Sports
Vikings Have Two Quarterbacks to Avoid
The Minnesota Vikings flopped worse than could have been expected during the first year with J.J. McCarthy under center. When he wasn’t again hurt, he was largely bad, resulting in a 9-8 record and missing the playoffs.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is gone. Kevin O’Connell has to get the roster right, and Rob Brzezinski won’t have a true general manager working alongside him until after the NFL Draft. It is assumed that Minnesota will have a new starting quarterback by that point. McCarthy will need to earn the job, and the Vikings aren’t in a position to draft his competition.
Why Willis and Jones Don’t Match Minnesota’s Cost-Benefit Window
Between roster cuts, free agency, and trades, any number of candidates can be considered for Minnesota. There are two who should not be on the radar, though, and both for the same reason: compensation.
Mac Jones and Malik Willis present a similar set of circumstances. Both have found heightened profiles after a change of scenery. Both are backups that teams now have renewed interest in. Both will also cost a lot.
Willis is a free agent, and reports suggest he is absolutely going to secure the bag. That’s a significant gamble for a guy who has shown flashes while still operating in the shadow of Jordan Love. He’s certainly better than the circumstances in Tennessee allowed him to be. $30 million per season on a multi-year deal is a massive contract, however.
It took Sam Darnold winning 14 games with the Vikings to get that sort of money. Willis’ projection is based on 11 games in Green Bay, over two seasons, in which he threw a whopping 89 passes. It makes sense that the Jets would be interested, since they are always quick to make poor decisions.
Jones won’t cost significant dollars, but handing the 49ers a second-round pick after an 11-game sample in San Francisco is crazy. Jones is on his third team in five years, and still carried just a 13/6 TD/INT across eight starts last season.
It’s possible he’s not the middling option that he proved to be in New England or Jacksonville, but even at his best with the Patriots, the ceiling was probably already shown. For a team like the Vikings, needing to get younger and more sustainable, trading massive draft capital for him is a reach.
The Vikings need to address a bunch of roster problems this offseason. They’ll have to sort out their ugly cap situation, and the quarterback room would be best off crowded with options. These are two that should be struck off the board, though.
