Despite how bizarre it may sound, the Minnesota Vikings now have three healthy quarterbacks on the roster. Before the regular season is up, they may add one more.
A thorough analysis of the quarterback positions of 13 NFL teams that might have a new quarterback behind center in 2024 was written by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell. Potential free agent additions for both the upcoming season and the remainder of this one were covered in his analysis.
Josh Johnson this season and Case Keenum, who made his season debut last weekend as a starter for the Houston Texans, are two of the most likely signal-callers to sign free agents and end up in Minneapolis.
While the Washington Commanders experimented with different offensive coordinators, [Kevin] O’Connell served as their leader. The only two remaining veterans from that group are Case Keenum and Josh Johnson. Johnson, the ultimate journeyman, will inevitably find himself on the field with the Vikings before the season is out.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was a frequent visitor to San Francisco, having lived there both before and after Jimmy Garoppolo’s tenure by the Bay. Although Baker Mayfield’s tenure with the Browns didn’t exactly finish on a high note, he was the team’s director of football operations during the player’s finest career season. Keenum and [Nick] Mullens were backups as well.
Leads Vikings to the Playoffs: Case Keenum, the team’s quarterback since Kirk Cousins
In his lone season with the Vikings, Keenum started all 11 games and helped the team win the NFC North Division in 2017. According to Pro Football Reference, he passed for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in that season.
In the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs the following year, Keenum wrote the “Minnesota Miracle” by hitting wide receiver Stefon Diggs for a 61-yard touchdown throw on the game’s last play to give the Vikings the win. Later, the play was voted No. 9 on the NFL’s list of the top 100 plays in league history.
The following week, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the Conference Championship, putting an end to both Keenum’s time with the team and the Vikings’ postseason hopes. In March 2018, Keenum agreed to a $36 million, two-year contract to play with the Denver Broncos. In the same year, Minnesota signed Kirk Cousins, who has started for the team ever since.
The 35-year-old Keenum has played for the Broncos, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and most recently the Texans since departing the Vikings organization.
If everything goes wrong, Josh Johnson is the Vikings’ last-resort option.
If Minnesota signs Johnson, it will be because O’Connell has lost faith in former starter Josh Dobbs and refuses to give youngster Jaren Hall another shot at the position for whatever reason. The Vikings are reportedly hesitant to play Hall because of his proclivity for fumbling the ball.
“I’ve heard there’s reluctance to go with the rookie,” Darren Wolfson of KSTP stated on December 19 on SKOR North’s “Mackey and Judd” program. “As long as the playoffs are attainable, they’re not ready to throw Jaren Hall out there.”
Mullens is the current starter and is anticipated to stay there unless injured. The Vikings’ remaining schedule is demanding, with a home game against the Green Bay Packers wedged between home and road games against the division-leading Detroit Lions.
It seems improbable that Minnesota would want to throw Johnson into the fray with no experience in Minneapolis in 2023, or ever. However, if Mullens is injured or benched and Dobbs retakes command of the offense, Johnson is a viable third-string, veteran alternative who could replace Hall if the Vikings find themselves in a jam.
Johnson, 37, debuted in the league in 2009. Since then, he has spent eight years on NFL rosters, most recently with the San Francisco 49ers last season.
