Vikings Must Pick Between 2 Redundancies
The list of departed Vikings players in the 2024 offseason is quite long. Most notable were obviously the exits of the two four-time Pro Bowlers, Danielle Hunter and Kirk Cousins. The former left for his hometown, Houston, and has been replaced by free agents Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Rookie first-rounder Dallas Turner is supposed to step into his footsteps long-term.
Vikings Must Pick Between 2 Redundancies
New Falcons captain Cousins, meanwhile, will be succeeded by free agent Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy. The two newcomers will compete for the starting role, although the veteran is the favorite to get the nod in Week 1’s opener versus the New York Giants.
Minnesota’s QB count has risen to four after losing Cousins and his short-term replacement Joshua Dobbs, in free agency and adding the duo. The two returning passers, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, remain on the roster.
Last season, the Vikings entered the regular season with three signal-callers on the 53-man roster, and it is highly unlikely that they would keep an additional one in 2024. The league has even eased the rules, allowing a practice squad QB to be the emergency QB on gameday, opening the door for teams to return to only keeping two passers, which the Vikes have frequently done throughout the years.
The most likely scenario, however, is that the purple team will keep three QBs on the 53-man roster despite the rule change, which creates a numbers problem. There are three spots and four candidates, pushing one into odd-man-out territory.
Undoubtedly, the purple team will keep the recently arrived Darnold and McCarthy. The only reason to part ways with Darnold would be if McCarthy is instantly impressive and another franchise offers a king’s ransom for the former third-overall pick, potentially after a starter sustains an injury in training camp. Both of these conditions are unlikely. McCarthy is safe as a first-rounder.
That opens a two-man race for the third spot between Hall and Mullens. Both guys unexpectedly saw time on the field in 2023. While there is always a chance that a team asks its backup to take some snaps to rest the starter or in case of an injury, Cousins had been nearly invincible in his entire career until he took a weird step and ruptured his Achilles.
Logically, the team would turn to veteran Mullens, but a back injury forced him to watch the drama unfold on injured reserve. Despite trading for Dobbs, rookie fifth-rounder Hall would start versus the Atlanta Falcons. After two drives, a concussion forced him to exit the game, allowing Dobbs-mania to begin.
Mullens later replaced him after his crash landing. He continued to push the ball down the field, and the offense was quite effective with him under center, but high turnover numbers led the Vikings to bench him for the rookie. Hall started in the crucial contests against the Packers, a matchup with playoff implications. He lasted two quarters before the Vikings re-inserted Mullens and certainly looked overwhelmed by the game’s speed.
Ultimately, Mullens tabulated seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. The turnovers are unacceptable, but he deserves some credit for keeping the offense explosive. On the other hand, Hall didn’t look like an NFL quarterback. The good news is that he was a rookie, and folks should be more patient with first-year players.
The Vikings now must make a decision. They have a veteran passer in Darnold, so keeping Mullens isn’t sensible. He could be traded for a late-rounder or a pick-swap to a team that actually needs an experienced QB.
However, McCarthy is the player who needs all the attention from the coaches and all the reps. If he’s the developmental player, that would make life even harder for Hall. He was the inferior QB compared to Mullens in 2023, but he might still have some untapped potential and could turn into a long-term backup to McCarthy, especially because he is under contract for three more seasons.
Ultimately, the Vikings will decide between Mullens’ higher floor and Hall’s long-term use. McCarthy’s development is crucial for the decision. There’s no need to keep Mullens if he’s game-ready, but if he isn’t, Mullens will stay as the insurance to Darnold so McCarthy can fully focus on himself.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt