Vikings Offseason 2026

[TheLeviathan]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

I'll say I'm annoyed by the immaturity. But for years I've said I don't need a QB I want to hang out with, I need one who has the talent and ego enough to carry a team to a championship. So I won't demand maturity if the elite effort and production are there.

But in this case, I 100% believe the immaturity is the root cause of McCarthy's problems. A good part due to inexperience, which is not his fault. But another good part due to things that may be related to study, effort and other between the ears issues. Way too tone deaf too.

I agree, I still don't like giving up on a player this young at this position.  

They better be right about this if indeed they go this route.

[Mike Sixel]

I never wanted jjm in the first place, but you have to keep him. He has an arm.

That said, all that stuff vanimal posted makes you think....

[nicksaviking]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

-Leaks that KOC was over ruled and never wanted to play JJM last year 

I really want to believe this because it would indicate the Vikings may still be on the right track, but I'm still skeptical. Mostly because of the leaks regarding Daniel Jones.

So what I'm hearing via Mike Florio, is that someone (obviously KAM) wanted McCarthy and ignored everyone else; Darnold, Jones and Aaron Rodgers. And Florio's implication was that KOC truly wanted Jones to be his QB and was advocating for the Vikings to sign him. Jones decided against this as he'd have a better shot at starting in Indianapolis.

That is where the logic falls apart for me. Because while KAM may have had absolute authority over the roster, (eh, maybe???) it would be undeniable that KOC had absolute authority over who takes the field. If KOC really was upset about losing Jones and being stuck with McCarthy, all he'd have to do is tell Jones and his agent, come back to Minnesota, I guarantee you will be the starter.

I really do want to believe, and I still believe KOC can be a great head coach, but with KAM gone, a lot of this smells like a spin job. It's Ok if KOC liked JMac, but just like the rest of us has since changed his mind.  Despite what some think, changing your mind isn't a character flaw.

[nicksaviking]

13 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I agree, I still don't like giving up on a player this young at this position.  

They better be right about this if indeed they go this route.

McCarthy has the physical talent. So like Smith, Mayfield and Darnold, if I had to bet, at some point the Vikings will be proven wrong. But not until his rookie contract is up, and likely not until he's been humbled and has to rebuild his identity. 

And I'll accept that. I'm not sure if Browns fans like Mayfield or Jets fans like Smith or Darnold. But if McCarthy turns into a grown up and becomes good for another team four years from now, I'll pledge right now that I'll keep any resentment to my self and put on a happy face for him.

[Mike Sixel]

14 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

McCarthy has the physical talent. So like Smith, Mayfield and Darnold, if I had to bet, at some point the Vikings will be proven wrong. But not until his rookie contract is up, and likely not until he's been humbled and has to rebuild his identity. 

And I'll accept that. I'm not sure if Browns fans like Mayfield or Jets fans like Smith or Darnold. But if McCarthy turns into a grown up and becomes good for another team four years from now, I'll pledge right now that I'll keep any resentment to my self and put on a happy face for him.

I have said the same thing. He needs four or five years.... And to be humbled. 

[TheLeviathan]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

I have said the same thing. He needs four or five years.... And to be humbled. 

Maybe QB3 is designed to do exactly that?

[Vanimal46]

32 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

it would be undeniable that KOC had absolute authority over who takes the field

I completely agree with this statement too. KOC has a little more Brad Childress in him than I'd like. His way or the highway. It will be fascinating to see if the offense changes to cater to Kyler Murray's strengths. 

41 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I agree, I still don't like giving up on a player this young at this position.  

They better be right about this if indeed they go this route.

JJM has a good chance of joining the exclusive list of Anthony Richardson, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Josh Rosen, Matt Leinart, and Akili Smith of top 10 overall QBs who lost their starting job by year 3 over the last 30 years. We will be just fine without the 9 memes. 

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

JJM has a good chance of joining the exclusive list of Anthony Richardson, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Josh Rosen, Matt Leinart, and Akili Smith of top 10 overall QBs who lost their starting job by year 3 over the last 30 years. We will be just fine without the 9 memes. 

I just heard from Christian Ponder and he says he's never been more offended. He thinks you failed to mark the cut off at top 12 overall picks simply to spite him.

[Mike Sixel]

13 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Maybe QB3 is designed to do exactly that?

