Mac Jones Vikings Speculation Isn’t Over Either, Apparently
Earlier today, we covered the further speculation of Anthony Richardson to the Minnesota Vikings. I personally can’t believe this is still happening, and I made it clear in that piece. You can imagine my shock when I saw another piece of purple QB speculation come across my desk on the same exact day.
Alike the Anthony Richardson ties, Mac Jones was frequently brought up in rumors surrounding himself and the Minnesota Vikings if the San Francisco 49ers did opt to trade him this offseason. It appears the 49ers are rolling with Mac Jones for 2026 again as the backup for starter Brock Purdy, so it looks like Jones won’t get his next big opportunity just yet.
Still, the Vikings were brought up in speculation to trade for Mac Jones even now after the signing of Kyler Murray.
Mac Jones Named as Potential QB Solution for Vikings
The idea comes from Moe Moton of Bleacher Report, the same publication that featured more Anthony Richardson speculation, although a different author.
Moton justifies the idea of the Vikings trading for Mac Jones:
“Though even if Murray has a bounce-back year, the Vikings may not keep him around for the long term. Remember, they allowed Sam Darnold to walk after his first Pro Bowl campaign. Minnesota can get ahead of the rising cost of the quarterback market by acquiring Jones and signing him to an extension after the 2026 term if Murray does enough to spike his 2027 market value.
Jones will also be a free agent next year, but he won’t be able to demand as much as a starting quarterback with decent passing numbers.
The Vikings could make the playoffs with Murray, which would likely push them out of range for a top 2027 quarterback prospect. Instead of earmarking significant cap space for him or hoping for a trade-up in next year’s draft, they can acquire and extend Jones to stabilize their quarterback room.“
This one is actually coming from a decent place. It would still be silly for the Vikings to send what would be “significant” draft capital for Jones (late Day 2, early Day 3 pick), but I guess it would be a contingency plan. The idea doesn’t even really mention J.J. McCarthy, other than noting that Kyler Murray is the favorite to win the job over him. Other than that, it’s like McCarthy doesn’t even exist.
Sure, you could make the argument that you can never be too safe, but isn’t this a little overkill? I don’t think Guinness World Records gives out plaques for having the most former first-round QBs on your roster at one time.
Mac Jones Reportedly Preferred Landing With Vikings if He Left San Fran
ESPN’s Nick Wagoner recently shared some reporting work that implied Mac Jones actually wanted to come to the Twin Cities if he were to be dealt from the 49ers.
“…for a team such as the Minnesota Vikings, which was believed to be Jones’ preferred destination outside of San Francisco, it was easier and cheaper to sign Kyler Murray to a league-minimum deal because of offset language in his contract, than it was to deal a pick and then potentially sign Jones to a lucrative extension.”
Yeah, it makes sense. It’s not often that QBs with Kyler Murray’s talent just become available on the open market for virtually free. If Kevin O’Connell wanted to stick to his words from earlier this offseason of “having the best QB room possible” and he didn’t sign Murray, then he would be a liar, simply put.
Sign a QB like Kyler Murray for absolutely nothing, or trade away valuable draft capital for Jones when you have to extend both of them very soon? Not the hardest decision to me, personally.
