Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Kirk Cousins will hit free agency two weeks from now and a reunion with the Minnesota Vikings is a popular prediction across NFL media, but there is another veteran quarterback who might make as much, or even more, sense.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic on Wednesday, February 25 discussed Minnesota’s options and decided that a short-term bet on an experienced signal-caller is probably the way the Vikings will lean.
“I would say the most likely outcome to me right now is the veteran who can add competition, who you would trust if they were thrust into a game,” Lewis said.
Translation: head coach Kevin O’Connell is going to give JJ McCarthy every opportunity to keep the QB1 role and develop into the franchise player the team hoped it was drafting No. 10 back in 2024.
But if he can’t accomplish that, or if he can’t stay healthy enough to carry out the proverbial college try, than the Vikings have a real option to allow their playoff-caliber roster to actually compete for the postseason.
Seth Walder of ESPN predicted on Wednesday that Minnesota will add Cousins, and that he will ultimately start the year under center over McCarthy. However, Lewis noted a different possibility alongside Cousins in his analysis of the situation.
“If it’s the more tepid strategy, Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, that’s where my mind goes for sure,” Lewis said.
Geno Smith Represents Less Risky, Shorter-Term Option for Vikings While Allowing JJ McCarthy Another Chance
Geno Smith, Raiders
GettyQuarterback Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The less tepid strategy would involve something like a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for Kyler Murray or spending north of $30 million annually on Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis in free agency.
But after ownership fired former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in January — ostensibly, at least in part, because of his decision on McCarthy over now Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold ahead of the 2025 campaign — O’Connell may have only one more big swing at quarterback left before he feels the flames rising with regards to his job security.
If Murray and/or Willis aren’t worth that swing, and McCarthy deserves another at-bat in 2026, then a player like Smith could be the answer. He has two years and $75 million remaining on his deal, but the Las Vegas Raiders own the top pick in the draft and are likely to select his replacement in April.
“Cutting Smith only results in $8 million in cap savings while sinking $18.5 million in dead money, but unless new head coach Klint Kubiak sees him as a worthy bridge quarterback to presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, any juice would be worth the squeeze in Las Vegas,” Matt Okada of NFL.com wrote February 16. “Pete Carroll is gone and I’d be very surprised if his hand-picked quarterback of the past is not soon to follow.”
Vikings Can Expect Similar Play Out of Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins
GettyAtlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Raiders would ideally trade Smith, but his base salary of $26.5 million and league-leading 17 interceptions last season will likely render that outcome impossible.
Cousins is also prone to interceptions, having thrown 21 of them across 24 games with the Atlanta Falcons over the past two years and leading the NFL with 14 picks in 14 contests in 2024.
Neither player should prove exceedingly expensive in free agency and both will probably be open to inking a one-year contract, or perhaps a two-year deal with an easy team out ahead of the 2027 campaign.
Cousins is more familiar with the system in Minnesota, though Smith is two years younger and has been a Pro Bowler more recently (2023) than Cousins (2022).