The Vikings have been very patient about adding a veteran quarterback to complement J.J. McCarthy. After three weeks of free agency — and all kinds of Aaron Rodgers speculation — they still have just McCarthy and former practice squad player Brett Rypien on their roster at the sport's most important position.
At this point, it seems like they're not going to sign a quarterback for a while — and there's a reason for that.
One thing the Vikings have been very mindful of throughout this offseason is the NFL's compensatory pick formula, which gives teams extra draft picks if they lose more qualifying free agents than they sign. Right now, the Vikings are in line for two comp picks in the 2026 draft. If they were to sign a free agent for more than roughly $4 million per year prior to next month's draft, they'd be risking cancelling out one of those picks. But if they wait until the Monday after the draft (April 28), they can add players without them factoring into the comp pick formula.
"We’re looking at all our options," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said this week when asked if Minnesota plans to add a quarterback. "There’s a lot of good players out there still. We’ve had the dynamic where we’re trying to improve the team but be mindful of our compensatory pick situation and different things like that."
In the meantime, the Vikings could potentially trade for a quarterback on another team's roster. But if they're going to sign someone like Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, or Drew Lock to a standard backup-type contract (perhaps $4-5 million for one year), that probably isn't happening for at least another month. That's also true of positions other than QB (like, for example, cornerback). Any significant free agent additions to come the rest of this offseason will likely wait until after the draft.
Eventually, the Vikings will add a quarterback to their roster. And yes, there's still a theoretical possibility that the Vikings and Rodgers could revisit their conversations down the line if the four-time MVP doesn't sign with the Steelers. Adofo-Mensah wasn't willing to completely shut the door on that front. Still, it seems highly unlikely.
"It's also our job to set up a quarterback room that’s going to be able to meet, have great ideas and prepare whoever it is to play, but also provide insurance in case someone needs to come in for a couple games," Adofo-Mensah said. "That’s our job as a personnel department, to look at all of the options out there and make sure we’re setting ourselves up for the best case we can."