Vikings GM Confirms Plans to Add QB to Roster..

he Minnesota Vikings have been pretty clear that J.J. McCarthy is their guy moving forward and that he is the frontrunner to land the QB1 job during training camp this summer.

But at the NFL owners’ meetings in Florida on Wednesday, April 2, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was equally clear that the team is going to add more depth to a quarterback room currently comprised only of McCarthy and Brett Rypien — the latter of whom finished last season as No. 4 on the depth chart, which relegated him to the practice squad.

“We want [McCarthy] to be our starting quarterback for a long time,” Adofo-Mensah told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. “Obviously he had an injury and a setback, but we’re excited about everything he’s done from that point, and we’re going to go forward with that. We’re gonna look to obviously always add depth to that room, to upgrade it.”

Aaron Rodgers Appears Off Table for Vikings

Aaron Rodgers Steelers
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Free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Who that quarterback might be remains up in the air, but there are only so many viable options remaining.

Minnesota appears to have all but shut the door on an acquisition of Aaron Rodgers after a week or so of deliberation late last month. However, Rodgers remains a free agent despite a standing offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who read like the only viable option remaining for him with the Vikings ostensibly off the table.

If Rodgers is 100% out of the mix, then the conversation likely comes down to available veterans who can both help shepherd McCarthy through his second season (though one that will serve as his rookie campaign in many ways) and step in and play competent QB if McCarthy struggles mightily and/or suffers another injury.

The three veteran names remaining with the most history of success, but who also won’t pose an overwhelming threat to McCarthy’s starting job or his status with the fans should the young QB struggle, are Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco and Carson Wentz.

Vikings Likely to Look at Veteran QB Behind J.J. McCarthy

Joe Flacco, Minnesota Vikings
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Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco.

Rodgers is looking for a starting job, one last payday and a final shot at glory. Tannehill was looking for something similar last year, which is why he didn’t take any job offers and remained a free agent all season long while waiting for an opportunity to start somewhere that never materialized.

Tannehill turns 37 years old this summer and just sidelined himself for an entire season. However, he has a winning record across a dozen years in the league, roughly 100 more TD passes than INTs, as well as a Pro Bowl and a trip to the AFC Championship Game on his resumé. Minnesota has already been in touch with him, though nothing solid has yet come of that contact.

Flacco, 40, is a former Super Bowl champion who started several games for the Indianapolis Colts last season and the Cleveland Browns the year prior, leading Cleveland to a playoff berth. He remains a free agent and is looking to play at least one more NFL season.

Wentz is the youngest of the three at just 32 years old. He served as the Kansas City Chiefs backup quarterback last season.

The contract situation between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons is delicately poised as the two sides continue to work towards getting a new deal done. With the expectation that Micah will become the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, or at least close to it with roughly a $40 million APY contract thought to be where the two sides are, it is taking time to get the deal across the line. Of course, owner Jerry Jones and his comments on Micah’s agent have raised some eyebrows, but Jerry’s statement about Parsons’ value to the team when on a big contract might have slipped through the cracks. Parsons wants to be a leader of the locker room, and for Jerry, when talking about the huge figures regarding Micah’s contract, Jones gave a rather interesting answer as to whether Micah, as a potential franchise leader, impacts what kind of contract he gets. “Micah has to be the player that he wants paid as,” Jones said. “He has to be a tremendous leader for the Dallas Cowboys. He has the skill, the capacity mentally, so for us to justify the kinds of dollars we’re talking about, he has to literally lead the way, and he’s so substantive that if

he’s halfway not leading it’s glaring. So Micah has to really lead, I think he’s committed to do that.” Jones also coyly made mention of Micah’s agent, David Mulughata, who some think the owner has publicly “disrespected.” (Read more here.) “The agent won’t be within a million miles of him when we’re executing on what I’m talking about right here,” Jones said. “That will be something that we might be visiting about on a week-to-week basis.” So yes, Micah will be getting (we think) a shiny new contract that puts him at the very top of his position, but make no mistake-that comes with certain non-negotiables. Parsons wants to be a leader. He has to show it through his actions, and if he’s getting a monster contract, it appears that Micah being the best version of himself for the organization is something that Jerry expects, especially when Parsons will be earning $40+ million per year. Related: Cowboys’ Brian

Schottenheimer Gets Brutally Honest About High Draft Pick So we have heard a lot about what the Cowboys should be doing for Micah when it comes to his new contract, but Jerry has just stated that this isn’t a one-way street. If Parsons gets the deal he wants, Dallas wants him to be the player they know he can be, and being a franchise leader, it appears, is the bare minimum.