J.J. McCarthy’s first true season under center left several questions unanswered.
After missing his entire rookie season with a knee injury, the 2024 10th overall pick struggled considerably in another injury-plagued sophomore campaign — leaving the Vikings unwilling to give up on him, but also hesitant to grant him free rein.
To patch up the increasingly volatile quarterback situation, Minnesota is “considering” pursuing veterans Kyler Murray or Geno Smith — who are widely expected to get released from their respective teams — according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.
While Murray and Smith are considered the top tier options for Minnesota, as outlined by Fowler, the ESPN duo also listed Joe Flacco, former Viking Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa and even Aaron Rodgers as possible stopgap options.
Available unproven backups — such as Tanner McKee, Davis Mills, or Anthony Richardson Jr. — could also be in the mix as a means of bolstering depth, though they likely wouldn’t help with McCarthy’s development or keep the team afloat in the interim.
McCarthy, 23, completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 games.
Neither Murray nor Smith are free agents, though Fowler said that “expectation leaguewide” is that they’ll soon become free agents, adding that Minnesota is an “attractive destination” to many quarterbacks.
Murray, the 28-year-old former No. 1 pick who won the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year award with the Cardinals, got benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett in early November.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Smith looks to be on his way out of Las Vegas following an NFL-worst 3-14 campaign, which seemingly triggered a full-scale rebuild around newly hired head coach Klint Kubiak and presumed first overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
Smith led the NFL with 17 interceptions last season after a successful three-year run as the Seahawks’ starter and could benefit from a more competent offensive operation.