Vikings Sign Homegrown QB to Lucrative Contract After NFL Draft

 
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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
The Minnesota Vikings made two additions to the QB room on the final day of the NFL draft, though they didn’t use a pick to acquire either of them.

Minnesota traded with the Seattle Seahawks for Sam Howell a day after that franchise added former Alabama QB Jalen Milroe in the third round. The Vikings then waited until after the draft was complete to sign Max Brosmer to a lucrative deal as an undrafted free agent.

“Former University of Minnesota QB Max Brosmer is staying home, signing with the #Vikings on a deal that includes $250,000 guaranteed, per source,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network posted to X on Saturday, April 26. “So Kevin O’Connell gets two more young QBs in one day: Sam Howell in a trade, then Brosmer as an undrafted free agent.”

Brosmer completed 66.5% of his passes for 2,828 yards, 18 TDs and 6 INTs across 13 games for the Golden Gophers in 2024. He also scored 5 rushing touchdowns on the season.

 
Sam Howell Likely to Serve as Backup QB to J.J. McCarthy
 
GettyQuarterback Sam Howell, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, is now a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota is trending toward youth across the QB room, with 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy the projected starter in 2025 as he enters his second NFL season.

Brosmer is 24 years old, while Howell is also just 24 years of age despite having played in the league for three seasons already. Across that time, Howell has appeared in 20 games and started 18 of those with a record of 5-13. He spent his first two campaigns as a member of the Washington Commanders after that franchise selected him with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.

Over his time in the league, Howell has completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He has also rushed the football for 300 yards and 6 scores, per Pro Football Reference.

Howell has just one year remaining on his contract, so the Vikings aren’t committed to him as their backup QB long-term. In fact, the team could easily turn over the entire QB room next offseason, similar to what it did this spring.

McCarthy will almost certainly remain on the roster, but Howell and Brosmer would be easy to part with after the 2025 season concludes. Brett Rypien, 28, is also on the roster and playing on a one-year deal.

 
Vikings Likely Closed Book on Kirk Cousins Reunion With 2 QB Additions
 
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Vikings were in the mix to potentially reunite with quarterback Kirk Cousins, who left the organization last offseason for a big deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta benched Cousins mid-season in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr., which essentially ended the QB’s tenure with the Falcons despite three years remaining on his contract.

Minnesota would have needed to pick up a considerable amount of the more than $30 million in guaranteed money that Cousins still has on his contract in any deal. Thus, while his experience in the league and the Vikings’ offense would have rendered Cousins a valuable backup QB and mentor for McCarthy, the cost was simply too high for Minnesota with far less expensive options like Howell and Brosmer available.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible