Judging by his 2025 season, not many see JJ McCarthy as a long-term QB solution for the Minnesota Vikings. He was about as unreliable as a rookie QB can be. And technically, he wasn’t even a rookie. He struggled to take care of the ball, throwing 12 interceptions to 11 touchdowns, and he also struggled to stay on the field, missing seven games.
Now, there are talks that the Vikings may pursue a veteran QB like Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr to improve the QB room for the 2026 season. It would make sense to bring in Cousins, whom the Atlanta Falcons are expected to cut before his $67.9 million salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 13. The QB is only two years removed from playing in Minnesota, where he had the best days of his career.
Carr is a more interesting name to explore because he was retired for all of last season. He now does a podcast with his brother, David, and has teased a potential return all year long. And he wants to join a team with Super Bowl aspirations. That said, when Vikings Hall of Famer John Randle heard the names the team is looking at as potential replacements for McCarthy, he couldn’t get on board at all.
“I’m not a big fan of Derek Carr,” Randle said on SKOR North. “Talking about Kirk Cousins coming back, I’m like, ‘Dude, we’ve been down that road. No. We want to move on from you.’ … You have won what, maybe one playoff game? I want more.”
It’s hard to disagree with the Minnesota legend, given that both Carr and Cousins are older QBs, and we know what they bring to the table. Still, after what McCarthy put on display last season, they might be better options for short-term success.
Wow: Vikings legend John Randle does NOT want Minnesota to acquire Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr this offseason.
“We’ve been down that road before. No. We want to move on from you… You have what, maybe one playoff game? I want more.”
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 15, 2026
Going into year five under Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings are in an interesting spot. After a disappointing campaign, they need to decide whether they are going for it or rebuilding. There’s no point in hovering around .500 again like they did this past year. Either go all out for the Lombardi or aim for the highest possible draft pick.
At the end of the day, though, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Vikings give McCarthy a few more starts to prove his worth next season. After all, he was their 10th overall pick, and they’re expecting him to be the franchise QB. As of now, it’s hard to see that coming to fruition. But O’Connell is known for turning QB projects into competent players.
At the same time, picking up either Cousins or Carr wouldn’t be a bad idea in case of an emergency. It would be surprising to see the latter come out of retirement for a middling team that missed the playoffs last season. If anything, Cousins is the more realistic option, yet not every fan is on board with that decision.
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