It appears as though the Minnesota Vikings will be in the market for a quarterback this offseason to challenge J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. Moreover, they need insurance in case the Michigan product gets injured, which he was prone to this season.
Under head coach Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota did welcome players who were highly touted as potential franchise quarterbacks but flamed out, such as Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones.
As a result, the Vikings could target a similar profile this offseason, with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa emerging in speculation. On December 21, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones shared the latest on Tagovailoa’s future.
“What not only benching Tua, but making him the emergency third quarterback, which means it’s almost no chance he even gets on the field, says, is [that] Mike McDaniel believes that he is safe for 2026, that he will be back as the head coach,” Jones said on “CBS Sports HQ.” “It also signals to me and to many people around the league that Tua Tagovailoa will not be back with the Miami Dolphins.
“Now, he’s guaranteed $54 million next year. No matter. But he’s getting that money. If you were to release Tua, that would cost you about $99 million in dead cap over 2026 and 2027. Be the biggest dead cap hit for any team ever… However, the salary cap keeps going up and keeps going up, and as it keeps rising and increasing, you can take on more dead cap and more dead money.”
CBS Sports Insider Floats Tua Tagovailoa to Vikings
If the Vikings decide to challenge McCarthy for the starting job, CBS Sports NFL analyst Danny Kannel suggested they could pursue Tua Tagovailoa, who Miami recently benched in favor of Quinn Ewers.
“I think there are a couple of different scenarios to consider,“ Kannel said during a December 19 appearance on “CBS Sports HQ.” “One, a team that’s potentially going to draft a young quarterback and then bring in Tua as a bridge where he can start. You put him in a situation and ask him to be a mentor. I don’t know if Tua will sit comfortably knowing that he’s going to be a mentor, but that’s the reality of his career right now.
“You [can] go to a place that has a young quarterback who is struggling like Minnesota. Remember, Minnesota had Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold last year [and] moved on from both to bet on J.J. McCarthy. That hasn’t worked. He’s still on his rookie deal. So, you could bring in Tua at a reduced rate. But again, he can start and is capable of leading an offense. That type of situation would work out best for Tua.”
NFL Analyst Sees Tua Tagovailoa as fit for Vikings
Moreover, Jones floated a couple of names, suggesting that the Vikings will be in on a quarterback this offseason.
“The Minnesota Vikings will absolutely need to find a veteran quarterback option for 2026,“ Jones said on the December 21 edition of “CBS Sports HQ. “ “They could go a number of ways, and I think that they’re going to inspect every avenue. You could talk about Tua [Tagovailoa], Kyler [Murray], Daniel Jones, or a number of guys who likely will be available that the Minnesota Vikings will look to have a true quarterback competition in training camp, a true one.”
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