Well, At Least The Vikings Now Have Some Form of Firm QB News
The Vikings haven’t yet arrived at the news that everyone is waiting for ahead of the new league year beginning today. What did arrive, though, is word about Sam Howell’s next step.
Mr. Howell, a journeyman within his still-young career, is heading over to Dallas. Check out the quick update from ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Former Eagles QB Sam Howell has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cowboys, per source.”
The Vikings See Sam Howell Stay in NFC
Earning an “A” in Professor Kevin O’Connell’s “QB 101” class means accomplishing a couple things (at minimum).
Start off with accuracy. Putting the ball precisely where it needs to be with great regularity is what Coach O’Connell values above all. Likewise, there needs to be a great ability to digest a huge amount of information. Minnesota’s scheme is complex. Large and difficult. Having the bandwidth to take on a mountain of information is needed. Those two traits — accuracy and brains — are paramount.
In a lot of ways, Kirk Cousins is the ideal. Joshua Dobbs is a great choice due to his intelligence, though his arm talent isn’t anything to get too excited about. Sam Darnold ended up doing quite well. J.J. McCarthy may get there, but he needs to keep improving.
What about Sam Howell?
Lacking depth at quarterback last offseason, the Vikings pulled off a low-level swap to get him to town. The thinking was that he was a still-young arm who had starting experience. As a result, Howell could function as a nice backup while being someone who could develop alongside McCarthy.
But while the plan made sense, Howell would be sent out of town prior to the beginning of the 2025 regular season. Veteran Carson Wentz got tossed into the mix as Minnesota moved on.
Howell stands at 6’1″ and 220 pounds. Washington brought him into the NFL with the No. 144 pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, which arrives in the 5th. Most notably, Howell started all seventeen games in 2023. The final tally shows a 4-13 record while the young fella — who, in fairness, was not put in a good position — completed 63.4% of his passes for 3,946 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.
Afterwards, Howell went on a rollercoaster ride around the NFL. He has been traded three times in his NFL career.
Washington shipped him to Seattle. Howell was a depth option for the Seahawks for 2024. Part of 2025 was spent in Minnesota competing for the main backup job. When that chance ended in a disappointing manner, Howell got sent to Philadelphia. The past season as an Eagle has now ended, resulting in a chance to work alongside Dak Prescott with the Cowboys.
Note that he’s now up to a trio of teams from the NFC East: Commanders, Eagles, and Cowboys. Powerful people in that division evidently see good reason to give him a shot.
Later on today, the Vikings should get clarity on how things are going to unfold at quarterback. The widespread expectation is that Kyler Murray is soon to become a Viking. Until the ink gets dropped down on paper, though, there will be uncertainty.
Minnesota’s QB room currently consists of J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
