Vikings predicted to add Super Bowl champ and former first-round QB behind J.J. McCarthy

It's no secret that the Minnesota Vikings are looking to add a veteran quarterback this offseason.

The reason behind that desire is J.J. McCarthy failed to cement himself as the team's long-term starter after a bad first season as the Vikings' starter. That performance prevented Minnesota from making the playoffs.

In an article predicting the quarterbacks of every NFL teamin 2026, The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt predicted the Vikings will sign former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco and trade for Indianapolis Colts signal-caller Anthony Richardson as insurance policies for McCarthy.

Here's Rosenblatt's thoughts on his predictions:

Flacco makes some sense as a fallback option. He showed last season in Cincinnati that he’s still capable of leading an offense: He threw for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in nine games. He’s a good veteran presence to have in any quarterback room, especially one with two young quarterbacks, and he’s looking for an opportunity to at least compete to start — which he’d get in Minnesota. Also, according to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, Flacco was “very much in play” for Minnesota last season before it settled on Carson Wentz — who shouldn’t be ruled out entirely as an option either, by the way.

As for Richardson: His physical and athletic talents are tantalizing even if there’s plenty to be concerned about, particularly his struggles to complete passes at a consistent rate in the NFL, and that time he took himself out of a game because he was tired. Still, there’s not really any downside to adding him to the room considering a trade shouldn’t cost much, and it gives O’Connell a quarterback with tools to develop. There was also, of course, that viral moment O’Connell and Richardson shared in 2024 where O’Connell told him: “You’re a bad dude. And you’re gonna play a long time in this league. Go to work every day. Good things will happen for you. I still believe in you.”

Flacco might be 41 years old, but he has shown he's still got plenty of gas left in the tank the past three seasons. Not only would he provide an excellent mentor for McCarthy, Flacco would be the favorite to win a competition against him.

And, if Flacco can play at the level he has the past few seasons, he could get the Vikings back to the playoffs.

The Colts recently gave Richardson permission to seek a trade, as the Colts plan on moving forward with Daniel Jones and Riley Leonard.

Richardson has been a major disappointment during his NFL career thanks to injury and ineffective play, but he's still just 23 years old and would be an interesting reclamation project for the Vikings to take on.

We know head coach Kevin O'Connell has revived the career of a quarterback before (Sam Darnold), so it's logical to think he could do it with Richardson.

Acquiring Richardson also gives the Vikings a potential long-term solution if the team decides to part ways with McCarthy should Flacco win the job in this particular scenario.

When it comes to compensation in a trade for Richardson, it shouldn't be expensive considering how his stock is in the toilet. We'd project a mid-Day 3 pick would be enough to secure the young signal-caller.

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