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The Vikings did not re-sign their longtime starting quarterback Kirk Cousins who inked a deal with the Atlanta Falcons.
Then, Minnesota drafted Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Lose a player, gain a player. McCarthy was the fifth signal caller taken off the board.
Throughout training camp, McCarthy was penciled in as this year’s starter. He started the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders and looked really good despite only playing 30 snaps.
Then tragedy struck. He tore the meniscus in his right knee in the preseason opener last Saturday, a 24-23 win. His final play just happened to be a touchdown pass.
The injury required surgery and now he is listed on IR, which is season-ending. An odd fact: J.J. McCarthy is the first quarterback drafted in the first round in the common draft era (since 1967) to miss his entire rookie season due to injury.
Cousins had been their starting quarterback for the past six seasons and played 88 games with a 50-37-1 record during that time. He had passed for over 39,000 yards and was named to four Pro Bowls. In 2015, he was the NFL Completion Percentage Leader (69.8%).
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In his final season with the Vikings, he tore his Achilles which placed him on IR. Still, he was expected to remain with the franchise but instead signed a four-year $180 million deal with the Falcons.
Last year’s backup QBs were Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall.
Mullens spent the 2021 season with the Browns and actually had one start. He has played in 29 NFL games so far. Hall was taken by Minnesota in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of BYU. After Cousins became hurt last year, Hall had two starts (1-1-0) while Mullens had three (0-3-0).
Will the Vikings add another QB to their room?
After Cousins found a new home, the Vikings signed free agent Sam Darnold of the San Francisco 49ers. Darnold has not found fame and fortune in the league from what was once a very promising career as he was taken with the third overall pick in 2018. Since then, he has failed as a starter and became a career backup.
Now, Darold is the starter whether the coaching staff likes it or not. After Darnold on the depth chart, Nick Mullens would be the next man up, with second-year man Jaren Hall behind him.
Both Mullens and Hall have had zero success in the league. Sam Darnold has some experience with 66 NFL games played. Is he what a franchise would want as their starting quarterback?
Maybe there is a pressing need to add a quarterback.
With the Vikings in town this week, they will have full access to all four of the Browns quarterbacks. And Cleveland can only keep three. Whoever they release on the final cutdown day, that player will assuredly be snatched up on the waiver wire.
The Browns are going to have to release at least one quarterback eventually. So, why not go ahead and lend a hand to Minnesota and trade a quarterback, and get something of value in return?
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