Vikings dubbed 'best candidate' to trade for Trey Lance
The Vikings and Trey Lance rumors just won't go away.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell, in a breakdown of the Lance situation, listed seven teams that should at least consider making a call to San Francisco about the former third overall pick, with Minnesota being listed as "the best candidate of the bunch."
"They have a blank slate staring them in the face at quarterback," Barnwell says of the Vikings' situation. "Kirk Cousins is 35 and a free agent after this season. Minnesota used a fifth-round pick on Jaren Hall in April's draft, but it would be a major surprise if it moved forward with Hall as the starter in 2024. Trading for Lance would give the Vikings their first post-Cousins candidate on offense, and if they do fall out of the playoff race this season, Lance could start seeing snaps in December."
Trading for Lance could certainly signal the end of the Cousins era following the 2023 season. Is that something the Vikings want to do weeks before the season even begins?
Related: The Trey Lance, TJ Hockenson rumor circus arrives in Minnesota
It would be a risky play that will bring quite a bit of distraction but it would fit with the previous moves Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensa has made in taking shots at young talent that didn't work out elsewhere.
If the Vikings were to pull the trigger for Lance, where would he fit in the current Vikings QB room?
"I would assume he’s the third-string QB to start the year and Mullens is the backup and they put Hall on the practice squad if that happens," said Purple Insider's Matthew Coller when answering a question in his Friday mailbag.
"It would be incredibly hard to get him up to speed on the offense right away. After a few weeks he might be the active backup on gameday if they are happy with how he’s coming along. They would probably hope to get him into a meaningless Week 17 game if that was possible and have him ready to go in case of a complete meltdown to start the season. That would be wild — a 1-5 start, Cousins traded, Lance in at QB. Ya never know in Vikings land."
It's all speculation at this point, but the Lance stuff can't be ignored.
