The Minnesota Vikings may be shopping for quarterback help before the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 10, but the market is looking awfully thin.
That’s the challenge hanging over this situation. Minnesota has been linked to the idea of making a move at quarterback, with Kyler Murray struggling this season and now sidelined by injury. Amazon Prime Video’s James Palmer reported Thursday that the Vikings are at least exploring the quarterback market, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Minnesota is a team to watch if a quarterback trade materializes.
The problem is that the names that make sense on paper don’t appear to be available.
Daniel Jones is one of them. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Indianapolis Colts have told teams they are not interested in moving him.
“There has been some trade interest in Daniel Jones, but the Colts have told interested teams they aren’t trading him,” Pelissero reported. Jones does have some familiarity with the Vikings’ offense after his brief stint in Minnesota in 2024, but for now he looks off the board.
Justin Herbert appears even less realistic. The Los Angeles Chargers have told teams they are not trading anyone, according to The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones, and that stance includes veteran edge rusher Khalil Mack, who would seem to be the most obvious candidate to move.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported the same on Mack and added that rival teams have been met with “hard nos” on players such as Herbert and wide receiver Ladd McConkey. “Calls from rival general managers on Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkey and others have received hard nos,” Schefter and Rapoport wrote.
That leaves the Vikings staring at a list that keeps shrinking.
Kirk Cousins has come up in the chatter, but Schefter poured cold water on the idea during his podcast Thursday, saying a Raiders deal “makes no sense to me.” He explained, “[Cousins] is the perfect mentor to their No. 1 pick who they don’t want to rush along, and who they want to leave on the bench… Why are the Raiders trading Kirk Cousins to Minnesota?
Why are they doing that?” NFL insider Charles Robinson believes Cousins could be available, though he put the price at a third-round pick, which seems steep for Minnesota.
Even with that, a Raiders trade feels difficult to picture. Las Vegas is not a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and Fernando Mendoza is waiting in the wings, but the Raiders are also 4-4 and in the playoff race, which makes keeping Cousins the more likely path as they try to make a run in the first season under head coach Klint Kubiak.
Mac Jones has also been floated as a possibility, but that door sounds just about shut too. Pelissero reported that the 49ers “wouldn’t move backup QB Mac Jones for anything less than a huge offer.”
San Francisco general manager John Lynch backed that up, saying, “We’d have to be really motivated to move Mac, a situation where it makes too much sense,” Lynch said. “But we’re very comfortable with keeping Mac.”
That kind of language can sometimes be smoke, but in this case it sounds real. The 49ers are in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt, and Jones gives them valuable insurance if Brock Purdy gets hurt. There’s also no reason for San Francisco to help another NFC team that could be standing in its way later this season.
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