The debate rages on over what the Minnesota Vikings should do at the quarterback position entering the new league year.
Bring back starter Sam Darnold on the franchise tag or a new multi-year contract? Or move on from Darnold and hand the reins to 22-year-old phenom prospect J.J. McCarthy?
While you could make an argument for both sides, some NFL analysts see a third option for Minnesota: Neither.
Marissa Myers of TWSN predicts the Vikings will ultimately land a trade with the Los Angeles Rams for two-time quarterback Matthew Stafford. Here was her bold take on the future Hall of Famer landing in Minnesota as a mentor for McCarthy:
With Stafford, he has been vocal about wanting to play for a contender. The Vikings are that, and with Sam Darnold set to hit free agency, they could very well be looking for a quarterback. While they have JJ McCarthy, he will be coming off a right knee injury that sidelined him for his entire rookie season. How McCarthy looks coming off the injury is an unknown factor that the Vikings can’t take the chance on, not to mention it would be wise to have him sit for a few games to get back up to speed and adjust without being rushed into playing.
With Stafford, he provides the experience needed to help McCarthy develop while also commanding the offense. He is aging, but still put up 4,295 yards and 24 touchdowns with just eight interceptions over the regular season and the Rams’ playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. With Stafford coming from the Rams as well, he will fit in Kevin O’Connell’s scheme seamlessly as O’Connell came from the Sean McVay tree.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell won a Super Bowl as Stafford’s offensive coordinator with the Rams in 2021, so the connection here is at least worth exploring. The Rams could also be cleaning house this offseason. They’ve put wide receiver Cooper Kupp on the trade block, and head coach Sean McVay recently gave a political answer when asked by reporters if Stafford would be his QB in 2025, stating: “”We’ll talk about all those things at the appropriate time.”
Stafford will be entering his age 37 season, but he can still sling it. The Vikings couldn’t beat him in 2024, so why not join him if the Rams decide to cut him loose this offseason?
That’s the key word here: cut. Stafford has two years left on his contract, and his cap hit is scheduled to be close to $50 million in 2025. The Rams can get out of his deal by releasing him with a post-June 1 designation. Per Brock Vierra of On SI, that move would carry dead cap charges of $22.6 million in each of the next two seasons, but would also clear some offset cap space for L.A. in 2025.
Trading for Stafford’s current contract doesn’t make sense for the Vikings. If they aren’t ready to hand the reins to McCarthy this season due to his knee injury, they could just bring back a known commodity in Darnold, and structure a front-loaded deal that keeps McCarthy as the heir apparent. The Vikings also don’t have the excess draft capital to justify a move like this; they only have four projected selections in the 2025 NFL Draft.
A Stafford-O’Connell reunion in Minnesota could gain some traction if the Rams release Stafford prior to his upcoming $4 million roster bonus on March 4. Otherwise, there are too many negatives in this hypothetical for a trade to carry weight.
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