$181 Million Super Bowl MVP QB ‘In Play’ for Vikings in Free Agency

The Minnesota Vikings have quarterback questions for the second straight offseason, this time after letting Sam Darnold leave in free agency. J.J McCarthy is waiting in the wings, but the Vikings remain linked to other options, including Joe Flacco.

Flacco, 40, was the No. 18 overall pick of the 2008 draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He led them to the Super Bowl following the 2012 season and won MVP in the big game.

The 2023 Comeback Player of the Year, Flacco is biding his time and is “in play” for the Vikings.

“Flacco recently visited the Giants. He’s in play, we’re told, for jobs with the Steelers, Browns, and Vikings,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on March 15. “He can still throw it. And since he was never a mobile quarterback, the aging of the legs (which always go before the arm) has been a non-issue.”

“He has shown that he loves football. He fully intends to take a job this season, somewhere,” Florio wrote. “And he likely won’t be expensive; he made $4.5 million last year.”

Flacco completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,761 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, playing in eight games and starting six for the Indianapolis Colts. Notably, Flacco has not started a full regular season since 2017. He has maxed out at nine starts (2018) in the years since.

With $181.2 million in career earnings, a chance to start and win could appeal to Flacco.

Joe Flacco Could Join Vikings in Familiar Role

McCarthy is poised to be the biggest benefactor of the Vikings losing Darnold and Daniel Jones in free agency to the Seattle Seahawks and Colts, respectively. The Vikings have re-tooled their offensive line in free agency and still boast a plethora of skill players.

That makes a soft landing spot for any QB, as Darnold showed last season.

CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin listed McCarthy among the winners of the early portion of free agency.

“The Minnesota Vikings’ greatest show of support for their rehabbing first-round draft pick came on March 10, when the team let Sam Darnold begin negotiations with the rest of the NFL. It wasn’t long before Darnold cashed in elsewhere, following in Kirk Cousins’ footsteps, and Daniel Jones did the same,” Benjamin wrote on March 14. “Could the Vikings still add veteran insurance? Sure. But McCarthy is “the guy” now, and even better, his O-line looks a heck of a lot stronger thanks to the additions of Will Fries and Ryan Kelly.”

That could leave Flacco to sign knowing he would most likely enter the season in a similar capacity as he has in his last two stops with the Colts and Cleveland Browns. He opened the 2024 season as Anthony Richardson’s backup in Indy.

Flacco did not sign to the Browns’ active roster until December 2023.

He could get in on the ground floor with the Vikings. The Vikings are confident in McCarthy’s talent makeup but must trade cautiously after he missed his rookie season with a knee injury.

Vikings Taking Unprecedented Chance

Darnold won 14 games with the Vikings in 2024. That is the most wins by a quarterback in his first year with a new team in NFL history.

That means he is the first 14-game winner to change teams after one season.

The Vikings could end up starting McCarthy, who has only played one preseason game in his career, or Flacco. The latter’s last Week 1 start came during the 2022 season while he was still with the New York Jets.

Flacco was benched that season after going 1-3. The 2025 Vikings are already in a better position in other spots than any of Flacco’s last three teams. That includes at head coach.