After joint practices between the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings, I suggested that the Vikings could make a trade for Tyler Huntley and take him back to Minnesota following the preseason game. This of course is because rookie J.J. McCarthy will be out for the season and Sam Darnold is set to start. Behind Darnold, the Vikings could use some more reliable depth.
They did make a move around this same time, instead signing Matt Corral. That fizzled out quickly though because Minnesota announced that Corral was one of 13 players waived on Monday.
At this very moment, the Browns still have Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Tyler Huntley in the same quarterback room. In less than 24 hours, that should not be the case. Three quarterbacks feels like the maximum on a 53-man roster.
If you are a quarterback needy team like Minnesota this year, you could just wait to see who Cleveland waives but that is risky. Another team could snatch that quarterback away.
To ensure that the services of the quarterback you want are secured, making a trade gives a guarantee that may be worth it. For the Browns, this would be great business because you get a little bit of something in return instead of no assets at all. Using the Vikings as the example in this scenario, they could walk away with Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Tyler Huntley without giving up much at all.
If the Vikings do not pursue another quarterback, then they will be stuck with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall as the backups.
This preseason, Mullens went 11 of 21 for 135 yards and one touchdown against the Browns. This performance was fine, but nothing overly impressive.
Jaren Hall on the other hand has improved throughout the preseason. In the first game against Las Vegas, he went seven of 16 for 63 yards. Against the Browns, he was an efficient four of five for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Then in the final game against Philadelphia, Hall went 17 of 25 for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
Even though the Vikings might be the prime candidate to trade for a current Browns quarterback, Hall may have made a case to shut that down.
That being said, the Vikings did get a good look at DTR and Huntley. Both quarterbacks are coming off a strong showing in Seattle after DTR went 11 of 20 for 115 yards and one touchdown, while Huntley was 17 of 22 for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
With the clock ticking, the Browns should probably be hitting the phone and the Vikings would be a great place to potentially start. With players like Justin Jefferson on the roster, they will want to attempt to compete. Having a strong Sam Darnold insurance policy feels like a must.
