New NFL Rumors on Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, More QB's Linked to Vikings Amid J.J. McCarthy Buzz

The Minnesota Vikings "are not ready to give up on J.J. McCarthy" but could bring in some serious competition for the young quarterback, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.

"Bringing in a veteran quarterback who has had some success in the league could be what the Vikings need to get McCarthy's attention," the NFL insider wrote.

Graziano and colleague Jeremy Fowler reported Geno Smith and Kyler Murray could be options for the Vikings if either of the two is cut. The same goes for Tua Tagovailoa and Kirk Cousins, the latter already confirmed to be on the way out.

Graziano said the team could target a QB "on a low-cost, one-year prove-it deal."

Having a good contingency plan in place makes sense for the Vikings. They missed the playoffs this year in part because McCarthy struggled so much and they didn't have a good enough replacement when he was out injured. Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer combined to make seven starts.

No matter how the front office tries to sell the move, though, making an aggressive quarterback signing would give a lot of people the impression the organizational faith in McCarthy is wavering.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell emphasized to KFAN's Paul Allen and Pete Bercich (via Craig Peters of the Vikings' official site) that a better QB room could motivate McCarthy to work even harder at improving this offseason.

"We've talked about it, we want him to be in a competitive situation because of some of that time lost," the coach said. "We've really got to push the gas pedal down and not replace development and coaching and teaching with anything but really enhance it with a really competitive situation that I think our whole team will benefit from. [We're] pretty early in that process, but I'm excited about it."

Ideally, McCarthy looks great in training camp and makes it clear he's the best quarterback on the roster. He then builds on that and asserts himself as the long-term option under center.

The risk is that Minnesota is setting up a situation where the 23-year-old basically has another lost season.

Murray would arguably be an upgrade, while Tagovailoa, Smith and Cousins have longer track records than McCarthy. It's easy to envision a scenario where O'Connell makes a quick hook after the regular season gets underway or even opens with McCarthy as the backup.

Pairing a high-profile veteran with a younger player who has something to prove sounds great in theory. The dynamic could prove difficult to balance if that's the approach the Vikings follow.