The Minnesota Vikings can go a half dozen different ways at quarterback, including one that involves dealing for among the most hated rivals in franchise history.

Sam Darnold unquestionably cost himself some money with two poor games in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions and on Wild Card Weekend against the Los Angeles Rams when the lights were shining at their brightest. That said, Spotrac still projects he will bump his annual salary from $10 million in 2024 to $40 million per season over a new four-year contract.

It doesn’t make sense for Minnesota to pay Darnold that much money unless the franchise believes he can sustain the status of a top-10 quarterback for years to come, particularly because J.J. McCarthy is on a rookie deal worth $22 million total.

However, it’s also non-sensical to go into next season without a proven veteran to either compete with and/or back up McCarthy, who missed the entirety of his rookie campaign with a knee injury, will play next year at 22 and has never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL.

Daniel Jones, the former New York Giants starter who joined the Vikings mid-season, is a potential option. However, if that doesn’t happen, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers could prove a possibility.

“It’s not difficult to figure out where Rodgers would look to land if he escaped from New York: Just simply rule out non-contenders or teams already set at QB. Once you’ve done that, two teams come into plain view: the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colin Keane of ON SI wrote Friday, January 17. “And with the Steelers reportedly lacking interest in Rodgers, the Vikings stand out even more as a landing spot.”