Coaches are getting let go quickly. Several of the candidates could be possible replacements for Brian Flores should he go elsewhere. Jonathan Gannon might be nice. Who do you like if Flores leaves?<\/p>\n
The QB situation is, once again, unsettled and some would say a mess. I will always remain hopeful.<\/p>\n
Minnesota Vikings News and Links<\/p>\n
Could Brian Flores leave the Vikings due to behind-the-scenes drama?<\/a><\/p>\n The concerning report comes from Jon Krawczynski, the longtime Minnesota sports reporter who specializes in covering the Timberwolves and the NBA. In an interview with KFAN-FM 100.3\u2019s Dan Barreiro on Monday, Krawczynski indicated that Flores could leave the Vikings in a lateral move as a defensive coordinator because of whatever is allegedly happening behind closed doors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way that I\u2019ve looked at it and talked to people about it over the last several weeks, it has changed, to me, the temperature of the water in a way. I\u2019ll say it in two ways. One is, I was sort of under the impression that, given Brian Flores\u2019 lawsuit against the league and given how things ended in Miami and the confrontational nature of that, the chances of him getting another head coaching job was very minimal, with how owners operate. That said, it does seem like there\u2019s real momentum toward a job with the Raiders, with Tom Brady hiring him as the head coach and maybe Brian Daboll or something like that as the offensive coordinator. I think that is more real than anything that I expected to be discussed from a head coaching standpoint at this point,\u201d Krawczynski began.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second part\u2026 there does seem to be some sort of murmurings of discontent, of a butting of heads behind the scenes with other people in the organization, that there is some intrigue about, even if he didn\u2019t get the Raiders job or another head coaching job, that there still is a real possibility that Flores could leave for another defensive coordinator job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t tell you the exact nature of the conflict, or of the drama behind the scenes, but there is something going on that does lead me to believe that it is not a foregone conclusion that he would stay here to be a coordinator, that he could leave to go elsewhere, which I think would be a disaster for the Vikings, and it would be a terrible look,\u201d Krawczynski said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, there is something going on there. Maybe, maybe it\u2019s a little bit of negotiating on Flores\u2019 part to try and get every last bit of dollars that are coming his way. But there does seem to be some real talk behind the scenes of, you know what, it\u2019s not all hunky-dory behind the scenes with Brian Flores and with this organization, and there are some other things that they have to navigate before they could get a deal done with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could give specific problems that are happening, and I don\u2019t have them,\u201d he said. \u201cI just can\u2019t say because I don\u2019t have the specifics of it nailed down enough to report it and say it with confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I can say is that, yes, there have been conversations around his situation, and just, like, I\u2019ll say the whispers that everything is not completely right in that world. And it is more than, it\u2019s not just a simple, that if Brian Flores does not take a head coaching job, he\u2019s absolutely 100% sure gonna lock down here with the Vikings. There\u2019s just more to it. Certainly, Alec and I and others will be looking into that more, but yeah, it\u2019s kind of been a talking point around the team that\u2019s been circulating for the last 10 days or so.\u201d<\/p>\n Another Jalen Redmond? Vikings reportedly signing two CFL standouts<\/a><\/p>\n Now the Vikings appear to be hoping to recreate that success story. They\u2019re signing standout Canadian Football League DT Jaylon Hutchings to a futures deal, according to John Hodge of 3DownNation.<\/p>\n Hutchings recorded 8 sacks and 39 total tackles for the Calgary Stampeders across 17 games this past season. He was named to the All-CFL team and was the highest-graded defensive player in the entire league by Pro Football Focus at 90.7.<\/p>\n Hutchings, who just turned 26, is a Texas native who played at Texas Tech from 2018-23. He had 8.5 sacks and 19.5 total TFL over his final three college seasons. Hutchings went undrafted and had a brief offseason stint with the Bears in 2024 before joining the Stampeders. He\u2019s listed at 6 feet tall and 304 pounds. Roberts, 24, recorded 93 tackles and 4 sacks for the Stampeders this past season. He\u2019s a 6\u20191\u201d, 233-pound LB who went undrafted in 2024 after spending four years at FCS North Carolina A&T and one year at Wake Forest. Roberts\u2019 83 tackles for the Demon Deacons in 2023 included 6 sacks and 10 total TFL. He\u2019ll compete to make the Vikings\u2019 roster as a depth linebacker and special teams player.<\/p>\n Did the Falcons open the door for Kirk Cousins\u2019 return to Minnesota?<\/a><\/p>\n The Atlanta Falcons have restructured Kirk Cousins\u2019 contract, setting up a March 13 deadline for a decision on his future. In all likelihood, he\u2019ll be released with a post-June 1 designation to help Atlanta\u2019s cap situation. And with the Vikings looming as a theoretical suitor, this move may just have opened the door for Cousins\u2019 return to Minnesota.