The Minnesota Vikings were reportedly considering the idea of bringing in Aaron Rodgers before passing on him and essentially committing to J.J. McCarthy.
While it felt like a weird move for the Vikings to consider bringing in Rodgers a year after drafting McCarthy at 10th overall, it also makes sense to consider a future Hall of Famer with an elite talent at the position. Your mileage may vary on whether or not Rodgers still has the juice to play at a high level at age 31.
Vikings have confidence in J.J. McCarthy
After the Rodgers rumors were put to rest, news came about that the Vikings were interested in signing Ryan Tannehill. On the surface, I liked the move for a couple of reasons and wrote about it when the news broke on Saturday.
The move to potentially sign Tannehill would be a smart one for two reasons:
-Tannehill was also an athletic quarterback selected in the top 10
-He wouldn't count toward the compensatory formula
This offseason, the Vikings and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have been doing a good job of maneuvering with the compensatory pick formula and are currently projected to receive third and fourth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Because Tannehill didn't play last season, he doesn't count toward the formula.
The other element is that Tannehill can show McCarthy how to maximize his abilities as a dual-threat guy, sharing his experiences of his failures in Miami and how he rose back up in Tennessee.
Plus, he's essentially a more athletic Kirk Cousins, which definitely works in this offense.
Now, there are some interesting things at play. After the Tennessee Titans drafted Malik Willis, Tannehill had some interesting comments about mentoring a young quarterback.
Those comments had our own Easton Freeze speculating about the Vikings' confidence in McCarthy not being what they are saying, even going so far as to call them liars.
Their name being throw around for months now in the Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes is far too much smoke to dismiss as fire-free. Their actions convey a desire for a quality veteran option that could very well play meaningful snaps in 2025, maybe even start the season. And now with them being openly reported to have interest in Tannehill—a man who made it clear before he left that he’s not necessarily interested in coming back to hold a clipboard—it’s never been more crystal clear how reticent this team is to just roll with McCarthy for whatever reason.
That’s not to say they have no faith in him at all. But it sure does seem like they think him continuing to sit would be best for both the player and the team. Perhaps it’s how competitive they believe this roster to be right now, needing only a competent veteran mind to run the controls. Maybe it’s that his recovery timetable concerns them. Whatever the case, a Tannehill signing could make a lot of sense for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Freeze calling them liars seems to be based on how the national media has been reporting on the Vikings. If that's how you are getting your Vikings news, it makes some sense. There's one issue at hand.
The national media doesn't even get the Vikings.
Let's put it simply. Every move the Vikings have made over the course of the last few months has been to maximize the value of a rookie contract. They aren't trying to bring in a veteran quarterback to start over McCarthy. Yes, they offered contracts to both Darnold and Jones, but they were going to be in a competition, something they want McCarthy to win (even if it's a farce).
The contracts offered to Darnold and Jones were at a certain level and they weren't willing to go much higher. It's why both players chose to go elsewhere, plus they will have a clearer path to starting in both Seattle and Indianapolis than they would in Minnesota where McCarthy is clearly the guy.
Now, is Tannehill willing to be a backup quarterback after sitting out a year? There's a chance. Even so, having conversations doesn't inherently mean they don't have faith in McCarthy this year, when the opposite is true. Everything the organization has said and done signals that McCarthy is the guy next season.
The national media was wrong the entire time on the Justin Jefferson contract extension and they misled once again about McCarthy. Why? To maximize traffic.
