Overview
- Fresh reporting projects Minnesota will add a passer via free agency or trade to pair with J.J. McCarthy rather than ride into 2026 with only internal options.
- McCarthy’s 2025 included a hairline fracture in his throwing hand and multiple other injuries, limiting him to roughly nine or ten starts with uneven performance.
- Media analysis lists Joe Burrow as a potential trade target if a market forms, noting his public frustration in Cincinnati and a likely price of multiple first-round picks plus a $275 million contract through 2029.
- Lamar Jackson is also floated as a theoretical option because of Baltimore’s cap math and his $74.5 million 2026 hit without guarantees, though his no-trade clause and expected cost complicate any scenario.
- Given a reported ~$36 million cap shortfall and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s track record, analysts view more modest veterans—such as Mac Jones, Jimmy Garoppolo, Marcus Mariota, Joe Flacco or similar profiles—as the likelier outcome.