5 QB Trade Candidates the Vikings Should Monitor

The Minnesota Vikings are going to bring another quarterback onto the roster for the 2026 season. There are slim pickings in free agency, which leaves a reasonable chance that the team needs to find a trade partner to find the guy who can come in alongside JJ McCarthy.

Five Quarterbacks Fit Vikings’ Trade Conversation

Both Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have stated that the team needs a better plan at QB for the 2026 season. McCarthy isn’t yet being kicked to the curb, but the Vikings brainstrust realize they need a Plan B should McCarthy fail to show enough progress this year, who can keep the season competitive if called upon.

Despite all the QB woes, the Vikings finished with nine wins last season. McCarthy showed enough to have still a chance to lead this team, with the caveat that significant improvement in consistency is required; however, after playing in just 10 games out of a possible 34 since being drafted. It is as difficult to trust the young QB’s health as it is to rely on his consistency.

The Vikings need another option, so who might be available? Fantasy scenarios might have the team making a move for Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, but I’m not sure seeing anything to suggest that’s a realistic scenario, and that’s what I’m looking at here.

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Seven years after the Cardinals drafted Kyler Murray with the first overall pick, the two parties appear ready to part ways. Murray has shown promise during his time in Arizona, but he has never quite kicked on as the team has continued to struggle with just one winning season (9-8) since his arrival.

Injuries have also been a constant theme, which carries an element of risk for Minnesota.

Still only 28 and talented, Murray is the big-name option in a year when the draft and free-agent quarterback crop is lacking many high-end options. Murray’s contract is also relatively easy to digest for Arizona, carrying just $17.9 million in dead cap for 2026 if dealt before June 1, according to Over the Cap.

With the Cardinals set to employ a new head coach and owning the third overall pick in this year’s draft, the stars could be aligning for Murray to go to Minnesota.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Another first-round pick that appears to be unwanted is Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins replaced him with rookie QB Quinn Ewers for the last three games of the 2025 season and have since brought in a new GM/HC duo in Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley.

After a solid start to his NFL career, Tagovailoa has significantly dropped off over the last couple of seasons. A reset for the Dolphins and a fresh start for Tagovailoa would seem the sensible course of action. The Vikings would be a favourable landing spot, assuming no one else is offering an immediate starting position. His history of concussions is a concern.

Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers

Back to San Francisco for Sam Darnold version 2.0. That would be the theory. Unfortunately, unlike Darnold, Jones isn’t available for free. The question is what price it would take to pry him from the 49ers, especially given Brock Purdy’s recent injury history.

The 49ers will be reluctant to let Jones leave cheaply. Jones still wasn’t looking like the first-round pick he was in the draft when called upon, but he looked plenty servicable after the Kyle Shanahan treatment. 

The Vikings could once again be the beneficiaries of a QB finding their game in San Francisco, and counting $3 million against the salary cap next season would keep the Vikings in the cheap at the QB position range. Jones is set to be a free agent come 2027, which could lead the 49ers to cash in while they can.

Jones would be my personal choice, and he figures to be the target for multiple teams desperate for immediate help under center.

Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders traded a third-round pick to the Seahawks for Geno Smith last offseason, after the veteran passer enjoyed a good couple of years in Seattle. It seemed like a shrewd move, but it proved anything but. Smith may be shipped off again after a disastrous season in Vegas.

Simply put, Smith was just bad in every metric, and with Las Vegas holding the Number one overall pick — almost certainly going to be Fernando Mendoza — Smith is expected to enter 2026 as the team’s backup. However, he’d be a very expensive one in the first year of a two-year, $75 million extension.

Smith showed in Seattle that he is capable on a well-run team and could be worth a shot as a backup with an upgrade, although the contract is off-putting.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Adofo-Mensah loves a reclamation project, and Minnesota was said to be very interested in Anthony Richardson during the draft cycle. The problem is Richardson hasn’t played much more football than McCarthy over his three seasons in the NFL, having suffered a host of injuries. The former fourth overall pick played just 14 total snaps last season.

Putting some with the raw talents of Richardson behind a solid starting veteran could be a shrewd move for someone, but putting him behind McCarthy would be a risk.