During the NFL offseason, the Minnesota Vikings were faced with an extremely important decision. Did they want to pursue a veteran quarterback option or go all-in on second-year signal caller J.J. McCarthy being both the present and the future of the franchise?
Plenty of options were rumored to be of interest to the Vikings. Most notably, Minnesota was viewed as one of the top potential destinations for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
However, at the end of the day, the Vikings decided to put their faith in McCarthy.
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While McCarthy has shown some flashes of the potential that made him Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2024, those flashes have not been consistent. Unfortunately, the Vikings have been struggling this season and are headed towards missing the playoffs.
At the time of this writing, McCarthy has played in six games in 2025. He has completed 54.1 percent of his pass attempts for 929 yards, six touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while also running for 120 yards and two more scores.
Due to the struggles that he’s had on the field and the injury issues he has dealt with off of it, there are many who believe that Minnesota could go shopping for a new quarterback this coming offseason.
With that in mind, the Vikings have been urged to former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky to consider two specific options. He thinks that Daniel Jones and Mac Jones should be on Minnesota’s radar this offseason.
Orlovsky talked about how unhappy Justin Jefferson has seen this offseason. To make sure that he remains committed to the Vikings, he believes a quarterback change could be in order.
“The likeliest way they can keep [Justin Jefferson], or make him happy is Daniel Jones or Mac Jones,” Orlovsky said.
Daniel Jones, of course, spent time last season with Minnesota before signing with the Indianapolis Colts in free agency on a one-year deal. He has played well in 12 games, throwing for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while completing 67.9 percent of his passes.
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On the other side, Mac Jones has had a career resurgence with the San Francisco 49ers. He has played quite a bit this year due to the injuries Brock Purdy has dealt with. In 10 games, throwing for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He has completed 69.6 percent of his passes.
Both quarterbacks could be nice long-term options for the Vikings. Or, they could simply be pieces brought in for a year or two while McCarthy develops.
Only time will tell, but Minnesota is a team to watch in the quarterback market this coming offseason.
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