The Minnesota Vikings continue their preparation for the 2025 NFL Draft this weekend, running their final simulations and going through as many possible scenarios before the real thing is finally here.
Thursday’s primetime event has the purple slotted to pick No. 24 overall. There are major questions surrounding whether or not general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah & Co will actually select at that spot.
With a league-low four total picks, the Vikings have been tagged as a likely candidate to trade back, if they get a deal on the table that they like.
Once the 2025 NFL Draft wraps up on Saturday (April 26), all eyes will turn to Monday, April 28 at 3 pm CDT. That’s when free agency pickups will no longer count against teams’ 2026 comp pick formula, which the Minnesota Vikings have targeted as the day we’ll see them pick up their pursuit for more non-draft talent.
But no matter what the Vikings do during the draft, they won’t be able to fill one of the most obvious needs remaining on their roster, and that’s a veteran quarterback. To find one of those, Kwesi and KOC will look to free agency or trade. If they add a QB via free agency, we’ll be waiting until the afternoon of April 28 or later.
Sam Howell is on the trade block. Are the Vikings interested?
If they swing a trade for their new QB, even if it happens before next Monday afternoon, it would not count against their 2026 comp pick formula. Thus, it was eyebrow-raising when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported recently that Seattle was listening to offers on their backup quarterback, Sam Howell, after they signed Sam Darnold and Drew Lock this offseason.
Sam Howell has been in the league for three seasons already, which is a bit surprising, being he’s only 24 years old. Don’t mistake his age or backup status as a lack of experience, though. Howell already has 20 NFL games under his belt including 17 starts for Washington in 2023.
His numbers aren’t great, but he’s exactly the type of quarterback that head coach Kevin O’Connell likes to target. Sam Howell is a gunslinger. He’s completed 404 of his 645 career passes (62.6%) for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. Of course, a good fit does not automatically mean the Minnesota Vikings are interested.
Minnesota Vikings definitely interested in Howell…
But that is where this gets more interesting. Not only is Howell the type of QB KOC usually likes, but there has been steam recently connecting the former North Carolina QB to the Vikings, recently. This morning, Fowler’s co-worker at ESPN — and Vikings beat writer — Kevin Seifert tweeted that the Howell situation “is worth keeping an eye on”.
But even previously, there has been insider chatter that Minnesota is definitely interested in Sam Howell. The biggest hint may have came earlier this week, via local insider Darren Wolfson (KSTP).
During his Tuesday appearance on the Mackey & Judd Show, Wolfson shot down his colleague Judd Zulgad‘s assumption that the Vikings wouldn’t have interest, proceeding to triple down on just how much he definitely would NOT rule out a trade for the soon-to-be fourth year quarterback
Wolfson also believes the Minnesota Vikings have interest in trading for Raiders backup QB Aiden O’Connell, another youngster who would fit perfectly into Kevin O’Connell’s 2025 school for quarterbacks. We’ll see if that is the route they go. If so, does it happen before the draft?
It’s hard to believe the Vikings would be willing to deal any more 2025 draft capital. But could they send out future picks for Sam Howell… and a day two or three pick to add to this year’s low count of four? Only time will tell…
