Ranking the Vikings' top 5 free agent QB targets, led by Daniel Jones

It sounds like there's a very strong chance that Sam Darnold will be the next starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, who traded Geno Smith to the Raiders on Friday night. There's significant buzz from league insiders that the Vikings' Pro Bowl QB is Seattle's target, to the point where you wonder if they decided to trade Smith because they're confident they'll be able to sign Darnold to a multi-year deal when free agency opens in a couple days.

Whether Darnold lands in Seattle or someone else swoops in, he's now "not expected" to be back in Minnesota, according to Tom Pelissero. What that means is that the Vikings need to sign a different veteran quarterback to pair with J.J. McCarthy as the bridge or backup option. The two names that have been mentioned by the insiders are Daniel Jones and, yes, Aaron Rodgers, but there are others who could be in the mix as well.

Here's our ranking of the top five.

1. Daniel Jones

Jones is the ideal option for the Vikings, who signed him to their practice squad at the end of November with this scenario in mind. He got to spend six weeks diving into Kevin O'Connell's offense and familiarizing himself with how Minnesota does things, which would give him a head start if he's back at TCO Performance Center this spring. The former No. 6 overall pick turns 28 in a couple months and he has plenty of physical tools that O'Connell might be able to maximize.

The issue is that Jones may have other suitors, including the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings will only want to offer a certain amount — maybe the one-year, $10 million deal they gave Darnold last year — so there's a chance they won't be able to land Jones if he gets a more lucrative offer from another team or sees a better opportunity to start somewhere else.

2. Aaron Rodgers

There are a lot of Vikings fans who want absolutely nothing to do with Rodgers. I get that, I really do. But as someone in the content business, it would make for incredible drama. And I must admit I've talked myself into the idea of Rodgers completing the Brett Favre arc — something I first wrote about back in November — from a football standpoint.

Things didn't go to plan for Rodgers with the Jets, but he's not washed. Last year: 3,900 yards, 28 TDs, 11 INTs, a 77.8 PFF grade, and 26 "big-time throws." Even at 41 years old, he's almost certainly better than Jones and the names to follow on this list. The reason for hesitancy is that signing Rodgers would mean willingly bringing the circus to town, in terms of his personality and the media attention that would follow. But he can still sling it, and at least football-wise, there would be no one better for McCarthy to learn from.

3. Carson Wentz

It's been a long time since Wentz was a promising young quarterback and MVP contender for the Philadelphia Eagles. After starting games for Indianapolis and Washington, he's settled into a backup role with the Rams and then Chiefs over the last couple years. But if the Vikings are right about McCarthy, all they really need is a backup who can step in and start if needed. Wentz's 2023 season with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford in LA is a major selling point for the 32-year-old. The NDSU/Vikings fans out there would enjoy this.

4. Jimmy Garoppolo

I wrote about this idea about a month ago, which you can read here. The quick summary is that the 33-year-old Garoppolo makes a lot of sense for the Vikings for a variety of reasons. Last year, he replaced Wentz as Stafford's backup with the Rams. He also overlapped with Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for three years when he was the 49ers' starter. Jimmy G has plenty of starting experience and could be a good veteran mentor for McCarthy. The Vikings were believed to have some level of interest in signing him last year before they landed on Darnold.

5. Mac Jones

If the Vikings miss out on Daniel Jones and want to go after a young quarterback with some potential Darnold-like upside, Mac Jones could be an intriguing candidate. He was a Pro Bowler for the Patriots as a rookie before fizzling out and then struggling with the Jaguars last year. He's just 26 years old. Jones probably has a higher floor than a couple other QBs taken early in the 2021 draft, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance (I don't think Justin Fields will be on the Vikings' radar).

1. Daniel Jones

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Carson Wentz

4. Jimmy Garoppolo

5. Mac Jones

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