Analysts Failed to Understand the Sam Howell Deal
The Minnesota Vikings made some moves on Sunday. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made his first roster cuts, getting rid of 11 players ahead of Tuesday’s cutdown day. More noteworthy, however, were his backup quarterback moves. Sam Howell was shipped to Philadelphia for a couple of late-round picks, and Carson Wentz was signed to take his place.
Analysts Failed to Understand the Sam Howell Deal
At first glance, it might be a little strange to throw away the entire backup QB plan with only 15 days until the season opener, but the Vikings got something in return for a player that didn’t show nearly enough to feel confident in him as the QB2 and signed an experienced replacement instead.
Surely analysts liked that move. Well, not so fast.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic gave the Eagles a B for the trade. The Vikings didn’t get a grade. Instead, they received the word “Huh?”
Howe wrote, “The Vikings’ motivation is a little more perplexing, especially with J.J. McCarthy set to take over a team that was a victory shy of the NFC’s top seed in 2024. Yeah, they subsequently added 32-year-old Carson Wentz, but the 2016 first-rounder has started two games over the last two seasons and hasn’t had much success since flourishing early in his career.”
There’s no doubt about it, Wentz hasn’t had much success in years. Still, Howell struggled in last year’s backup situation when he had to replace Geno Smith in Seattle, and he struggled in camp and the preseason. Wentz, meanwhile, started a couple of games in the last two seasons and looked like, well, a backup quarterback.
“For better or worse — and there’s more reason to be optimistic than not — McCarthy is the new franchise quarterback,” Howe added. “The trade will be an afterthought if McCarthy stays healthy and shows his potential, but there’s an undeniable risk after he missed his entire rookie season with a meniscus surgery.”
Concerns about inexperience and injury are why the Vikings didn’t feel comfortable entering the season with a struggling Howell or the inexperienced Max Brosmer as McCarthy’s primary alternative. He noted that Wentz was out there and could’ve been signed weeks or months ago, which can’t be denied.
Maybe Wentz didn’t want to go through the offseason programs and training camp, which is pretty normal for veteran players. Stephon Gilmore did it last year, to a certain extent. Wentz has a year of experience working with Sean McVay under his belt, and the offenses are close enough to suggest a smooth transition.
CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr at least gave the Vikings a B+, but he started his analysis with the words, “In what is certainly a head-scratching move for the Vikings, they did upgrade at the backup quarterback position by moving on from Howell.”
That leads one to the question, why was it a head-scratching move if they upgraded the position?
Part of his evaluation was a missed detail, though. He wrote later, “The Vikings traded a fifth-round pick in April for Howell, only to get a fifth-round pick back for 2026 by dealing him. The Howell experience at QB2 didn’t work, but it was a push. The Vikings just have to bank on Wentz being better than Howell this season.”
The Vikings did, in fact, trade a fifth-round pick to Seattle. That was pick 142. However, the Vikings got Howell and pick 172 in return. Adofo-Mensah turned a 30-spot draft slide into a fifth-rounder (he also gave up a sixth-rounder for another seventh in the process).
Perhaps that detail would’ve encouraged Kerr to raise his grade a little.
ESPN’s Ben Solak, who gave the Vikings a B, likely had the most fitting analysis from a Vikings’ perspective: “The Vikings have a problem in the other direction. QB2 behind second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a critical job, but Howell did not have a particularly impressive camp or preseason process. The Vikings signed veteran Carson Wentz to replace him. Expect undrafted rookie Max Brosmer, who has had a strong camp, to continue making noise in the QB2 battle as well.”
Brosmer impressed all summer and, depending on how quickly Wentz can learn the offense, might even have an outside chance to start the season as QB2. Either way, he has shown the skill set of a long-term backup, and the backup problem might be in the rearview mirror a year from now.
“The Vikings still have a QB problem, but they gained some draft capital, so this is a fine trade for them. The Eagles continue to kick the tires on as many young QBs as they can, and it’s hard to argue with their vision for the position over the past several years,” Solak concluded.
For now, the Vikings’ QB depth chart is McCarthy starting, followed by Wentz and Brosmer.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.