Do you have a comment or question? Send it to the Vikings.com Mailbag! Every Monday we'll post several comments and/or questions as part of the Vikings.com Monday Morning Mailbag. Although we can't post every comment or question, we will reply to every question submitted.

Click here to submit a comment or question to the Mailbag. Remember to include your name and town in the email. If Twitter is your jam, you can send a question to me that way as well.

The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is a wrap, and free agency is full steam ahead.

Prospects will turn their attention toward college pro days and visits with teams at facilities.

The next deadline for teams is the closing of the franchise tag window, which will occur at 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, March 4.

After this, teams could still work out deals prior to March 12 to retain upcoming free agents.

We've seen reports of teams across the league working on some restructures to retain their own players, and we'll probably see reports of players being released from their squads. Any player released prior to March 12 would be free to sign with another team.

In the days since the previous Mailbag, the Vikings organization ranked No. 2 for the second consecutive year in the NFLPA Report Cards, gathering an A- or better in 10 of 11 categories, including an A+ in the following four: ownership, head coach, locker room and treatment of families.

Miami was the only organization ranked ahead of Minnesota for the second consecutive year. The Vikings ranked first in the inaugural survey, which was released in 2023.

Those marks show a consistently attractive environment that could entice potential free agents. A current player's satisfaction level may also factor into the decision-making process if evaluating an offer to stay in Minnesota against an offer from others.

Greenery in the form of cash might ultimately make the decision for the player, but if the amount is negligible, happiness in a location could become an important factor.

I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with people from across the NFL and meet new folks at the combine.

This is also an exciting week. The Vikings and six colleges in the region announced a new collegiate women's flag football league this morning (I wanted to wait on publication of Mailbag for a few minutes before that news rolled out at 8 a.m.). It is incredible to see the growth of flag football and the opportunities I expect it to create. Vikings.com's Lindsey Young has a story covering the full details of the league, which will have some jamboree events in April.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 member Jared Allen is scheduled to be in town Tuesday for a press conference that we'll have here at 10 a.m. (CT), so saddle up.

In the meantime, we'll circle around again on the Vikings status at quarterback, where General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the team has optionality.

"Part of the optionality was believing and betting in a guy who's young, talented, believing in our infrastructure, able to do the things that we can do with quarterbacks. And so we're now in a position where we have options, and we'll continue to work those options, figure out the best way for the Vikings to move forward."

The Vikings have second-year pro J.J. McCarthy and Brett Rypien under contract, which means the two QBs who played for Minnesota in 2024 (starter Sam Darnold and reserve Nick Mullens), as well as in-season addition Daniel Jones are scheduled to hit free agency.

Vikings Entertainment Network's Tatum Everett caught up with multiple experts in Indy last week to inquire about what Minnesota might do. Opinions varied widely but all agreed that the first domino is the quarterback position.

Adofo-Mensah was asked about evaluating the entirety of Darnold's season that included going 14-3 to set a record for a QB starting his first season with a new team, as well as tough nights in Week 18 and the Wild Card Round of the NFC Playoffs.

"I was telling my staff if I could have thought of a brain teaser, of an experiment to think through, that would have been a pretty tough one: you know, Pro Bowl quarterback, win all those games and then lose to two teams twice," Adofo-Mensah said. "And so that was really kind of the core of our offseason, really thinking through that holistically, not trying to be overweighted by those eight quarters, but not to under-weight those last two games.

"And really, he played a lot of good football for us, Year 1 in the system. So you can expect more later, and so we're excited about the potential for Sam, whatever that ends up being. It's a tough exercise, but I want to make sure that we're continuing to say, we're so proud of what he did for us. We're so proud of this team. We didn't end the way we wanted to, but a lot of good things happen. We continue to lay the foundation for the team we want to be, and we'll continue to go forward."

With that in mind, I'll group three questions/suggestions and provide a collective response.

Who's going to be the quarterback?

— Justin Tuman

And …

Vikings QB problem: Go with J.J. and spend money on free agents where needed.

Skol,

— Gary Ackerley

And …

Keep J.J. McCarthy. Trade Sam Darnold for a good, affordable backup quarterback.

— Matt Belschner

For starters, I'm not privy to the current conversations between Adofo-Mensah, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and others regarding the plan. I'm just more than ready to relay what happens as it's unfurled.

We do know how the Vikings handled a similar situation last year, with making an offer to Kirk Cousins for two seasons that was scattered, smothered and covered "Waffle House style" by the Falcons in length of contract and dollar amount. When that domino fell, Minnesota activated the plan it had for that scenario and brought in one of the best hauls in free agency the team has ever assembled.

Minnesota could set a price, and if another team exceeds that offer, then Darnold could factor into the compensatory pick formula in 2026 (the Vikings are expected to receive a comp pick this year for Cousins' departure last year).

