Another ugly offensive showing in Sunday’s loss to the Lions has the Vikings looking at every possible answer, and that includes the quarterback spot. A running back at the trade deadline already made sense, but Kyler Murray’s uneven play has pushed the conversation further. If he has another rough night against the Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 9, Minnesota could start dialing around.
Murray’s stat line is the kind that can fool you at first glance. He’s completed 64.9% of his passes, thrown only three interceptions, and added eight rushing first downs.
But the tape has told a different story for months. He’s missing open receivers, taking bad sacks, and still not finding the end zone with any regularity.
The problem for the Vikings is that a trade for Murray’s replacement doesn’t come with any guarantees. Moving from Murray to Carson Wentz or another quarterback might change the look, but it doesn’t automatically fix the offense. Still, if Minnesota decides it has to make a move, there are a few names that fit the bill.
Kirk Cousins would be the dream swing if the Vikings want a quarterback who already knows the system and is playing at a high level. At 38, he’s putting together some of his best football, with 19 passing touchdowns and only five interceptions.
The catch is obvious: the Raiders are 4-4 and very much in the AFC playoff picture, and first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza is waiting in the wings. Las Vegas could let Mendoza learn while chasing a postseason run, which makes prying Cousins loose a tough sell unless the Raiders collapse badly against San Francisco next week.
If Minnesota wants to go cheaper, Jacoby Brissett is at least a name to watch. He was benched for Gardner Minshew II late in Sunday’s game against the Cowboys and may have lost his job after the Cardinals’ comeback win.
Brissett had a strong 2025 season with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but he’s already thrown seven picks in 2026. If Arizona sticks with Minshew, Brissett could be available for a late Day 3 pick.
He has also had four games this year with at least 270 passing yards, though Kevin O’Connell’s system is not especially easy to pick up on the fly.
Daniel Jones is another familiar option, and one the Vikings’ coaching staff wanted as recently as a year ago. That said, his stock has cratered after the Colts were blown out 42-7 by the Jaguars.
Jones looks like the worst quarterback in football right now, and with the Colts heading toward a teardown, he could be available. Before his Achilles injury halfway through 2025, he looked like a different player, but this season he has five touchdowns and nine interceptions, with no real game this year that stands out as a positive.
Then there’s Justin Herbert, who would be the biggest swing of all. The 0-7 Chargers might eventually consider a reset, even if there’s no sign that’s happening yet.
Herbert was once seen as a top-10 quarterback, but 2026 has been a mess under offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. He leads the league in interceptions and hasn’t thrown a touchdown in nearly a month.
If the Vikings believe they can revive him, there’s plenty to like about the long-term upside.
The price would be steep, though. If the Chargers were even willing to move him, they would still want a major return, and that could mean a first-round pick and more. For a Vikings team with general manager Nolan Teasley still waiting to make his first selection, that’s a heavy ask.
In Other News...
Vikings Just Sent A Clear Trade Deadline Signal To Fans
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Vikings created some breathing room on their roster by moving on from a pair of depth pieces and leaving themselves a little more flexibility for whatever comes next. Minnesota waived guard Trevor Keegan and released tight end Bryson Nesbit from the practice squad, a pair of transactions that opened spots as the team continues to sort through its options.
General manager Nolan Teasley has not added anyone yet, but the timing is hard to miss with Minnesota preparing for a matchup against the Buffalo Bills and still evaluating the depth chart. Even if no deal follows right away, the roster maneuvering suggests the Vikings are keeping the door open for a deadline move if the right opportunity presents itself. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Suddenly Have A Jake Golday Decision They Can't Ignore
The Vikings run defense has hit a rough patch at exactly the wrong time, giving up 384 rushing yards over the last two games while the missed tackles have piled up. With more physical rushing attacks on the schedule, the issue is no longer just about scheme or effort. It is becoming a personnel question, and that has put rookie linebacker Jake Golday into the conversation as a possible way to steady things.
Golday has barely been used on defense this season, but he has earned trust on special teams and has shown the kind of tackling reliability Minnesota could use more of right now. The Vikings do not need to overhaul everything to get better against the run, but they do need to find answers quickly, and giving Golday a larger defensive role is the kind of adjustment that could make sense before the next wave of tough opponents arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Have A Kirk Cousins Decision Fans Cant Ignore
Kirk Cousins has already become part of the conversation in Las Vegas this season, not just because of what he can still do on the field, but because of the role he is playing behind the scenes. The veteran quarterback is mentoring Fernando Mendoza for the Raiders, and after the team finally got back in the win column against the Jets, his presence has only looked more valuable to a club trying to steady itself during the 2026 season.
For Minnesota fans, the timing is hard to miss. A Vikings loss has reopened the quarterback chatter around the league, with Kyler Murray's future drawing speculation and Cousins naturally surfacing as a name to watch, but the Raiders do not appear eager to make that kind of move. The bigger question now is whether Las Vegas would even consider disrupting a locker room that is leaning on Cousins in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]