<\/p>\n The move by the Falcons, which was first reported by ESPN\u2019s Field Yates on Tuesday, reduces Cousins\u2019 2026 base salary from $35 million to just $2.1 million. That $32.9 million difference goes into 2027, giving him a $67.9 million guarantee for that season. That guarantee will vest on March 13, the third day of the new league year, which makes that an obvious deadline for the Falcons to either release Cousins or work out a new contract to keep him. Given the presence of Michael Penix Jr. and the potential for salary cap relief, the former seems more logical. 48,000-Yard QB Won\u2019t Retire, Emerges as Vikings\u2019 Alternative to JJ McCarthy<\/a><\/p>\n The question Minnesota must answer is this: Does the team seek competent insurance against injuries and\/or more struggles for JJ McCarthy entering his third NFL season, or does it want a viable starting option to truly compete for the QB1 job in camp who also has the potential to remain the answer under center for years into the future?<\/p>\n For example, if the Vikings favor a veteran mentor on a one-year insurance policy to give McCarthy full buy-in for at least the start of his third season, then a player like Russell Wilson makes sense.<\/p>\n Another QB who fits that mold is Joe Flacco, who announced Monday that he does not intend to retire and made some other telling comments indicating that a landing spot like Minnesota offers the precise set of circumstances he\u2019s seeking. \u201cJoe Flacco said he\u2019s not considering retirement and is hopeful he can be a little more selective when looking at his next shot,\u201d Joe Dannenman of FOX19 Cincinnati reported via X.<\/p>\n \u201cI love being in the locker room, I love being part of a group of guys like this in general,\u201d Flacco said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve had a lot of fun here the last couple months.\u201d<\/p>\n Vikings insider hits Minnesota with urgent Justin Jefferson warning<\/a><\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Alec Lewis warned the Vikings about improving their quarterback play during the 2026 season in a recent article.<\/p>\n Lewis commended superstar receiver Justin Jefferson for displaying real maturity while dealing with Minnesota\u2019s turbulent quarterback position throughout 2025. He warned that it would be a mistake to take the same approach again.<\/p>\n \u201cExpecting Jefferson to accept another season like this one with such offensive ineptitude would be ill-advised,\u201d Lewis wrote on Tuesday. \u201cThis is, in part, what makes the forthcoming quarterback decisions massive.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis noted that Jefferson has only made two playoff appearances during his six seasons in the NFL. He will certainly have his eyes set on postseason success in 2026.<\/p>\n Former Vikings LB Voices Frustration With JJ McCarthy\u2019s Behavior<\/a><\/p>\n Few analysts have a better pulse on the Vikings locker room than Ben Leber, who spent five seasons playing linebacker for the team in the late 2000s. Leber was taken aback by McCarthy\u2019s behavior in the final game of the regular season, noting the \u201coptics\u201d and \u201ctheatrics\u201d as troubling.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t love the theatrics of it. I don\u2019t love the optics of it. There\u2019s so much drama that\u2019s that\u2019s surrounding that you don\u2019t need to place a towel over your hand,\u201d Leber said. \u201cIt\u2019s not melting. There\u2019s not a bone sticking out. It\u2019s not disfigured. It\u2019s not harming anybody by looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Leber, who later praised McCarthy for his natural playmaking ability, gave reason why the optics of his hand injury are vital, given his injury history.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that he\u2019s got a lot to learn about just the body language, the behavior, the outward optics of how things look,\u201d Leber added. \u201cTo pull yourself off mid-series after one pass play in which it seemed everything was fine. \u2026 Me personally, I would probably push through it as much as I could, you know, get through this series. And if you have a couple throws where you are errant and you are inaccurate and it looks like you can\u2019t grip the football, I would choose to have them pull me off the field.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t love what it kind of means for him. I mean, for a guy that has battled injuries and has this mark on him as far as a reputation of not being healthy, I don\u2019t know. I would have gutted through it.\u201d Leber compared Carthy\u2019s playmaking to Lamar Jackson, noting the Baltimore Ravens quarterback\u2019s ability to overcome sub-par performances with a handful of plays that can tilt a game.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are plays that I feel like McCarthy can make. There\u2019s an elusiveness. There\u2019s a playmaking ability,\u201d Leber said. \u201cThere\u2019s a little kid playing backyard football that is inside of him that I actually like. I think it\u2019s a positive thing. We saw a little bit of yesterday. I actually think that means that he can grow into what they want him to be as far as a pocket passer and commanding the huddle a little bit more and making some of those throws.