It's no secret. The Minnesota Vikings are in search of veteran quarterback competition for JJ McCarthy this offseason.

There are a ton of possibilities for the team, and with a recent front office regime change, most bets are off the table.

The team appears at least semi-committed to JJ McCarthy as a part of their long term plans, but there are a lot of other dominoes that could fall.

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ESPN.com has hit the ground running with its offseason previews, including potential trades.

A good portion of the Vikings' fan base might be interested in the likes of Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa or Geno Smith in the trade market.

ESPN has pitched the Vikings as a landing spot for current 49ers QB Mac Jones as well.

Here's what the article has to say about a potential deal, the cots, and the implications of such a move:

Vikings find some QB room insurance

Vikings get: QB Mac Jones, 2027 third-round pick
49ers get: 2026 second-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick (conditional), 2028 third-round pick (conditional)

The Vikings can't afford to leave J.J. McCarthy an uncontested path to their starting quarterback job again in 2026. He was a disaster for most of the season, and though he put together a better stretch to end 2025, that four-game run came against the Commanders (who were 30th in EPA per play against pass dropbacks), Cowboys (31st), Giants (17th, in a game where McCarthy threw 14 passes) and Packers (21st, McCarthy was facing second- and third-stringers for most of the game).

It's reasonable to say that McCarthy deserves more time, having started just 10 games during two seasons as a pro. Even if you're making that argument, though, the Vikings need real competition for him in camp. They also need a backup who can step in to play, given that McCarthy has missed 24 games over his first two years because of knee, concussion, hand and ankle injuries.

This would be sort of a complicated trade, but the Vikings would be adding a quarterback who showed some of his upside in San Francisco. Jones posted a 62.3 Total QBR during his lone season with the 49ers, coming in a little more than 10 points behind Brock Purdy's 73.0 mark. Jones is due just $4.7 million in 2026, which will be the final year of his contract. And of course, we know that the Vikings have been willing to take a swing on quarterbacks who have gone through the Kyle Shanahan rejuvenation cycle before, having signed Sam Darnold after the now-Super Bowl champion's only year in San Francisco.

It's not an easy move for the 49ers, who are committed to Purdy as their long-term starter. Holding on to Jones as their backup makes sense, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Niners fully intend to keep him -- although it would also hardly be a surprise if the 49ers signed Kirk Cousins to reunite the veteran signal-caller with Shanahan in San Francisco. GM John Lynch could pick up a compensatory pick for losing Jones in free agency next year, although that would require the 49ers to be careful about how much they spend, and that pick wouldn't come until the 2028 draft.

In this deal, the 49ers get a second-rounder for a future third-rounder. There are also two conditional picks, which should help protect them if Jones blossoms in Minnesota. The 2027 conditional pick would trigger based on Jones' playing time with the Vikings. If he starts four games in 2026, the Vikings send a fifth-round pick out west. If Jones starts 12 games, that gets upped to a third-rounder. And then, if Jones re-signs with the Vikings after the 2026 season and starts at least one game for the Vikings in 2027, the 49ers would land another third-round pick.

If Jones spends just 2025 backing up McCarthy, the 49ers swap only the Day 2 picks. If Jones emerges as the long-term starter in Minnesota, though, the Vikings could send a second-rounder and two third-round picks to the 49ers -- a price that Kevin O'Connell would surely be happy to pay for an upgrade at quarterback.

Would you like to see the Vikings make this move?

Source: ESPN.com