Is there a QB debate?

The reality is that if Dobbs continues to play well enough to merit an extension he's going to cost closer to 30m than the 15-20 some have mentioned.

And there absolutely won't be any discount involved. This is likely his best chance for a big deal that he'll likely ever get. He's definitely going to want to take full advantage of it.

Look how many Teams need QBs. While it's a deep Draft there still will be a market for Dobbs.

I'm sure the SKOR North Purple Daily crew will dive deep into the weeds on this topic this week at some point, but on their Vent Line show following the Saints game, they pondered this and Mackey and/or Judd discussed the possibility of a "Geno Smith" type of deal for Dobbs - either with the Vikings or with another team.

For reference, in March 2023 (right before free agency opened for the '23 League Year), Geno signed a 3-yr, $75m extension with Seattle ($25m a year) with $40m guaranteed. He carries dead cap hits of $27.5m in 2023, $17.4m in 2024 and $8.7m in 2025 - essentially, the Seahawks can get out from under it after 2023 with only a dead cap hit of $17.4m in 2024 and this doesn't preclude them from drafting a QBOTF in the Draft in 2024 if Geno returns, either.

If Dobbs continues to play at the level he's currently playing for the remainder of the season (and Hall doesn't comeback to take QB1 snaps), then I'm sure many Vikings fans wouldn't mind Dobbs resigning with Minnesota for something similar in March 2024, with a little raise for "inflation" purposes, of course. This also doesn't take drafting a QB off the table in the 2024 Draft, but it lessens the concern a bit since there's a solid bridge and perhaps they could draft a Day 2 QB that can sit behind Dobbs for a year or 2. We could also hold onto Mullens for a while, too, and trade him for late Day 3 Draft capital in the preseason to anyone who needs a "steady" backup QB since we have Hall. They could then use their Round 1 pick in the 2024 Draft on the DL.

If Dobbs continues to playout the 2023 season like he has the last 2 weeks, this could be a reasonable scenario for Minnesota in 2024:

- Resign Dobbs for 3-yrs for with a similar deal that Geno Smith received in March 2023 from Seattle (in 2024 dollars, that is)
- Cousins signs a market price contract elsewhere (Vikings receive a 3rd Rd comp pick in 2025)
- Vikings spend a Rd 1 pick on the DL (interior or EDGE) in 2024 Draft; doesn't matter if Hunter resigns or not, we need both
- Vikings spend a Day 2 pick on a developmental QB (Jordan Travis, Jayden Daniels, etc.) in the 2024 Draft
- Vikings trade Nick Mullens sometime in 2024 offseason for future Day 3 Draft capital to recoup costs paid to acquire him
- QB situation in 2024+ is: QB1-Dobbs, QB2-Hall, QB3-2024 Day 2 Draft pick (and eventually, the 2024 Day 2 pick surpasses Hall in development)

This is all just hypothetical "reckless speculation" (as the SKOR North crew like to say), but it's not that far-fetched...

One thing this could hinge on is Dobbs signing that "Geno Smith" type of deal, when he could possibly get more on the open market to QB needy teams...and quite honestly, this is where the "culture" that O'Connell/Kwesi have built needs to pay off a bit. Dobbs was in Cleveland (which was traditionally a dumpster fire of an organization) and Arizona (which definitely was a dumpster fire), so Minnesota's "player/team-centric" culture that O'Connell has built might be enticing enough to him that he could play out a few seasons in Minnesota with high-class weapsons in Jefferson/Addison/Hockenson (and a decent OL, maybe Top 10) and if he plays well, it's still possible for him to cash-in again in free agency after 2 seasons here since he'll only turn 29 in January and QB's traditionally don't hit the same "30-yr old wall" that RB's and players at similar positions do. 

I know it's way too early to think about this but it's kind of fun to speculate.

18 starting QBs are making $24 million or more a year. Only one QB makes between $10 and $24 million and that's Jordan Love at $13.5 million - which I find very odd. The remaining QBs are either on rookie deal contracts or a veteran like Baker Mayfield at less than $10 million a year.

FWIW, even if Dobbs leads the team to the playoffs and wins even 1 or 2 games, I think his salary would be in the $20 to $25 million range. He makes $2 million now so I'm not sure how he turns that down. My instinct is that he would take less to stay with the Vikings and stabalize his life, knowing that he's got great offensive weapons all around him. If signing Dobbs allows the Vikings to retain Hunter, I would take that over Cousins with no Hunter.

I just don't see how anyone signs Cousins coming off his injury at that age. He would do well to get another deal at the same pay...

Honestly have they ever had any QB guru? Who has for that matter? It's mostly a media concept that gets over hyped when reality is something else.

But I'm willing to believe that KOC might have a little extra something there, because how many ex-qbs are even on the sidelines in the league? Frank Reich? Can't think of many.

If Kevin can mold a 29 year old journeyman QB who was a 4th Round pick into a serviceable Starter why stop there?

This is a serious question. Imagine what he could do with someone much younger with a higher ceiling. That would cost far less than the 25m floated here for Dobbs. Someone more accurate with a better arm and equal athleticism.

A bridge QB would be nice but O'Connell believed he could get John Wolford to produce well enough to save the season before he declared he wanted to stay on the Bucs Practice Squad. And he got Dobbs ready in a jiffy.

Perhaps a bridge QB isn't even necessary.

Yeah, I was about to say Denny myself. Good lord, the guy got mileage out of Jeff George! Not to mention Jim McMahon, and Randall Cunningham was living on the street when Denny brought him to an MVP season.

Warren Moon was apparently washed up and lost his starting job to a Cody Carlson in Houston before Denny made him a pro-bowler again. Well maybe made is too strong but believe he could and was right.