I didn't think that's enough? Also, how will they know until he plays in games?

[Mike Sixel]

Looks like the bills won't match the offer, so the Vikes have their swing tackle. I guess Rouse is not making the roster this year....

[Mike Sixel]

43 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Looks like the bills won't match the offer, so the Vikes have their swing tackle. I guess Rouse is not making the roster this year....

Or, Skule isn't....but I doubt Rouse does either.

[Vanimal46]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Or, Skule isn't....but I doubt Rouse does either.

Same. They'll end up taking another developmental tackle in the late rounds. Rouse is probably just a camp body at this point in his career. 

[Vanimal46]

Not Vikings or draft related. Just wanted to let y'all know Jerome Bettis Jr. exists. Starting to feel old reading these names. It won't be long and Adrian Peterson's many kids will spawn on college rosters and probably some NFL rosters. 

[Danchat]

On 3/19/2026 at 6:10 PM, Vanimal46 said:

- is made QB 3 at Chargers and played a broken Wentz instead. 

That had more to do with JJM needing more reps in practice and he didn't get those because it was a Thursday night game. Hence why he played the next week against the Lions and had a surprisingly decent game.

On 3/19/2026 at 6:10 PM, Vanimal46 said:

Countless leaks that KOC was over ruled and never wanted to play JJM last year 

Eh, I think a lot of those rumors have been astro-turfed to retroactively salvage KOC's reputation (hence why they all came out after Kwesi was fired, piling on the scapegoat). He definitely wanted Jones to sign here and compete with JJM and did not want Howell as QB2, but otherwise I believe he thought he could coach JJM up. And then it became apparent once he started playing against NFL speed that he wasn't ready, and KOC wasn't prepared for that.

His mechanics were not a problem at Michigan nor were they in training camp - he reportedly had a really rough minicamp in 2024 and rebounded in training camp to the point where it seemed like he could push Darnold for the job. And even in 2025 training camp he had a fantastic joint practice against the Patriots where he looked a lot better than Drake Maye. It wasn't until the real games started and then the injuries worsened the issue.

I'm seeing people claim that KOC never wanted to draft JJM, which is absurd and plain old gaslighting. JJM was a great fit for KOC's offense, being one of the best intermediate passers in college football who played in a pro style offense which would supposedly speed up the transition from college to pros. And zero injury history, to boot. But the light bulb doesn't turn on for some prospects... 

On 3/19/2026 at 8:12 PM, Vanimal46 said:

I also forgot the team forced him to play with a broken throwing hand when we were eliminated from the playoffs weeks prior. 

Not sure I believe he was "forced to", he was probably chomping at the bit to get back into the lineup to get more reps.

Overall I agree that maturity (along with the injuries, obviously) was the primary issue.

[Parfigliano]

On 3/19/2026 at 8:47 PM, Mike Sixel said:

I have said the same thing. He needs four or five years.... And to be humbled. 

JJMc is getting the humbled part right now.  

[Mike Sixel]

10 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

JJMc is getting the humbled part right now.  

Not yet. He needs to be released or traded for nothing. 

[Danchat]

We got the details on Wentz's deal:

It's 1/$3M with $2.65M guaranteed, the rest being bonuses that don't have to be paid out if he's QB3 as far as I can tell. There are a few other veteran QB3s making about $2-3M, so he did not get QB2 money. So I will stick with what I said before, Wentz is here to make JJM earn the QB2 job, and will not be threatening Kyler (I've seen some claim Wentz will be QB1, which is nonsense).

To answer the question of "why would Wentz sign now instead of waiting out a QB2 job", it's because he's getting $1.1M in signing bonus. And it's fairly evident that he wasn't getting much other attention on the open market for a QB2 job or he would have signed for more elsewhere. 

[Parfigliano]

23 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Looks like the bills won't match the offer, so the Vikes have their swing tackle. I guess Rouse is not making the roster this year....

Rouse gone....small to nonexistent potatoes 

[nicksaviking]

On 3/21/2026 at 10:48 AM, Mike Sixel said:

Not yet. He needs to be released or traded for nothing. 

Right. He was giving himself nicknames and publicly defying his head coach months after the national narrative had turned on him. And we all know a guy like him is on social media, so he's heard the bad press.

