{"id":670900,"date":"2026-01-12T07:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/670900\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T07:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:58:20","slug":"vikings-2026-qb-dilemma-cap-strategies-and-draft-outlook-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/670900\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings 2026 QB Dilemma, Cap Strategies, and Draft Outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Minnesota Vikings fans, dive into this must-listen episode of Two Old Bloggers where Darren Campbell and Dave Stefano break down the team\u2019s 2026 outlook after a 9-8 playoff miss in 2025. Some key topics covered like Vikings quarterback crisis, J.J. McCarthy future, 2026 salary cap, Vikings draft pick 18, and veteran QB trades optimize this recap for searches on Vikings offseason analysis. As Darren notes, \u201cI really misjudged how ready JJ McCarthy was to be a starting quarterback in the NFL,\u201d highlighting the first-time starter\u2019s accuracy issues and Kurt Warner\u2019s skepticism: \u201cFixing accuracy in the pros takes years.\u201d Dave pondering, \u201cIs the McCarthy era already in jeopardy? Could we see a trade for Kyler Murray?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The hosts emphasize the urgency for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O\u2019Connell, with Darren stating, \u201cKevin O\u2019Connell doesn\u2019t have two or three seasons to wait for McCarthy to get it.\u201d They explore imperfect veteran options like Kirk Cousins\u2019 potential return\u2014\u201cWould the Vikings want him? I don\u2019t know\u201d\u2014or Kyler Murray as the \u201cmost talented guy\u201d for elite play. Salary cap fears are dismissed, with Darren explaining, \u201cThe Vikings didn\u2019t just wake up after they spent all that money last year and go, \u2018Holy crap, we\u2019re gonna be 46 million over the cap.\u2019\u201d Obvious cuts like Javon Hargrave and Ryan Kelly could yield relief, as \u201cthe salary cap goes up every year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">SKOL Nation, if you\u2019re pondering the Vikings\u2019 path back to NFC North dominance, this episode is your playbook\u2014packed with expert breakdowns, quotes, and hope for 2026 contention. Stream Two Old Bloggers on Vikings 1st &amp; SKOL for more raw, fan-driven Vikings podcast content that keeps the purple fire burning. Don\u2019t miss out; subscribe now and join the conversation!<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">We have your Minnesota Vikings talk amongst the Two Old Bloggers, Darren <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KickassblogVike\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@KickassblogVike<\/a>, and Dave <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Luft_Krigare\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Luft_Krigare<\/a> along with our numbers guy, Drew Bunting. Join the conversation! Fan with us at Vikings 1st &amp; SKOL <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Vikings1stSKOL\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Vikings1stSKOL<\/a> and with our podcast partner Fans First Sports Network <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FansFirstSN\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@FansFirstSN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">What veteran QB should the Vikings pursue to challenge J.J. McCarthy in 2026, and why?<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings fans, dive into this must-listen episode of Two Old Bloggers where Darren Campbell and Dave Stefano&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,97640,85885,59322,1387,1312,6110,6112,2529,6,67221,3848,234],"class_list":["post-670900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-football","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesota-vikings-2023-season","tag-minnesota-vikings-analysis","tag-minnesota-vikings-discussion","tag-minnesota-vikings-draft","tag-minnesota-vikings-news","tag-minnesota-vikings-podcasts","tag-minnesota-vikings-rumors","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-two-old-bloggers","tag-videos","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115881070034051771","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}