Minnesota also could try to execute a tag-and-trade of Darnold, which would require a firm handshake and a bit of faith but could yield a more immediate reward (draft capital as early as this year) than waiting for next year's comp picks formula.

The Vikings also could use the franchise tag on Darnold with the intent to have him play in purple in 2025, but that would eat into the salary cap and what Minnesota could do at other positions.

Gary and Matt have that in mind, and likely some excitement for what the Vikings think about McCarthy's potential. McCarthy's rehab from a torn meniscus in August (that required one surgery) is going well, and he was able to absorb plenty of the Vikings system in meetings and on the sidelines last season.

"He's conversational in our language, in our offensive language, understanding the why, the intent behind things," Adofo-Mensah said. "You want to be able to go out there and play free and let his talent take over. And so all these steps, all the learning he's done in this past year is going to allow him to be able to do that. We're excited about the makeup of him. He's been everything we want him to be, and we're excited about his future."

What are your thoughts on Darnold and the quarterback situation? I'm in the opinion that they should start working on a contract with Daniel Jones and get McCarthy ready for the season. Let Darnold move on. Sign Nick Mullens as a backup. Sign Aaron Jones. Stop the talk about Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. With the cap money that has been saved by not signing old guys, grab two corners in free agency and sign both Cam Bynum and Byron Murphy, Jr. Sign a center and guard, draft Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant or Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson. Or grab a running back in the third round. If they restructure a few contracts, this would give them more money for free agency. I don't know why there's a problem signing Bynum and Murphy. The money is there. Keep the greatness together. I guess it gives the media something to talk about. The cap has been increased giving more money to sign our current players.

— Rodger in Sacramento, California

If Darnold moves on, and the Vikings turn to McCarthy, the team will maintain an emphasis on depth at that position, which could result in signing Daniel Jones, who joined Minnesota's practice squad before he was elevated for the playoff game, or bringing back Mullens for a fourth season, or adding from elsewhere.

That elevation of Daniel Jones to the active roster means he will factor into the comp pick formula for the 2026 draft if he signs elsewhere.

The Vikings and Aaron Jones extended their negotiation window by moving back the void date of his contract. O'Connell was asked about Aaron Jones last week when he was a guest of Paul Allen and Pete Bercich on a live broadcast of 9 to Noon from the combine.

"What I envisioned for him came totally to fruition. First and foremost, he's one of the greatest human beings I've ever met in my NFL journey," O'Connell said. "Secondly, he's a very, very talented great fit in our offense because of that skill set. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he very rarely gets tackled on the first contact. He very rarely doesn't find the yards that are there for him, and we've got to continue to do a better job of creating more yards for him.

"His role in the passing game, we threw him high crossing routes, go balls," O'Connell added. "He had some huge third-and-long conversions where we're just trying to get the ball in his hands and create a path for him to go get 12, 13, 15 yards, whatever it was that we needed. People don't give him enough credit for his ability to step in there and put his face on someone [in pass protection]."

Aaron Jones openly expressed his interest in returning to Minnesota.

Murphy and the Vikings also rolled back the void date on his contract, creating a longer negotiation window. He is coming off a Pro Bowl season with six interceptions.

Murphy and Bynum are sure to get looks from around the league, so we'll see what happens.

After the season was over, the term "futures contracts" was used like other preludes to the offseason. What exactly does this mean, and what does it entitle the player who signed the contract to? Does it mean they have an invitation to minicamp or training camp later?

— Joshua Kiel in Owatonna, Minnesota

Good question here from Joshua.

Futures contracts can be signed by players who were non-rostered free agents or on a team's practice squad at season's end. The contracts don't go into effect until the New League Year (March 12 this year) but also prevent the player from being signed by another team or league.

They essentially are a way teams can stock the roster to have it ready for expansion to 90 players who will participate in the offseason program, training camp and the preseason. There's inevitably some fluidity with the 90-man roster each offseason, but players on those contracts are able to compete for spots on the 53-man roster or 16-player practice squad over the course of camp.

How do the Vikings offseason plans change with the increase in the cap?

— Ed Helinski in Auburn, New York

I think the team usually tries to forecast potential increases in the salary cap, since it is based on league revenue, and anticipate where the dollar figures might land to get a head start on planning. (Minnesota and other teams had to adjust to a decrease in revenue and the salary cap from the 2020 season when many stadiums were completely empty or operating at reduced capacity).

While the increase does allow the Vikings to have more space, every other team now has more space, as well. Teams are not required to spend all their cap space, and some don't come close to the max. Under the Wilf family's ownership, the Vikings have consistently invested in the roster in pursuit of an elusive Super Bowl win.