At this point, we all know that the Atlanta Falcons are going to be sellers. They sent Jessie Bates to Jacksonville for a 2027 second-rounder and 2028 fifth, and with just a couple of hours to go until the 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline, we know Ian Cunningham will do what he can to add more draft capital.
Presumably, the Falcons aren't done making deals yet after the Bates trade. It could be Mike Hughes or Divine Deablo, but the most likely outcome is Tua Tagovailoa, who's been rumored to be expendable for a while now--but the Minnesota Vikings would make sense as a possible destination.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Vikings are making calls about trading for a quarterback before the deadline, and this deal could make sense since they're most likely going to be turned away by the Colts about Daniel Jones, the Jets about Geno Smith, and the Raiders about Kirk Cousins.
The 6-2 Vikings have dropped back-to-back games and according to SumerSports, the only team with a worse offensive EPA per play than them is the 0-8 Los Angeles Chargers. And it's not for a lack of talent, it's that their quarterback play has been damn near the worst in the league all season long, and that has seen them waste a historic defense that leads the NFL in defensive EPA success rate.
And in last night's 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Kyler Murray didn't play due to a hamstring injury, which saw Carson Wentz start in his place. However, he completed just eight of 25 pass attempts, throw two interceptions, and recorded an 8.9 passer rating before being replaced by Max Brosmer.
Could the Minnesota Vikings be interested in acquiring Tua Tagovailoa?
The issue with the Tua trade market is that the demand for a QB of his caliber has not been there, but the Vikings make way too much sense. They are desperate for even solid quarterback play, and Kevin O'Connell should be good enough as an offensive mind to scheme around his deficiencies like Mike McDaniel did. And unlike with Cousins or Jones, they wouldn't have to break the bank to get him.
There is a connection to note here, as Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins when Tua Tagovailoa was drafted, but they reportedly didn't have the strongest relationship, which would likely make getting both sides on board about a potential deal difficult.
However, the Falcons aren't asking for much. Nolan Teasley could offer half a Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich and Ian Cunningham would consider it. They likely aren't going to bring him back in the offseason, and he may not even be the backup anymore--they signed Andy Dalton because of a lack of faith in Tagovailoa to stay healthy and back up Michael Penix Jr. after never getting a shot to start.
All jokes aside, if the Dirty Birds could swing a deal of like Tua for a 6-7 swap in 2028 or something, that would probably do the trick. Getting any sort of value in a trade for him would be better than the alternative, because if not, I would imagine there would be a real discussion about him getting cut.
But the Vikings are desperate for any quarterback who can at least stabilize the offense, and we've seen from his time in Miami that Tua Tagovailoa can at least keep things afloat. There's no doubting he's better than Wentz and Max Brosmer, so if they're being that frantic, Atlanta can capitalize.
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