Two quarterbacks are out and one new signal-caller is in for the Minnesota Vikings, who have reorganized the position group behind starter J.J. McCarthy and have definitively closed the book on any potential reunion with Kirk Cousins.
Minnesota traded struggling backup Sam Howell to the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend, where he will now slot in as the QB3 heading into the regular season. The Vikings replaced him with veteran Carson Wentz, a former top-three finisher in MVP balloting (2017) and most recently the backup QB to Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Sunday’s surprising-but-not decision to sign Wentz and trade Sam Howell represents an admission by the Vikings that they should have just signed Wentz in the first place, and not traded for Howell,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote Sunday, August 24. “Wentz arrives cold; if he’d been signed in April, he would have had the benefit of the offseason program, training camp and the preseason.”
But while Wentz will have to play catch-up both in terms of getting in reps and learning head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense, he is clearly the No. 2 option on the roster. The reason is two-fold: first, the Vikings also cut ties with former QB3 Brett Rypien over the weekend. And second, only undrafted rookie Max Brosmer remains on the depth chart behind McCarthy and Wentz.
Minnesota could have carved into that disadvantage by pursuing Cousins via a trade with the Atlanta Falcons, as the four-time Pro Bowler is familiar with O’Connell’s system and several of the players in the offensive huddle. The Vikings chose to go a different direction, likely for a handful of significant reasons.
Carson Wentz Cheaper, Younger and Less Injured Than Kirk Cousins
GettyFormer Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Carson Wentz.
The first problem Minnesota would have encountered in a play for Cousins is that the team would have had to give up some kind of asset for him. Wentz was a free agent, so that wasn’t a concern.
Second, the Vikings would have had to take on a meaningful portion of Cousins’ 2025 base salary, which registers at $27.5 million. The common line of thinkings from insiders around the NFL was that Minnesota was probably looking at a cost $10 million, give or take. Wentz’s deal isn’t yet public, but the franchise undoubtedly signed him for a fraction of the $10 million it might have spent to pay Cousins this season.
Third, Cousins is 37 years old and suffered an Achilles tear during the middle of the 2023 campaign — his last with the Vikings. He returned in time to start for Atlanta in Week 1 of last season, but those kinds of injuries tend to linger even more with aging players. Cousins also dealt with shoulder and elbow issues during the middle of last year, which ultimately contributed to a decline in his play and the Falcons’ decision to bench him for rookie Michael Penix Jr.
Wentz, who is 32 years old, has not suffered a serious injury since 2022.
Vikings’ Decision to Avoid Kirk Cousins an Investment in J.J. McCarthy’s Growth as NFL Quarterback
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
And finally, Cousins’ return to the Minnesota locker room had the potential to create awkwardness and divide. He led the team to the playoffs following the 2022 campaign and likely still has close relationships with players and coaches on the team.
McCarthy, who is just 22, sat out the entirety of his rookie year with a knee injury and will take his first regular-season NFL snap on September 8 as part of the season-opening broadcast of “Monday Night Football.”
The pressure on McCarthy to succeed is enormous, as the Vikings won 14 games last year and made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Adding Cousins might have the young QB looking over his shoulder. Or it could have inspired fans and/or players to push for a change from McCarthy to Cousins mid-season if McCarthy struggles, which he is certain to do at some point to some degree.
So while Cousins, if healthy, might have been a better choice as backup QB for the Vikings than Wentz — at least in the beginning of the year, if not the entire campaign — going with Wentz was a less-expensive move that will ultimately probably prove better for the growth of McCarthy during his second season with the franchise.
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