The Minnesota Vikings never seem to have it easy when it comes to the quarterback position — even when they get good seasons from their starters, which they often have in recent years.

Sam Darnold represents the current conundrum, as he has been awesome in 2024 but is going to command a huge salary next year because of that. Minnesota has another option in rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has missed all of this season with an injury. However, he will bring several questions regarding his readiness to start and how good he actually can be.

All of the Vikings’ success this year — 13-2 with a chance to win out and capture the NFC North Division crown along with the No. 1 seed/bye week in the playoffs — complicate the situation further.

Minnesota had similarly difficult calls to make with former starter Kirk Cousins, a three-time Pro Bowler while with the franchise (four-time Pro Bowler overall) who led the team to the playoffs on two occasions over his six years with the organization. Cousins got himself a couple of big one-year paydays from Minnesota before bolting for the Atlanta Falcons and a $180 million contract this offseason.

While that move worked out grandly for the Vikings, the opposite is true for Cousins. He started the campaign well, though a poor five-game stretch led Atlanta to bench him ahead of last week’s game for rookie Michael Penix Jr. — effectively ending Cousin’s tenure with the Falcons less than one year after it began.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Atlanta will attempt to trade, or will cut, Cousins before he’s due a $10 million roster bonus on March 17.  And somewhat ironically, the Vikings could bring Cousins back to Minnesota for one year in 2025 as a short-term solution to their looming quarterback conundrum.