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Quarterback Ryan Tannehill may not be a high-end starter at this point in his career, but with 151 starts on his resume, he’s the best veteran option remaining on the open market.
Tannehill will likely have to wait until after the draft to find a home, though. His best chance for any semblance of a career resurgence may occur if the Vikings fail to draft their quarterback of the future.
Minnesota has already acquired the 23rd overall pick and is poised to potentially trade the 23rd and 11th picks to make a move for a signal-caller.
“When we enter this draft,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, “we have the flexibility to go either way.”
However, getting a quarterback the Vikings like could be tricky. The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots hold the first three selections in the draft and also need quarterbacks. Some tree-prospect combination of North Carolina’s Drake Maye, USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy will likely be off the board by the fourth pick.
If the Vikings can’t land QB4 or a prospect like Oregon’s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., they might call on Tannehill to compete with Sam Darnold for the 2024 job. The Vikings have $17.4 million in cap space remaining.
Darnold may have more upside, but Tannehill would have a big edge in experience.
Landing in Minnesota would allow Tannehill to play with stars like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Aaron Jones.—and a strong statistical season could lead to more opportunities in 2025.
The Broncos could also be an option for Tannehill if Denver fails to draft a quarterback. Denver recently acquired Zach Wilson from the Jets, but a QB room of Wilson, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci remains underwhelming.
Denver, though, doesn’t feature as strong of an offensive supporting cast as Minnesota does.