on bad teams or they are aging on middling teams that might think seriously about mortgaging some of their present in exchange for securing a more viable future.
The Chargers are 0-8, and Herbert has a 70.4 passer rating with six touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 31 sacks in eight starts. He’s also dealing with a left middle finger injury that Jim Harbaugh said “could be a fracture.”
Herbert is signed through 2029 with a $46.35 million cap hit this season. Calls from rival general managers on him have been met with “hard nos.”
Stafford ranks fourth in the league with 2,374 yards and has 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 90.6 passer rating for the 5-4 Rams, who just lost their No. 1 receiver, Puka Nacua, to injured reserve.
The 38-year-old is under contract through 2029 at $40 million this season. There have been no reports of the Rams taking calls on him.
Young has 2,197 yards, eighth in the league, with 16 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 91.3 passer rating in eight starts for the 3-5 Panthers.
The 25-year-old’s rookie deal runs through this season. No report has Carolina shopping him.
Darnold went 14-3 as Minnesota’s starter under O’Connell in 2024. This year he has 1,478 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions in seven starts for the 5-4 Seahawks.
Mike Macdonald has ruled him out this week, and Darnold is under contract through 2028. There have been no reports of Seattle shopping him, but would they think about moving their injured QB for a couple of first-round picks?
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