What are people's thoughts on Davis Mills?
Wouldn't take much IMO. 27, strong build, five years in the league, 63% completion percentage.

All perspective appreciated, but I'd like this option over most others, given what it would take for Mac Jones, or trotting Kyler out there

What would it take?

I saw something on social media this morning about the death of Fran Tarkenton....at 86 years old. 
I googled it and found a website post of the same thing.
After only a bit of further exploration, there was nothing.

This kind of click bait just pisses me off.

On the plus side, as I was writing this post, I thought of a number of different double entendres about Fran's last pass, Tark passes over the rainbow and many other unserious headlines.  

I'm glad to have been able to have seen him play in purple in my life.

Big concerns have bubbled to the surface with JJM on these two in particular:

1). Durability
2). His inability to execute key middle of the field concepts of the offense that Jettas and KOC love

Both of these have to improve considerably, or he wont be the starter here.

=======================================================

INDIANAPOLIS — The Vikings enter their offseason in search of a “baseline” level of quarterback play that’s higher than what they had in 2025. J.J. McCarthy, coach Kevin O’Connell said on Tuesday, Feb. 24, is still capable of meeting that standard.

But as the Vikings began their offseason in earnest at the NFL scouting combine, they indicated they had no interest in limiting their options to fill their most pressing need.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski said Tuesday the Vikings are “exploring all possibilities” at quarterback, including even an established player who would join the team as the unquestioned starter.

“What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective,” Brzezinski said. “A lot of this is, has been J.J. in an unfortunate [situation] with some of the injuries and things that he’s dealt with. But we’re going to explore every opportunity. We can’t manufacture what’s not there. So, number one, where are the options? Is it reciprocal? Is it financially doable? All of those things. There’s just a lot of factors that go into it."

Brzezinski, who’s leading the Vikings front office this offseason after the team fired General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Jan. 30, said some of the criticism of McCarthy — who missed seven games because of injury in his first year as the starter while throwing 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions — has been unfair.

When asked if he still believes McCarthy can be a franchise quarterback, O’Connell said, “I believe the answer to that question is ‘yes,’” referencing the comments he’d first made about McCarthy’s potential after the QB tore his meniscus in 2024.

But even though “a lot of those feelings [about McCarthy] are still the same,” O’Connell acknowledged the Vikings’ timeline has changed. 

The team spent more cash than any club in the NFL in 2025 to surround McCarthy with a veteran roster; a veteran roster means the Vikings seem less inclined to display unlimited patience with the 23-year-old. “We have a responsibility, as we put together this team, to make sure we use the data we have and the experiences we have, with feelings that we’ve had at different times as an organization, regardless what may have been the assumption of going in,” O’Connell said.

As both O’Connell and Brzezinski discussed the standard for the Vikings at quarterback, they highlighted the need for durability. When the Vikings had a consistent starter (Kirk Cousins in 2022 and Sam Darnold in 2024), they won a combined 27 games, O’Connell pointed out. In the two seasons in which they’ve missed the playoffs under O’Connell, they used a combined seven starting QBs.

For McCarthy to claim the job again in 2026, he’ll have to show he can stay on the field after missing time with a high ankle sprain, a concussion and multiple hand injuries in 2025. He’ll also have to improve his accuracy, particularly on the concepts the Vikings like to run over the middle of the field, and demonstrate sound decision-making that helps the offense sustain drives.

The Vikings could try to coax that improvement out of him in a more open QB competition than they had in 2025; O’Connell pointed out how well McCarthy responded in his rookie training camp while practicing with Darnold in 2024.

They could also take a bigger swing, possibly through a trade, for an established starter who would change their future at quarterback. Such a maneuver would come at a cost, especially for a team that needs to clear roughly $40 million in cap space before free agency begins in less than two weeks.

But on Tuesday, the Vikings seemed open to any solution that would turn the game’s most important position into an asset again.

“We have a couple of weeks, and so we’re just exploring every option that could be out there,” Brzezinski said. “We’re casting a wide net.”

Strib

49ers to rehire former Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for personnel role

Former Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will return to the San Francisco 49ers, general manager John Lynch told reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Adofo-Mensah will be rehired by the 49ers in a personnel executive role that will be formalized after the NFL draft, Lynch said.

Vikings ownership fired Adofo-Mensah on Jan. 30 after four seasons — and just eight months after he signed a multiyear contract extension. 

He will return to the 49ers, where he began his NFL career as a quantitative analyst in 2013. The move will save the Vikings some money as Adofo-Mensah had offset language in his former Vikings contract, according to a league source.

Adofo-Mensah’s duties in San Francisco grew to directing the team’s football research and helping shape the hiring process in 2017 that eventually landed on Lynch, the GM, and head coach Kyle Shanahan; the duo are currently tied for the longest-tenured GM and head coach pairing in the NFL along with the Los Angeles Rams’ Les Snead and Sean McVay and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Brett Veach and Andy Reid (McVay and Veach were also hired in 2017).

