Minnesota Vikings Encouraged to Trade for Young QB at Deadline

The Minnesota Vikings lost Carson Wentz to IR for the season on Monday and now are in search of another quarterback to add to the roster.

There are some notable free agents out there, including the recently cut Desmond Ridder, who was with the team just a few weeks ago.

ESPN's Ben Solak penned an article this week highlighting four trades league-wide that MUST happen, and the Vikings are included.

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Solak has Minnesota calling Indianapolis and working on a deal for Anthony Richardson:

Vikings get: QB Anthony Richardson Sr., 2026 fifth-round pick
Colts get: 2026 third-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick (can become a conditional fifth)

I believe two things to be simultaneously true. The first is that McCarthy is not being shadow-benched with a phantom ankle sprain. It doesn't pass the sniff test to me. He started two games and got the hook? He was certainly bad, but no two-game sample is big enough to warrant a benching. I truly believe the Vikings wanted McCarthy to develop this season, and the ankle injury has hindered that plan.

I also believe that the Vikings were serious this past offseason about finding a legitimate QB2 option behind McCarthy. I think they wanted to keep Daniel Jones and kicked the tires on acquiring Aaron Rodgers. And if that was true then, it remains true now. McCarthy has played two awful games and missed more time with injury.

With Carson Wentz now on season-ending injured reserve, the QB2 job is once again open for grabs in Minnesota -- and with it comes a serious opportunity to start.

Who will they target? Kirk Cousins makes sense only for a 2025 playoff push -- there's no real future beyond this season. Russell Wilson has the same timeline but would be miscast in the system.

What about Richardson, the fourth overall pick from 2023 who never panned out for the Colts? Richardson is currently on IR with a fractured orbital bone courtesy of a fluke pregame warmup injury featuring a wayward resistance band, and he has missed plenty of time in his career with injuries. He brings a similar availability concern to that of McCarthy, and the O'Connell offense -- which has almost exclusively featured pocket passers -- would need to be catered to his skill set.

The price (a third-round pick) might look big. But Trey Lance was moved for a fourth-round pick two years into his career, and Richardson has been better and played more at a similar career stage. Plus, there's a fifth-rounder going back.

I don't think Richardson would walk in and immediately start (the Flacco, as we call it). But if McCarthy continues to struggle getting his ankle back to health, then Richardson would get a crack at the starting gig after a week or two of learning the offense. If McCarthy gets back in time, Richardson gives Minnesota another young dart throw at a position where it must hit on a cost-controlled player to keep the rest of the roster paid.

I don't know how bright of a future Richardson has in the league. If he is to find one, it's hard to imagine a better place to rebound than in Minnesota under O'Connell. As evidenced by quarterbacks across the league, almost anything is possible in the right new home.

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Is it a wacky idea at this stage? Yes. Does it make a little sense at the same time? Absolutely.

Richardson could very well be part of the future of the Vikings Quarterback room, regardless of if he's in line to be the starter.

The NFL trade deadline looms on Tuesday, November 4th. The Vikings travel to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, a Noon start time.

Source: ESPN.com