With the devastating news that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss the 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for a new passer to back up Sam Darnold.
Here are four options the Vikings could consider to replace McCarthy: Sign Ryan Tannehill Tannehill is still available as a free agent and with 151 NFL starts under his belt, the Vikings could do a lot worse. The 36-year-old’s numbers weren’t terrible with the Tennessee Titans last season (1,616 passing yards, 64.8% completions, 4/7 TD/INT ratio in 10 games) considering he was playing behind the worst offensive line in football.
Sure, Tannehill isn’t the same player he was in 2019 or 2020, but he makes the most sense as an insurance policy should Darnold struggle. He was 39-24 as the Titans starter over the last five seasons, he’s mobile enough to get out of the pocket when protection breaks down and he has a better ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing compared to Darnold. Trade for Trey Lance Before the San Francisco 49ers shipped Lance to the Dallas Cowboys last year, the Vikings were reportedly one of the teams who inquired about acquiring Lance.
The 24-year-old can make and extend plays with his legs, has a cannon for an arm and can ease his way into the offense and learn while Darnold starts the year as QB1. Being in the final year of his contract, Minnesota could be a perfect place for a player like Lance to take the field for some of the year, prove he still has starting NFL quarterback ability and up his stock heading into free agency next season. Trade for Davis Mills Mills isn’t going to light the world on fire, but with Case Keenum backing up C.
J. Stroud, he could be a perfect stop-gap option for a season. He could also probably be had for a mid-round draft pick, making him a low-risk one-year investment.
Mills will be a free agent next offseason and acquiring him now wouldn't tie the Vikings to him long-term or impede McCarthy’s development once healthy. Not to mention Mills has 26 games of starting experience and his numbers as a starter in Houston weren’t all that terrible considering the lack of talent he had around him. Trade for Taylor Heinicke With Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr.
ahead of him on the depth chart, Heinicke is more of a luxury for the Falcons at this point, so why not get an asset back for him? The 31-year-old played pretty well from 2021-to-2022 in Washington and he’s started enough games to be a decent fallback plan if Darnold doesn’t pan out. Even if Darnold is solid this season, the Vikings would likely feel much more at ease having a backup like Heinicke over second-year QB Jaren Hall..
