Vikings exploring all QB options for 2026, VP Brzezinski says

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings are "exploring all possibilities" to improve their quarterback play in 2026, executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski said Tuesday in his first public comments since the team elevated him to lead the organization on a temporary basis last month.

J.J. McCarthy finished 2025 as the Vikings' starter, but his injury history and largely poor performance left Brzezinski and coach Kevin O'Connell to consider options that would -- at the very least -- add competition at the position. In separate interviews Tuesday at the NFL combine, neither Brzezinski nor O'Connell committed to keeping McCarthy in the starter's role.

Brzezinski termed the process "casting a wide net" and said "I don't think we're ruling anything out" in terms of the level of player they ultimately acquire.

"What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective," Brzezinski said. "A lot of this has been J.J. in unfortunate [situations] with some of the injuries and things that he's dealt with, but we're going to explore every opportunity, and I don't think there's anything specifically we're looking for. We can't manufacture anything that's not there. So No. 1, what are the options? Is it reciprocal? Is it financially doable? All those things. There's just a lot of factors that go into it."

O'Connell called McCarthy "our franchise quarterback" in August 2024, when McCarthy suffered a season-ending meniscus tear in his right knee after a strong training camp performance as a rookie. O'Connell said Tuesday that he still thinks of McCarthy the same way but noted that the circumstances around him have changed.

"It's just the timeline is in a different place for all of us than it was at that point," O'Connell said. "And I have a responsibility -- we have a responsibility collectively as we put together this team -- to make sure that we use the data that we have at this time and the experiences we have, the feelings that we've had at different times as an organization."

NFL rules prohibit teams from speaking about pending free agents or possible trade acquisitions, but O'Connell noted that there are likely to be "different levels" of quarterbacks available.

Those levels would include players such as the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray, the Pittsburgh Steelers' Aaron Rodgers and the retired Derek Carr -- all of whom would be viewed as likely starters if they joined the Vikings.

Some veterans would be considered competition, including the Green Bay Packers' Malik Willis, the Atlanta Falcons' Kirk Cousins, the Las Vegas Raiders' Geno Smith and the San Francisco 49ers' Mac Jones. Others, such as the Washington Commanders' Marcus Mariota, might simply be stronger backup options than the Vikings' 2025 depth, which included Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer.

Brzezinski has spent 27 years with the Vikings in various capacities, largely as a contract negotiator and salary cap analyst. Owner Mark Wilf said he will run the front office through the draft, following the firing of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. After the draft, a full search for a new general manager will commence. In the meantime, Brzezinski confirmed that he has the authority to make personnel decisions if necessary.

"We have to have protocol in place," he said, "and so the owners have asked me to handle that responsibility if that would occur. But our intent is to have complete and total collaboration ... and I think the decisions are going to be pretty easy to make."

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