Lately, The Vikings’ QB Rumors Have Been Plentiful
Never a dull moment.
Lately, the Vikings’ QB rumors have been plentiful. The wild thing is that things are going well for Minnesota. The offense is sitting at 10th in the NFL by averaging 24.4 points per game. More importantly, the record is a strong 8-2 as Kevin O’Connell’s crew journeys into the stretch run of the season. What’s with all the rumors? Check them out.
The Vikings’ QB Rumors
Rumor #1 — The Vikings Should Sign Ryan Tannehill
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk was the mastermind behind this one.
Sam Darnold was putting together a brutal day at the office against a very poor Jacksonville team. Florio took to social media to venture into a theory: “Is it crazy to wonder what Kevin O’Connell could do with Ryan Tannehill down the stretch? Because it really looks like the Sam Darnold chariot has turned back into a pumpkin.”
When Paul Allen responded with a “No thanks,” Florio offered a retort: “Ceiling once again is divisional round.”
For so many reasons, the Tannehill idea isn’t going anywhere. The 8-2 Vikings are moving into Week 12 of their season. Mr. Darnold, far from perfect, has been rock-solid. Put simply, this one isn’t happening unless there’s an injury or two.
Rumor #2 — Aaron Rodgers to the Vikings in 2025
Collectively, Vikings fans appear to be speaking in unison: please no.
Change is afoot with the New York Jets. The 3-8 football team is going nowhere fast and the suggestion appears to be that Mr. Rodgers may soon be unemployed. Consider, for instance, what Rich Cimini of ESPN said: “With a totally new regime in 2025, it likely means Aaron Rodgers won’t be back. A new GM and new HC will probably want their own QB. Rodgers has a good relationship with Douglas, and last week he advocated for Jeff Ulbrich — and it’s hard to imagine him wanting to even be back.”
In response, ESPN’s Vikings beat writer Kevin Seifert lit the fuse — even if he was joking — by sending a follow-up tweet: “Vikings have one QB under contract for 2025 and he has never played a down of regular-season NFL football. It’s happening.” Keep in mind that there were some emojis tossed in; Seifert is likely joking, but there are people thinking that Rodgers-to-Minnesota is a thing (see Dustin Baker discuss some of those theories here and here).
For so many reasons — age, cost, declining play, widespread disdain among the fans — Rodgers to Minnesota seems unlikely.
Rumor #3 — Sam Darnold is Going to Return to the Vikings
Admittedly, I’ve been among those pushing the theory.
On The Vikings Gazette, I ventured into why the fit in 2025 made sense. Go ahead and read the piece — and subscribe! — if you feel so inclined. In essence, the thinking isn’t super different from Seifert’s tweet about Rodgers.
Mr. McCarthy will be a sophomore passer coming off of a lost rookie season. He is recovering from a major knee injury and has proven nothing in the NFL. Quite possibly, McCarthy will be excellent as early as 2025, but little is guaranteed. Might a Darnold reunion make sense? After all, we’re talking about a roster that’s ready to compete now.
I’m not the only one to have the thought. On ESPN, Jeremy Fowler puts together a similar idea: “Darnold and Minnesota are 7-2 together, so entertaining a bridge deal while the team continues to develop McCarthy behind the scenes shouldn’t be completely off the table. Darnold’s decision-making on the field down the stretch will determine a lot about his future.”
At the risk of sounding too biased, I’ll conclude by arguing that Sam Darnold coming back in 2025 is the most plausible of the Vikings’ QB rumors. In the end, though, sports are wonderfully unpredictable, so stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.