Vikings $4 Million QB Top Cut Candidate as Training Camp Nears

The Minnesota Vikings start training camp later this month and a handful of recognizable names could find themselves on the chopping block in short order.

Ryan O’Leary of The Sporting News named quarterback Sam Howell among them. Howell, who will enter camp as QB2 behind J.J. McCarthy, must prove to head coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the staff that he’s up to the challenge.

McCarthy is 22 years old and entirely unproven heading into his second NFL season after missing the whole of his rookie campaign with a knee injury.

The Vikings simply have no competition behind their top two, with Brett Rypien and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer battling for QB3 honors.

That doesn’t make Howell a lock to make the roster, though. The Vikings gave up next to nothing to acquire him, and they could easily pivot to a  better solution should one arise this summer. If, say, the [Atlanta] Falcons finally cave and cut Kirk Cousins, would Minnesota be interested in bringing back their former signal caller on what would be a veteran minimum deal?

 

Vikings Can Part With Sam Howell Painlessly This Summer

GettyQuarterback Sam Howell of the Minnesota Vikings. 

Minnesota sent the Seattle Seahawks a fifth-round pick swap for Howell, which cost the Vikings 30 spots of draft position in April.

The cost is already paid. Minnesota flipped the No. 172 pick it got back from Seattle to the Los Angeles Rams for selection Nos. 201 and 202 in Round 6. There the Vikings drafted linebacker Kobe King out of Penn State and tight end Gavin Bartholomew out of Pittsburgh.

Moving on from Howell won’t be a painful exercise or a major loss, assuming the Vikings feel the need to actually do so. Howell has a big arm and led the league in passing attempts as the starter for the Washington Commanders in 2023, completing 388-of-612 throws for 3,946 yards, 21 TDs and 21 INTs.

Howell has 22 TDs and 23 INTs over the course of his three-year career and is 5-13 as a starter in 20 appearances. He will play next season, the final of his $4 million rookie contract, at the age of 25.

Vikings Likely Must Trade to Acquire Kirk Cousins

GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Alec Lewis of The Athletic noted on July 2 that decision-making is Howell’s potentially fatal flaw.

That might not matter as much if he was the QB3 heading into camp, but the Vikings could feasibly need a backup signal-caller to play a meaningful role this season. There are several scenarios in which injury and/or poor play could require Minnesota to make at least a short-term change under center. If Howell isn’t up to the challenge, then the Vikings will be up a creek.

O’Leary suggested the Falcons might waive Cousins, though that isn’t likely after the team paid him a $10 million roster bonus in March to retain a meaningful trade asset. If Atlanta cuts Cousins, it will still owe him $27.5 million in base salary, minus the league-minimum amount he will earn from whatever team acquires him in free agency.

It’s more realistic that Minnesota would need to trade for Cousins, though negotiations would certainly see the Vikings take on only a portion of the $27.5 million. ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested in April somewhere around $10 million.

That is the same amount Minnesota paid Sam Darnold in 2024, which ended in 14 wins and a playoff appearance for the Vikings. McCarthy is on a $22 million rookie contract that pays him $5.5 million annually, so the combined salary in the QB room would still be more than reasonable for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations if it can get league-average play at that position.