Vikings Predicted to Trade for $4 Million QB Tanner McKee to Challenge J.J. McCarthy
The Minnesota Vikings don’t have a quarterback on the roster who has yet proven himself a viable QB2 behind J.J. McCarthy — a starter with zero regular-season NFL experience of his own — which places the franchise firmly in the bucket of teams that should be hunting another arm ahead of Week 1.
Minnesota has a few potentially decent options in this regard, many of which have been tread and re-tread several times in recent weeks. However, a name that has not gotten much publicity is that of Philadelphia Eagles backup signal-caller Tanner McKee.
Mina Kimes and Ben Solak of ESPN raved about McKee during an episode of “The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny” podcast that aired early last week, as both contended the 25-year-old McKee has the chops to start in the NFL right now.
“He was a high-caliber recruit, just missed some time at Stanford. He had, I want to say a Latter Day Saints mission as well, so he’s an older prospect coming out,” Solak said. “If you put McKee in the Cleveland Browns quarterback room, I absolutely think the training camp reports would be, ‘The best quarterback here is [McKee].’ I firmly believe that.”
McKee put up a 20-of-25 performance for 252 yards and two TDs against the Cincinnati Bengals in Philly’s preseason opener.
“My takeaway was just that he looked like a vet. He looked so accurate … it was only ups with Tanner McKee,” Kimes added. “What you are getting is a guy who could probably execute just about every offense in the league.”
Tanner McKee’s Cost Would Be Day-2 Draft Pick in Any Deal
The Vikings may not be looking to add a starting-caliber quarterback to compete with McCarthy, but that would only be a benefit over bringing in a player like Kenny Pickett — who just lost his starting job with the Browns to Joe Flacco — or reuniting with Kirk Cousins on a one-year agreement via a trade with the Atlanta Falcons.
Minnesota would have to fork over a real pick for McKee given both his talent and his positional importance to the defending champion Eagles.
“If it was any team other than Philadelphia I would say trade bait, let’s go. But they’re in such a unique spot because they are obviously Super Bowl contenders to repeat, so it’s weird,” Kimes said. “Even though he’s not a threat at all to Jalen Hurts, he is kind of paradoxically more valuable to them than he would be if he was on a bad team that might trade him.”
Solak echoed Kimes’ sentiment and added that a Day-2 asset is likely what it would take to get Philadelphia to part with McKee and turn to either sixth-round rookie Kyle McCord, Dorian Thompson-Robinson who was part of the Pickett trade with the Browns in March, or some available veteran on the free-agent market.
“The Eagles will tell you [backup quarterback] is one of the most important positions on their roster,” Solak explained, adding that he wouldn’t part with McKee for anything less than a second- or third-round pick.
Vikings Can Double-Down on J.J. McCarthy Strategy by Trading for Tanner McKee, Creating QB Competition
Minnesota’s philosophy behind drafting McCarthy No. 10 overall in 2024 and starting him is to keep the QB position competent and inexpensive over a three-year window (or potentially four more seasons if the franchise picks up its fifth-year option on the first-rounder), which will allow the front office to spend on premier positions around McCarthy.
That is a tried and true method of competing for, and winning, Super Bowls in the modern era — and there are several recent examples of it working: Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, etc. But trading for McKee with McCarthy still on the roster isn’t a break with that strategy as much as it is an enhancement of it.
McKee has played just two NFL seasons and has two years remaining on his $4 million rookie contract. He makes way less than McCarthy and is on a similar timeline.
McKee would be a more than viable backup for McCarthy and potentially a better longterm option under center at a better price over the next few years based on how the competition shook out. McCarthy said earlier this offseason that he welcomes any challenge/challenger, and the battle between the two for the QB1 spot could fuel a truly elite young position group in Minnesota.
McKee has played in just two games and started only one during his professional tenure, both of which came last season. He has completed 30-of-45 career pass attempts for 323 yards, four TDs and zero interceptions.