Co-owner Mark Wilf, after Adofo-Mensah’s tenure in Minnesota came to an end, said the Vikings “felt a change was necessary” after judging his “body of work” over four seasons. The team watched quarterback Sam Darnold win a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month after leaving the Vikings as a free agent a year ago. Adofo-Mensah’s draft record was also poor. 

The Vikings might not sign any of his 2022 draft picks to a second contract if wide receiver Jalen Nailor goes elsewhere next month.

STRIB

March 3rd is the deadline for franchise and transition players....that's next Tuesday already. Then during the period beginning at 12:00 noon, ET, on March 9th and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. ET, on March 11th, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2025 player contracts at 4:00 p.m. ET, on March 12. And then free agency begins officially. 

I would imagine things will heat up tremendously next week rumors-wise, with the more real ones as we get closer to the weekend of the 7th-8th.

OK, I'm going to the NCAA tournament 1st/2nd round games in St. Louis in March. By bus.  Had the basketball tickets and hotel booked weeks ago.  Time to get the bus tickets.  Have to get them online because although the bus stops in Worthington, there is no ticket seller here.  So it's Greyhound.com at 1AM.

Booking the trip down to St. Louis: 17 hours, transfers in Albert Lea and Kansas City, click, click, boom, we're good.
Booking the return... oh boy.  First the Greyhound site refused to give me the same return route as the departure.  Kept routing me a 27 hour trip through Indianapolis   

So I broke the return trip into parts.  St. Louis up to Albert Lea, transfer in KC, click, click, fine.

Albert Lea to Worthington.  Click, click... card declined.  WTF?? Try again, again, same thing.   So now my return is virtually stuck in Albert Lea until morning when I can call the bank and ask what's up.  Seems that by booking 2 trips and trying to book a 3rd in one session, I triggered my accounts' fraud alert flag    So I confirmed it was me and got the flag removed.  Back to Greyhound.com.  Albert Lea>Worthington, click, click, finally!  Hooray!  Except that by having to book the return in 2 segments instead of 1, I ended up paying an extra $40 

God I miss just walking up to a counter and buying a hard ticket.

I am certain this won't be popular with the natives, but I think talking about bringing in another QB is a complete waste and a very Vikings thing to do.

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results.

We are not winning a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins, Kyler Murray, Derek Carr, Malik Willis and whatever other reject we can bring in here to "backup/compete" with McCarthy.  So all we are really doing is prolonging the pain.  A somewhat competent backup will get us right back to the 15-20 draft range, but not the Super Bowl.  So why are we even entertaining this scenario?  Is it because the Wilf's are requiring it?  It feels like the over reaction of I don't know, people worried about their jobs?

To me the correct scenario is this.  If you trade anything, acquire assets and picks for 2027.  Do NOT add a QB.  Run JJ back out there, if he fails, gets hurt, sucks whatever, run Brosmer out there.  Hit bottom and have assets and the draft capital to draft a QB in 2027 (much better class).  On top of that you can also have the capital to reset the roster if necessary.  If you are going to trade Grennard and Hockensen and anyone else, I would primarily focus on 2027 draft picks.  Maybe even somehow finagle a 2nd 1st rounder if possible.

The upside to this that if JJ competes, is competent or better and can stay healthy, bam, use that draft capital on a great draft coming up.  And if he doesn't, well you have the ability to reset without some crappy half-assed QB on the roster behind JJ and a 18th overall pick.

Just my 10 cents.

Confirmed today:
==========================


Confirming previous reports, the Atlanta Falcons announced on Tuesday they will release Kirk Cousins.

Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham told reporters that after discussions with Cousins and Cousins' agent, the club will release the veteran quarterback on the first day of the new league year on March 11.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Feb. 7 that Cousins was expected to be released before the start of the new league year.

Making the move after the start of the league year, which Cunningham said the Falcons will do, allows the team to designate Cousins as a post-June 1 release if they choose to do so.

A post-June 1 designation would allow the Falcons to spread out his $35 million dead cap hit over the next two seasons, with $22.5 million going on their books in 2026. They will only save $2.1 million against the cap this year in that scenario, but they would lose $10.4 million in cap space if he were to be released prior to June 1.

Cousins and the Falcons restructured his contract in January to guarantee him $67.9 million in 2027 if he were to remain on the roster on March 13. The move did not impact any of the guaranteed money he was already owed.

When Cousins' release becomes official, he will join a very interesting crop of free-agent quarterbacks this offseason. Aaron Rodgers, Malik Willis, Daniel Jones and Russell Wilson are among the other notable names who will be available.

The group could also expand to include Kyler Murray and/or Tua Tagovailoa depending on whether or not their current teams decide to move in a different direction and can't find a trade partner.

Cousins, who will turn 38 on Aug. 19, started eight games for the Falcons in 2025. He threw for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 total appearances last season.

Bleacher Report

Passed away.   Death under investigation.
RIP

Probably little chance we can draft him since he'll likely go somewhere between our picks at 18 and 49, but Omar Cooper Jr is my first real draft crush of 2026. His body control and RAC is remarkable. I don't care what he measures; I don't care what he times; OCJ is going be a weapon in the NFL.