Vikings QB Rumors Gaining Momentum as Calendar Flips to March

It's never safe to fully commit to a rumor, but when multiple reputable NFL insiders are connecting the Minnesota Vikings to the same two soon-to-be free agent quarterbacks, it's wise to take it seriously.

We wrote a couple of days ago about NFL Network's Tom Pelissero linking the Vikings to Arizona's Kyler Murray and Las Vegas' Geno Smith, noting that both could be released in the coming days to set up a scenario in which Minnesota could sign them to a one-year deal at the league minimum salary.

Now, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is following suit, though he added two other names "on their radar."

"I've also heard that the Vikings are considering Murray and Smith as they outline their veteran quarterback plan," Fowler wrote Sunday. "Tua Tagovailoa and (Kirk) Cousins are also on their radar. Some I've talked to are breaking those four into two tiers, with Murray and Smith in the first group."

In the same article, Dan Graziano reported that the Vikings aren't ready to give up on 23-year-old J.J. McCarthy. He added that if the Vikings can't get Murray or Smith, "they'd probably pivot to the older free agents in that group, such as Joe Flacco, former Viking Kirk Cousins and, yes, Aaron Rodgers, whom they discussed bringing in last offseason before deciding against it."

Pelissero isn't as keen on the idea of Minnesota adding Rodgers or Cousins.

"The idea of bringing in Aaron Rodgers and if the season doesn't get off to a good start, you're not benching four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. You're not having an open competition between Aaron Rodgers and J.J. McCarthy," Pelissero said. "I don't believe you can have an open competition between Kirk Cousins and J.J. McCarthy, because you've got thousands of fans pulling out their No. 8 jerseys, because he is Kirk Cousins."

All of this stems from the belief that Minnesota wants to have a true quarterback competition to give McCarthy a chance to win the starting job in 2026. Of course, I can't see a scenario where Murray or Smith is signed under the idea that they aren't guaranteed the starting job.

Murray is a former No. 1 overall pick with 87 starts, in which he's thrown for 121 touchdowns compared to 60 interceptions. Smith is a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback who finished top-10 in the MVP vote in 2022.

Smith averaged 4,075 passing yards, 23.6 touchdowns, and 11.6 interceptions from 2022 to 2024, while completing 68.5% of his passes with Seattle. He was bad last season with the Raiders, but that was a three-win team with very little talent in the wide receiver room. With Seattle, Smith was throwing passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett.

All in all, the calendar has flipped to March, and big decisions will soon be made on Murray and Smith, who are widely expected to be released within the next two weeks.