Ryan Tannehill did not play in the NFL last year, but he could be nearing a return for the 2025 season. The Vikings have reportedly reached out to Tannehill to discuss a potential deal, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, though no signing is imminent at this time. 
Minnesota needs some experience at quarterback after Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones signed with other teams. Though the Vikings will receive compensatory pick in 2026 as a result of those departures, they now only have two quarterbacks under contract for the 2025 season: J.J. McCarthy and Brett Rypien. McCarthy missed his entire rookie season due to a torn meniscus, and Rypien has started just four games in his four-year career.
The Vikings explored signing Aaron Rodgers but ultimately opted not to submit an offer to the mercurial 41-year-old. The team’s quarterback situation has recently seen Minnesota affirming McCarthy as the heir apparent for the job moving forward. The 10th overall pick last year was not seen as a first-round option for much of the 2023 season, but his national championship-winning season with the Wolverines, combined with quite a few desperate teams looking for rookie passers, resulted in McCarthy hearing his name on Day 1.
While it was initially thought that McCarthy would need to sit and learn for a year, a lack of serious candidates for competition led McCarthy into a battle with Darnold to replace Kirk Cousins as the starter in Minnesota, a battle that Darnold was gifted following McCarthy’s surgery. Now, with Darnold having moved on and McCarthy having sat for the year, it’s presumed that McCarthy should now be ready to take hold of the starting role.
With Rodgers out of the picture, Tannehill enters as a new option to pair with McCarthy. The 36-year-old is a less accomplished passer than Rodgers, but he’s also five years younger with significantly less off-field baggage. He also fits better as a potential backup and mentor to McCarthy, the likely future of the position in Minnesota.
Tannehill is one of several veteran backup options who was available in free agency like Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston. Flacco, who was an option the Vikings looked at, is also in play for Pittsburgh and Cleveland, while Winston recently signed a two-year deal with the Giants.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.
Gross
That’d be a good spot for him. Take the easy cash like Andy Dalton did, coach up JJ McCarthy, and maybe get some starts here and there on a good team. Enjoy the twilight of your career.
Tannehill is basically what a team would hope Daniel Jones would turn into. An athletic QB who is a prolific passer.
He might not be elite but he has had some very good years over his career and has always passed for a lot of yards.
Even with Miami, he regularly passed for between 3-4,000 yards and 20+ touchdowns.
I don’t think Minnesota makes a ton of sense but he’s still better than most of the options out there.
Depends on his health, and taking a year off, to see if he still has the arm strength and physical conditioning to play in the NFL. Vikings are a potential playoff team, and trusting that to a 2nd year still rookie QB is a big deal. Having a solid vet as QB2 makes sense.
Tannehill wisely took a year off after playing for a team that allowed a 12% sack rate. A QB his age doesn’t want that kind of abuse. The Vikings OL wasn’t anywhere near that dismal last season but they still ranked 27th in pass protection… so I could understand if Ryan was still resistant about making a return.