Trade for Gardner Minshew ?

In 2016, they were in a similar situation with their quarterback. With Teddy Bridgewater looking like the next franchise savior, there wasn’t a glaring need to address his backup. That changed during a random practice when Bridgewater dropped back, and his knee buckled, altering the Vikings’ plans.

Faced with a team that was built to win, the Vikings got desperate and hurled a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford. The former No. 1 overall pick was fine during the 2016 season, but his bad knees gave in a year later, and he missed the final 15 games of the 2017 season.

While the Vikings were trying to find a way to get Bradford on the field, the Eagles cashed in. After selecting Derek Barnett with the draft pick acquired in that trade, Barnett strip-sacked Case Keenum in the 2017 NFC Championship and turned what could have been a close game into a 38-7 blowout.

Of course, Zimmer doesn’t think much about his offense, so it might be better to put things in a defensive perspective.

Last offseason, the Vikings acted like their defense was fine despite losing five starters. Mike Zimmer boasted he had never had a bad defense, but the unit fell apart when Danielle Hunter went down with an injury before the team’s first full practice.

When Hunter’s neck injury was deemed more severe than a “tweak,” the Vikings got desperate again. The result was a second-round pick burned on Yannick Ngakoue, who played six games in Minnesota before being traded to the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings are currently looking to recoup that second-round pick. But the situation could have been avoided if they had gotten ahead of their lack of depth.

The same scenario could play out at the quarterback position. Cousins has never missed a start during his nine-year career, but it doesn’t matter if he were to get injured behind his poor offensive line.

Zimmer and Rick Spielman are in contract years, and the Vikings could hit the trade market again. With the Jaguars possibly having more suitors toward the regular season, the price for Minshew (or any other quarterback) would go up, creating a situation where the Vikings overpay for an upgrade on Mannion.

Trading for Minshew would provide peace of mind for the Vikings. As long as Jacksonville is not asking for a first- or second-round pick, the Vikings should use one of their four fourth-round picks to try and acquire him. Even if they had to give up multiple picks, the cost would be worth it not to be one Cousins’ sprained ankle away from a 7-10 season.