Jets insider calls Vikings 'most intriguing' trade partner for Zach Wilson

Could Zach Wilson thrive if surrounded by talented players on offense?

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Feb 29, 2024 1:48 PM EST

Zach Wilson has reportedly asked and received permission to seek a trade out of New York, and the Minnesota Vikings are being called the "most intriguing" potential trade destination for the former No. 2 overall pick.

And it's not just some random dude connecting Wilson to Minnesota; it's Zack Rosenblatt who covers the Jets beat for The Athletic. His reasoning:

Kirk Cousins is a free agent, and Minnesota doesn’t have any young quarterbacks on the roster worth developing. In addition, quarterback-friendly coach (Kevin O’Connell) has a proven history of putting his QBs in position to succeed. This is the most intriguing potential destination.

Roseblatt put the Vikings at the top of a list he titled "Some teams that make varying degrees of sense," which also includes the Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Saints, Colts, Cardinals, Chargers, Eagles, Seahawks, Titans, Patriots and Buccaneers.

If the Vikings being interested in Sam Darnold if they don't re-sign Kirk Cousins makes sense, which reports from NFL insiders suggest is the case, then maybe Wilson to Minnesota makes sense, too.

Wilson's 2024 cap hit is only $5.45 million and Minnesota might not have to give up much to get him. Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, cost the Cowboys a fourth-round pick last year. Would the Vikings give up a mid/late-round pick to take a chance on Wilson?

We can spin this into an even more intriguing possibility by reading into what Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said during a radio interview on Wednesday. When asked about backup quarterbacks Josh Dobbs, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens starting nine games for the Vikings last season, he was adamant that Minnesota's depth at the most important position has to be a strength rather than a weakness.

"It is an incredibly important position because we want to build the ark – I call it the ark – how do we build the ark to navigate the season? That's your starting player, that's your backup player, people that are good now but also potentially of era," Adofo-Mensah said.

"We don't want to come up at the end of the season and say, 'Hey, we had injuries, but...' We want to say, 'We had injuries and we showed you what was behind it, I wish you would see behind that guy.' That's the mindset we want to have."

Could the Vikings enter 2024 with Cousins as the starter and Wilson as the backup? Would that actually be an upgrade for Cousins and Nick Mullens as the 1-2 punch? Could they trade for Wilson and have him compete for the starting job with a rookie they draft in the first round?

There are no hard, fact-based reports to connect Wilson to the Vikings but it's an interesting talker for a team with huge questions at quarterback.