With the devastating news that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss the 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for a new passer to back up Sam Darnold.
Here are four options the Vikings could consider to replace McCarthy:
Tannehill is still available as a free agent and with 151 NFL starts under his belt, the Vikings could do a lot worse. The 36-year-old’s numbers weren’t terrible with the Tennessee Titans last season (1,616 passing yards, 64.8% completions, 4/7 TD/INT ratio in 10 games) considering he was playing behind the worst offensive line in football.
Sure, Tannehill isn’t the same player he was in 2019 or 2020, but he makes the most sense as an insurance policy should Darnold struggle. He was 39-24 as the Titans starter over the last five seasons, he’s mobile enough to get out of the pocket when protection breaks down and he has a better ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing compared to Darnold.
Before the San Francisco 49ers shipped Lance to the Dallas Cowboys last year, the Vikings were reportedly one of the teams who inquired about acquiring Lance. The 24-year-old can make and extend plays with his legs, has a cannon for an arm and can ease his way into the offense and learn while Darnold starts the year as QB1.
Being in the final year of his contract, Minnesota could be a perfect place for a player like Lance to take the field for some of the year, prove he still has starting NFL quarterback ability and up his stock heading into free agency next season.
Mills isn’t going to light the world on fire, but with Case Keenum backing up C.J. Stroud, he could be a perfect stop-gap option for a season. He could also probably be had for a mid-round draft pick, making him a low-risk one-year investment.
Mills will be a free agent next offseason and acquiring him now wouldn't tie the Vikings to him long-term or impede McCarthy’s development once healthy. Not to mention Mills has 26 games of starting experience and his numbers as a starter in Houston weren’t all that terrible considering the lack of talent he had around him.
With Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. ahead of him on the depth chart, Heinicke is more of a luxury for the Falcons at this point, so why not get an asset back for him?
The 31-year-old played pretty well from 2021-to-2022 in Washington and he’s started enough games to be a decent fallback plan if Darnold doesn’t pan out. Even if Darnold is solid this season, the Vikings would likely feel much more at ease having a backup like Heinicke over second-year QB Jaren Hall.
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Jon Gruden sent another warning shot toward the NFL after scoring a major win in court. On Tuesday, Gruden welcomed a ruling that will force the NFL to litigate the circumstances of his firing in court rather than closed-door arbitration. The former Las Vegas Raiders coach made it clear that he intends to continue his legal challenge to the NFL, ensuring that they are held accountable. “I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden said in a statement provided to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. “The league’s actions disrupted the whole season. We were leading the division at the time and they completely blindsided me and the team.” The Raiders were 3-1 in 2021 when Gruden was forced to resign after offensive emails he had sent between 2011 and 2018 were leaked. Gruden has alleged that the NFL leaked the emails to force him out of a job after obtaining them during an investigation into the Washington Commanders. The NFL is set to appeal Monday’s ruling, but if that appeal fails, the league may be forced into public discovery. One alternative would be to offer Gruden a settlement, but he has not said whether or not he would be interested in such a resolution. Gruden has not held an NFL coaching job since the Raiders forced him out. He has recently spoken about possibly making a return to coaching at the college level.
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California in 2023. He suffered an injury his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have quite an interesting quarterback room for the 2025 season. Of course, all the focus is truly on Aaron Rodgers and what he can bring to the team at this stage in his career. Behind him, the Steelers have Mason Rudolph serving as the primary backup. Skylar Thompson and Will Howard are competing for the third spot on the depth chart, but unfortunately for Howard, an injury has slowed his progress. Thompson took advantage of the opportunity, performing well in the first preseason game and possibly reclaiming the QB3 role. Before his injury, Howard had previously moved ahead of Thompson in the competition. Former teammate of Rudolph, Ben Roethlisberger, recently shared his honest thoughts about the veteran quarterback’s performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Roethlisberger, who spent years with Rudolph during his time in Pittsburgh, had a unique perspective on how his former understudy handled the game. While Roethlisberger acknowledged there were some areas where Rudolph could improve, he also praised his composure, decision-making, and ability to move the offense when needed. Roethlisberger discussed Rudolph’s performance on his Footbahlin podcast, noting that the veteran looked confident and in control despite limited opportunities. "You know I thought Mason [Rudolph] played really well," Roethlisberger said on his podcast. "I thought he did exactly what you would hope to see from your backup quarterback. He went out there I think, he solidified himself… as the two." He pointed out that Rudolph’s familiarity with the Steelers’ system allows him to step in without disrupting the flow of the offense. With Rodgers leading the way, Rudolph providing a steady backup presence, and the QB3 competition between Thompson and Howard continuing, the Steelers’ quarterback depth will be a storyline worth following as the 2025 season approaches. "Let’s see how he does this week and the next week," Roethlisberger said. "I thought he played really well. I thought he was efficient with the ball. He threw the ball down the field. As a team, you like seeing that because that gives you confidence going into the season that if something were to happen one game for Aaron… you have a guy that you feel confident who could go in there. Same thing when we had Charlie Batch, you had Bruce Gradkowski, you had Byron Leftwich, you had Dennis Dixon and Josh Dobbs. Any of those guys. You just feel confident he can go in and just get it done for you." Roethlisberger had high praise for Rudolph, and hearing him mention him alongside names like Charlie Batch shows he has faith in Rudolph’s ability to be a reliable backup in Pittsburgh. There is a strong argument that Rudolph is one of the most dependable backup quarterbacks in the NFL, which is a significant asset for the Steelers in the 2025 season. Steelers' Mason Rudolph Has Great Preseason Game Versus Jaguars Rudolph only attempted 10 passes on Saturday night against the Jaguars, but completed 90 percent of them. He threw for 84 yards and one touchdown. While preseason football can be difficult to evaluate, he performed well in roughly a quarter and some change of action. His efficiency and composure reinforced the notion that the Steelers have one of the league’s most steady and trustworthy backup quarterbacks heading into the regular season. Roethlisberger is confident Rudolph has now locked up his spot as QB2 for the 2025 season. Steelers fans are now super eager to get updates on when Howard will be back from his injury. Howard and Thompson will fight for the QB3 spot. What grade would you give Rudolph for his preseason outing against the Jaguars?
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell thinks he set his team up for failure last season with the messages he sent. The Lions won the NFC North and the top overall seed in the NFC Playoffs by going 15-2, but lost in their first playoff game to the Washington Commanders. In a new interview with WXYZ in Detroit, Campbell confessed that he thinks his messaging led the Lions to get too complacent after achieving the goal of securing the No. 1 seed. “There was a little part of me last year, I’m like, Man, did I put such an emphasis on the one-seed, playing at home, all these things that it was almost like — the set of circumstances, we had a bunch of injuries — that it was like, [sigh]. We took a deep breath,” Campbell said. “And then it was like, ‘Oh man, we reached one of those goals,’ but the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl.” “So I just, in my own head, did I set us up for failure by the way that I spoke about it? I think about little things like that. Whereas, you know what? We didn’t lose on the road last year. What if we had gone on the road?” Campbell is quick to take responsibility when his team loses, but last year’s playoff exit was particularly shocking. The Minnesota Vikings pushed them all the way to Week 18, giving them no real opportunity to exhale. Their playoff bye may have given them an opportunity to do that when they shouldn’t have. Of course, Campbell was plenty confident in his team heading into the playoffs. Still, the messaging will clearly be different in Detroit this season.