The Minnesota Vikings have not been in a rush to add a quarterback to compete with and/or back up second-year signal caller J.J. McCarthy, but that could change quickly following the conclusion of the NFL draft a little more than one week from now.
Minnesota only has four picks in the draft, so the team is highly unlikely to look for a quarterback there. The more sensible option, for several reasons, is to scour the trade and free-agent markets for a veteran who can either provide McCarthy with some guidance and/or fill in successfully for him if he struggles early on or suffers an injury.
Will Levis of the Tennessee Titans doesn’t fit the former part of that bill, though he does potentially make sense in the latter. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report authored a trade proposal on Friday, April 18, in which Minnesota sends Tennessee a third-round pick in 2026 in exchange for Levis and a fourth-rounder this year (No. 120 overall), which would boost the Vikings’ otherwise anemic store of draft picks.
“Minnesota, however, does need a quality backup and currently has only Brett Rypien behind McCarthy on the depth chart,” Knox wrote. “Trading for Levis … would land Minnesota a (somewhat) experienced quarterback without potentially costing the Vikings a compensatory pick in 2026. While Levis wouldn’t really be much of a mentor to McCarthy, he has 21 starts on his resumé and could be a viable placeholder if McCarthy isn’t ready to start by Week 1.”
Will Levis Has Had Moderate Success at NFL Level
GettyQuarterback Will Levis of the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans selected Levis with the No. 33 pick in the 2023 draft. Since then, he has started 21 games in Tennessee.
Levis has completed 61% of his passes for 3,900 yards, 21 TDs and 16 INTs over his two-year tenure with the franchise, amassing a record of 5-16.
Part of that lack of team success is Levis’ fault, though the Titans have struggled to put winning teams on the field since a run of three consecutive playoff trips between 2019-21. Tennessee is 16-35 since the start of the 2022 campaign and owns the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s draft.
Most analysts expect the team to select quarterback Cam Ward in that spot, which could put Levis on the trade block. He still has two years remaining on his rookie deal, which is valued at a total of $9.5 million.
Vikings Lost 2 Possible Backup QBs in Free Agency, Passed on Aaron Rodgers
GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
While Levis has had moderate success in the NFL, at best, he is a more known and proven entity than McCarthy.
Minnesota drafted McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft, but he suffered a knee injury in August 2024 that has required two surgeries to repair and kept him sidelined for his entire rookie campaign.
Both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, veteran quarterbacks who were on the Vikings’ roster last season, left in free agency for better opportunities to start elsewhere. Minnesota will eventually sign a QB, likely with the intention of making him McCarthy’s backup, though the veteran options available in free agency and/or via trade are shrinking.
The Vikings already considered, and ultimately passed on, the notion of signing Aaron Rodgers to a short-term contract.
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