And I'm not any more bewildered by this than I am when other normal 23-year-olds continually fail to grasp their situations while their parents are rolling their eyes saying, 'Why can't this kid get it?!'.

[Vanimal46]

I’ve been thinking about directions we can go early in the draft. I wouldn’t sleep on OT early. 

This Darrisaw situation has been weird from the get go. 

[Vanimal46]

Not to mention O’Niell is due for another extension and he’s in his early 30s now. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to get the next RT now and let them learn for a year 

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Not to mention O’Niell is due for another extension and he’s in his early 30s now. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to get the next RT now and let them learn for a year 

Yeah, O'Niell is already 30. Jefferson and Darrisaw will be 28 come 2027, which is the earliest this team will be able to find a franchise QB. What other 'cornerstone' type players are on the roster that could be part of any kind of future contender? Dallas Turner? Donovan Jackson who hasn't proven anything? 

There's not enough guys to keep the light on for. They absolutely should be picking the best player available, or at least the guy who has the best shot at being a fixture for a contending team, which is going to be several years out no matter what they do, When you draft so poorly the entire roster will nearly age out before they can be contenders, it might be time to rip the whole thing down. 

[Vanimal46]

The reality is the holes won't be filled with decent young talent for a couple of years. As far as #18 overall is concerned, I am seeing safety mocked to us often. Honestly I'd be happy with any of WR, OT, DT, CB, RB, or S. Depends how the draft falls to us. I could see one or more of Makai Lemon and Jordan Tyson falling at WR to our pick. There seems to be a tier at tackle with Kadyn Proctor OSU, Blake Miller Clemson,  Caleb Lomu Utah, and Max Iheanancor Arizona State. Maybe one of them sticks until our 2nd round pick

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

The reality is the holes won't be filled with decent young talent for a couple of years. As far as #18 overall is concerned, I am seeing safety mocked to us often. Honestly I'd be happy with any of WR, OT, DT, CB, RB, or S. Depends how the draft falls to us. I could see one or more of Makai Lemon and Jordan Tyson falling at WR to our pick. There seems to be a tier at tackle with Kadyn Proctor OSU, Blake Miller Clemson,  Caleb Lomu Utah, and Max Iheanancor Arizona State. Maybe one of them sticks until our 2nd round pick

I'm at the point where I'm hoping for a trade down.  We have too many holes and the talent from 15-45 is pretty similar.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I'm at the point where I'm hoping for a trade down.  We have too many holes and the talent from 15-45 is pretty similar.

Agreed. 

My only hesitation about drafting with the future in mind.... They were a blown kick coverage from making the playoffs, desire horrible QB play.... Give me day one starters, so no OT in round one or two for me. 

Do I think they are a SB contender? No. Have carrier crazy things happened where good teams win a lot? Yes. 

[Mike Sixel]

12 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Agreed. 

My only hesitation about drafting with the future in mind.... They were a blown kick coverage from making the playoffs, desire horrible QB play.... Give me day one starters, so no OT in round one or two for me. 

Do I think they are a SB contender? No. Have carrier crazy things happened where good teams win a lot? Yes. 

So many typos from autocorrect....

[The Great Hambino]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

So many typos from autocorrect....

Are you sure they don't desire horrible QB play???

[Mike Sixel]

58 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

Are you sure they don't desire horrible QB play???

Evidence would suggest they do....

[Vanimal46]

The national media is zeroing in on us taking a safety at 18 for a few weeks now. Feels too convenient, no? 

It’s one thing if Caleb Downs falls to 18, then I pounce on that opportunity. Besides that, we could go in pretty much any direction and it would make sense for our team… I really like TE Sadiq from Oregon, WR Cooper Jr from Indiana… If we really like one of the OTs to future proof that position I wouldn’t mind that either. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

The national media is zeroing in on us taking a safety at 18 for a few weeks now. Feels too convenient, no? 

It’s one thing if Caleb Downs falls to 18, then I pounce on that opportunity. Besides that, we could go in pretty much any direction and it would make sense for our team… I really like TE Sadiq from Oregon, WR Cooper Jr from Indiana… If we really like one of the OTs to future proof that position I wouldn’t mind that either. 

I am unsure on Sadiq. It's not like he produced A LOT in a throwing offense......I'm trading down almost certainly and taking EMW or a DT at 20 something....