The NFL’s low-stakes, preseason quarterback carousel has begun.
Big-name passers often switch teams at the beginning of each offseason, but 53-man roster cuts in late August almost always result in a few notable backups also being on the move. That was the case Sunday, when the Vikings and Eagles struck a deal involving veteran Sam Howell.
A former starter for the Commanders, Howell has spent time in Seattle and Minnesota since, now set to provide Philadelphia with some insurance behind Jalen Hurts. The Vikings then proceeded to sign veteran free agent Carson Wentz to a deal, bringing in a former MVP candidate to back up J.J. McCarthy.
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Here’s how the Howell trade, and Minnesota’s Wentz signing, affects both the Eagles’ and Vikings’ depth charts moving forward.
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Sam Howell trade details
- Eagles acquire: QB Sam Howell, 2026 sixth-round pick
- Vikings acquire: 2026 fifth-round pick, 2027 seventh-round pick
Both teams announced Sunday that Philadelphia had traded Howell and a 2026 sixth-rounder to Minnesota in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick. To make room for Howell, the Eagles waived DB Lewis Cine.
Minnesota then announced it had agreed to a deal with Wentz, who had remained a free agent all offseason.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with QB Carson Wentz.
📰: https://t.co/NZpqdBUfCV pic.twitter.com/w7aZCHbx82
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 24, 2025
The timing of the deal is part of why it’s notable, with each team now in crunch time to make 2025 roster cuts. Week 1 matchups are just days away, and with Hurts and McCarthy locked in as each team’s starting quarterback, the two squads partially finalized their plans for the depth chart behind those players.
For Philadelphia, 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McKee has already played well enough to secure a spot as a QB2 behind Hurts, but McKee’s also dealt with a finger injury lately. Acquiring Howell should help mask his injury to start the 2025 season, but it also put two players’ roster spots in jeopardy: Kyle McCord and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
As for the Vikings, Sunday’s trade was about finding the right veteran voice for its quarterback room behind McCarthy, who has yet to start a regular season game. Howell wasn’t very impressive in the preseason, so Minnesota will be hoping Wentz can enter its offense as a potential QB2 with plenty of prior experience.
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Eagles QB depth chart
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Jalen Hurts |
| 2 | Tanner McKee (questionable) |
| 3 | Sam Howell |
There’s no doubt about who slots in as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, as the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Hurts, enters his sixth NFL season. However, beyond the steady Hurts, there remains some questions to be answered in the coming days.
McKee has established himself as the top backup option to Hurts, having thrown for 323 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in his two game appearances in 2024. McKee’s 252 passing yards and two touchdowns this preseason have only been more encouraging, but a recent injury is what puts his status heading into Week 1 in doubt.
Per The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena, McKee’s current finger injury is considered “minor,” and he is not expected to begin the season on the IR.
“We’ll see,” Sirianni said of McKee after the preseason finale, per The Athletic. “You guys know he’s dealing with a finger. He’s working to get back. We’ll see where he is.”
Once McKee is healthy, he’ll be Hurts’ top backup. But entering Week 1, there’s a good chance that job goes to Howell, who’s much more of a proven option than McCord or Thompson-Robinson. Howell struggled last season in his limited opportunities with the Seahawks, completing just five of his 14 passes with an interception over three games, but he also threw for nearly 4,000 yards in Washington back in 2023.
Until McKee is back, Howell gives the Eagles some veteran insurance behind Hurts.
The Eagles have officially waived both McCord and Thompson-Robinson, leaving Hurts, McKee and Howell as the three solidified quarterbacks on the active roster.
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Vikings QB depth chart
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | J.J. McCarthy |
| 2 | Carson Wentz |
| 3 | Max Brosmer |
The Vikings’ 2024 first-round pick, McCarthy, is set to make his regular-season debut in Week 1 after a knee injury ended his rookie season before it ever started. While Minnesota is high on the former Michigan star at quarterback, its depth chart will be fairly interesting if McCarthy struggles or deals with more injuries in 2025.
McCarthy’s starting role is locked in, but Sunday’s transactions shook up the passers behind him. Per The Athletic, “the Vikings’ staff has raved about [Max] Brosmer” throughout training camp, although he has not taken snaps with the second-team unit in camp. The undrafted rookie out of Minnesota has thrown for 364 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the preseason.
Even if the Vikings are high on Brosmer’s potential, it’d be a significant jump to make him McCarthy’s immediate successor if he’s needed to be. The Howell trade did give Brosmer a bit more room to eventually claim the QB2 role, but it’s more likely that the Vikings are focused on developing Brosmer moving forward. That’s where Wentz comes in.
With Howell gone, Wentz gives Kevin O’Connell’s team a new —and likely better —veteran voice to lean on behind McCarthy. Wentz, a former star with the Eagles, has previously filled backup roles in Washington, Los Angeles and Kansas City. Of the Vikings’ backups, he’s by far the most proven; if McCarthy struggles in his initial NFL action, Minnesota could certainly turn toward Wentz to lead an offense that has its eyes on the NFC North title in 2025.
Wentz and Brosmer could eventually both wind up having real cases to be the official QB2, but Wentz’s experience gives him the nod for now. He’ll have to get acclimated to Minnesota’s offense over the coming weeks, but with five seasons of 3,000-plus passing yards to his name, Wentz becomes a mentor to the Vikings’ young passers and the leading backup option.
With most teams typically keeping a maximum of three quarterbacks on the roster, the youth and potential of Brosmer, and the experience of Wentz, made them the two candidates to make the team. That left Brett Rypien as the odd one out; the quarterback was released by the Vikings on Sunday afternoon following the Wentz signing, per The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.