\u201c<\/p>\n However, McCarthy must mature on and off the field and improve his decision-making with the ball in his hand after throwing more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11) this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s still wildly immature mentally. I think to be a leader, I think that matters. And I\u2019m not so sure that\u2019s something that he\u2019s going to mature into in his time here \u2014 if he\u2019s got if he\u2019s got a long runway, which I think that runway is shrinking dramatically,\u201d Leber said, referring to McCarthy\u2019s rookie deal expiring in 2028. \u201cSo I\u2019m still on the still lean positively, but it definitely will waver depending on who we bring in this offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy: An emblematic end to the season for McCarthy<\/a><\/p>\n J.J. McCarthy\u2019s season ended familiarly: progression halted by a needless mistake, followed by an apology, followed by a worsening injury, followed by apologists pretending that the larger pattern isn\u2019t staring them in the face.<\/p>\n Early Sunday, with nothing on the line but professionalism, McCarthy delivered a stiff-arm to a Packers defender and then a little extra. An undisciplined taunting penalty that turned a manageable down-and-distance into another self-inflicted wound that short-circuited the game\u2019s opening drive.<\/p>\n Coach Kevin O\u2019Connell called it what it was: a post-snap blunder that set the offense back. McCarthy called it excitement, selfishness, something that \u201ccan\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n Therein lies the rub. There\u2019s always something like that happening. Not always in the same way, but always at the wrong time. Fourteen completions. One hundred eighty-two yards. A solid first half. Then swelling in his fractured throwing hand, another early exit, another afternoon handed off to someone else. Max Brosmer finished the game. The Vikings finished the season. McCarthy finished another chapter defined less by growth than by interruption.<\/p>\n This was supposed to be the evaluation year, when the Vikings finally learned what they had in the former first-round pick. Instead, they\u2019re learning availability is elusive, consistency is not his calling card, and discipline seems optional when emotions run hot. It would be franchise malpractice to bury McCarthy under the stadium. But Minnesota\u2019s talent evaluators, from general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to O\u2019Connell on down, have a real mess on their hands, with job security lashed to a franchise quarterback whose ability to fulfill his promise may have to take a back seat to real progress. That should terrify the front office. Generational receivers don\u2019t stay patient forever, especially when their prime is spent catching passes from a rotating cast of \u201calmosts.\u201d<\/p>\n This offseason, the Vikings must clear cap space, reinforce the offensive line, and shore up the secondary. Fine. But none of it matters if they continue to cross their fingers at quarterback.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t need a savior. They need a professional. Someone who stays on the field. Someone who doesn\u2019t turn second-and-short into second-and-long with a lapse of judgment. Someone whose biggest question isn\u2019t whether he\u2019ll finish the game.<\/p>\n Acknowledging that might not be McCarthy in 2026 is smarter than pretending otherwise. This doesn\u2019t mean giving up on him entirely. It means acknowledging reality. The Vikings cannot enter another season with McCarthy as the unquestioned plan and hope durability magically appears. Hope is not a depth chart.<\/p>\n
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Hutchings isn\u2019t the only member of the Calgary Stampeders who the Vikings are signing to a futures deal. They\u2019re also adding his teammate, linebacker Jacob Roberts, according to Hodge\u2019s colleague Justin Dunk.<\/p>\n
\u2026
If Cousins does become a free agent, a reunion with the Vikings could make quite a bit of sense. He is obviously more than familiar with Minnesota, having spent six seasons there. The last two came with Kevin O\u2019Connell, who he had previously worked with in Washington in 2017. Cousins knows the offense and many of the players on it, from Justin Jefferson to Brian O\u2019Neill and numerous others.
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Why it might not make sense would be if Cousins is adamant about wanting an opportunity to be a starter in 2026. Because Cousins\u2019 ceiling is clearly limited, the Vikings would likely give McCarthy every opportunity to win the job. Whether or not Cousins would be willing to be a backup in the organization where he spent six years as the starter would have to be discussed. With that said, at this point in his career, he seems unlikely to find any opportunity to be an unquestioned NFL starter.<\/p>\n
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Flacco spoke with media members on January 5 and made his career path and preferences exceedingly clear.<\/p>\n
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However, Leber isn\u2019t out on McCarthy despite a tough first season as a starter.<\/p>\n
\u2026
And McCarthy? He was productive and erratic, briefly. And then he was gone. Again.<\/p>\n
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McCarthy missed seven games outright and chunks of two others. Knee surgery wiped out his rookie year. This season added new ailments to the list, capped by a finale he couldn\u2019t finish. Unlucky is becoming unreliable. Development is morphing into perpetual work in progress.<\/p>\n
\u2026
Meanwhile, the Vikings\u2019 offense continues to orbit around Jefferson\u2019s brilliance, asking him to drag quarterbacks to relevance. Jefferson reached 1,000 yards for the sixth straight season, a routine accomplishment no one should take for granted.<\/p>\n