Minnesota’s offseason quarterback shopping list is growing, and the names near the top are not subtle ones.

Kyler Murray has emerged as a leading name connected to the Vikings as the team continues to evaluate options beyond J.J. McCarthy. Geno Smith has also been mentioned in the same conversations, and Derek Carr has resurfaced after leaving the door open to a return from retirement if the situation fits.

The Vikings’ public stance has been consistent: nothing is being ruled out. Executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski said the team is “exploring all possibilities” at quarterback and emphasized the need for dependable play at the position.

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That framing matters because McCarthy’s first full season as Minnesota’s starter in 2025 was uneven. He finished the year with 1,632 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 57.6% completion rate in 10 games. Injuries also hit throughout the season, and Minnesota has been clear it wants competition and protection against another year where quarterback availability becomes the story.

Still, McCarthy did not end the season the way it began. In the final stretch — Weeks 14, 15, 16, and 18 — he helped Minnesota post a run of wins that included a 31-0 shutout of Washington and a 34-26 win at Dallas, then closed the season with a 16-3 win over Green Bay. The late-season results didn’t erase the overall line, but they did give the Vikings something concrete to point to when describing why they are not writing him off.

The offseason question is whether Minnesota is willing to risk a repeat of the volatility — or if it prefers a veteran safety net, or even a veteran starter, while McCarthy continues developing.

That’s where Murray comes in.

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Murray’s name has been tied to Minnesota as part of a wider expectation that Arizona’s quarterback situation could change after the new league year opens March 11. Murray turns 29 on Aug. 7, and the age gap is part of why he is being framed as a higher-upside option than other veterans who might be available.

Geno Smith is also on the board in the same category of “possible veteran addition,” with the idea being a quarterback who can stabilize a team while Minnesota keeps evaluating McCarthy. Those discussions have been grouped together in the same Vikings quarterback chatter coming out of combine week.

Then there’s Carr, who wasn’t supposed to be in the 2026 quarterback conversation at all.

Carr retired in 2025 after a shoulder injury, but the recent reporting around the league is that he is “very serious” about returning if he’s healthy and the situation makes sense — specifically a team with a real chance to contend. NFL Network also noted earlier this month that Carr had said he would “never say never” about coming out of retirement.

Minnesota fits the profile of a team that could sell “win now” to a veteran quarterback: a strong supporting cast, an established offensive system, and a clear opening for someone who can provide baseline quarterback play from Week 1. That’s also exactly the phrase Brzezinski used when outlining the team’s priorities at the position.

The key point for the Vikings is that none of this has to be an indictment of McCarthy to still be a real plan. The late-season wins gave him a better finish than the middle of the year, but the overall season still left Minnesota with enough uncertainty to keep the quarterback market open.

For now, Minnesota is doing what teams do when the answer isn’t clean: keeping the starter in the mix, keeping the options list wide, and letting the rest of the league know it’s willing to talk to just about anyone.

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