Once-popular Vikings QB trade target is off the board thanks to new extension

The Minnesota Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft expecting him to either start from day one or sometime in the not-too-distant future. Those plans were foiled very quickly when McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in his first preseason game.

Now, the Vikings have Sam Darnold as their undisputed starter, with veterans Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien next in line. To put it lightly, it's one of the worst QB situations in the NFL.

Fortifying their QB room at this time of year would likely have to be done on the trade market. One realistic target who made some sense for the Vikings was Davis Mills of the Houston Texans, but his new contract extension makes a trade very unlikely.

You can cross one possible Vikings QB trade target off the list after Davis Mills extension

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it's a one-year extension for Mills to remain in Houston through the 2025 campaign.

With C.J. Stroud etched in as Houston's starting quarterback likely for the next decade (if not longer) a Mills trade seemed feasible. He was their backup, but finding a backup quarterback isn't too difficult. Mills would've had a chance to start in Minnesota at least at some point - something he does not have in Houston barring an injury to Stroud.

Mills as a starter is unappealing, but he did have a fairly decent rookie season back in 2021 after being taken in the third round by Houston, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 2,664 yards and 16 touchdowns in 13 games (11 starts).

His struggles in year two led the team to select Stroud, but with a strong offensive core in place in Minnesota, perhaps Mills would've shown something with the Vikings. Unfortunately, this extension makes it very unlikely for a deal to materialize.

For now, it continues to look increasingly likely that the Vikings will stick with Darnold and their veteran backups hoping that someone sticks to make the Vikings at least somewhat competitive in an extremely difficult NFC North. Darnold has the highest ceiling of the three, but based on what we've seen from him as a starter, his floor is quite low. Overall, it's a pretty rough situation in Minnesota when it comes to the quarterback room, and that should be obvious when missing out on a possible Davis Mills trade is seen as a big deal of some sort.