NFL Rumors: Steelers QB target, Vikings back up plan, top Justin Fields suitor

NFL rumors: Vikings' backup plan at quarterback will have fans worried

While all signs point to the Minnesota Vikings bringing back Kirk Cousins in a new contract, they do seem to have a backup plan in free agency should their franchise quarterback walk. The Vikings will try their best to hit on this year's Baker Mayfield in free agency, who just so happens to be Mayfield's former draft classmate and Carolina Panthers teammate, Sam Darnold of the San Francisco 49ers!

Simply put, the Vikings won too many games without Cousins this year to be in any realistic position to trade up and get a franchise quarterback. If they were to stand pat and take someone like QB4 or QB5 off the board, they could have upwards of five years of control on either J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan or Bo Nix out of Oregon. Darnold hasn't been a factor on any of his three NFL teams to date.

To be brutally honest, the Vikings are better served giving a multi-year deal to Mayfield, as opposed to trying to find the next Mayfield. It wasn't like Mayfield was a total scrub and outcast once he signed with Tampa Bay. Yes, his stock took a huge hit, but he still had two successful years in Cleveland prior to spending the 2022 NFL season split between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams.

Let's hope this is a smokescreen for the Vikings because they cannot replace Cousins with Darnold.