The Vikings have had 43 startingquarterbacks in the history of their franchise; they had never had more than three starting quarterbacks in one season until 2023.[a] The Vikings' past starting quarterbacks includePro Football Hall of Fame inducteesFran Tarkenton,Brett Favre andWarren Moon.[2] The team's first starting quarterback wasGeorge Shaw; he was replaced by Tarkenton in the franchise's first game, and the future Hall of Famer retained the starting role for most of the remainder of the season.Sam Darnold was Minnesota's most recent starting quarterback, from2024, until being signed by theSeattle Seahawks in 2025.
The Vikings' starting quarterback for the first game of theirinaugural season against theChicago Bears wasGeorge Shaw.[3] However, he was replaced byFran Tarkenton early on, who passed for four touchdowns in the game and rushed for one more. Tarkenton went on to start in 10 of the Vikings' 14 regular season matches that year.[4] He played for the Vikings until 1967, when he was traded to theNew York Giants,[5] andJoe Kapp took his place as the Vikings' starting quarterback .[6] Kapp led the Vikings to their first playoff appearance in 1968,[7] but he was traded to theBoston Patriots in 1970 andGary Cuozzo stepped up to replace him.[6][8] Cuozzo remained in the position for two seasons, moving to theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1972.[8]
Tarkenton returned for another seven-year spell as the Vikings' starting quarterback in 1972, continuing until his retirement in 1978,[5] at which pointTommy Kramer was promoted from the second string in his second season with the franchise.[9] Kramer was injured for most of the 1983 season, soSteve Dils served as the starting quarterback for most of the season,[10] before Kramer reclaimed the position in 1984.[9] For the 1987 season, Kramer shared quarterback duties withWade Wilson, before Wilson took over on a permanent basis from 1988.[11] Wilson was replaced by the emergingRich Gannon in 1990,[12] but Gannon was released after the 1992 season and veteranJim McMahon took over for the 1993 season until the arrival ofWarren Moon in 1994.[13]
Moon retained the starting quarterback spot for two seasons,[14] but suffered a broken collarbone halfway through his third season with the Vikings and was replaced byBrad Johnson for the remainder of the season.[15] The Vikings had three starting quarterbacks in the following three seasons – Johnson (1997),[15]Randall Cunningham (1998)[16] andJeff George (1999)[17] – beforeDaunte Culpepper began a six-year spell in his second year in the NFL in 2000.[18] He suffered a serious knee injury during the 2005 season, and Johnson took over in the position again, having re-signed the previous summer after seven years away from the franchise.[15] Culpepper then joined theMiami Dolphins in 2006,[18] giving Johnson another full year as starting quarterback,[15] only to be replaced by sophomoreTarvaris Jackson in 2007.[19] The 2008 season commenced with Jackson starting at quarterback,[19] but he was replaced after two games byGus Frerotte, who was returning to the Vikings from theSt. Louis Rams after having been traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2005.[20] Jackson regained the job for the final three games and led the Vikings to their first divisional title since 2000, and their first NFC North title.[19]
In 2009, the Vikings recruited veteran quarterbackBrett Favre out of retirement to be their new starting quarterback.[21] In Week 13 of the 2010 season, Favre suffered a chest injury that ended his NFL-record streak of consecutive starts at 297 (321 including postseason games), and Tarvaris Jackson reclaimed the starting spot for Week 14. However, Jackson was injured himself in Week 15, giving rookieJoe Webb a chance to stake a claim for the position. He was unable to hold onto the position asDonovan McNabb was signed as a free agent to replace Favre, who retired at the end of the 2010 season. After going 1–5 through the first six games of 2011, though, McNabb was replaced by first-round draft pickChristian Ponder, who retained the starting position for the remainder of the season and for the whole of 2012. However, he was plagued by indifferent form and the Vikings signedMatt Cassel – recently released by theKansas City Chiefs. When Ponder suffered an injury early in the 2013 season, Cassel was given his first start for the Vikings in week 4 in theNFL International Series game against thePittsburgh Steelers atWembley Stadium, London. He started the following game, but was replaced in week 7 byJosh Freeman, recently signed after his release by theTampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he was injured during the game and did not make another start for the Vikings, allowing Ponder to reclaim the starting role. Cassel then returned as the starter in week 14, and retained the role for the rest of the season and into 2014. After three games, he was placed on injured reserve and first-round draft pickTeddy Bridgewater took over for the week 4 game against theAtlanta Falcons. Bridgewater himself was injured late in the game, allowing Ponder the chance to come back in for the following week, but the rookie soon returned and has held the starting berth until suffering a knee injury in practice during the 2016 preseason.
Shaun Hill started the season opener andSam Bradford took over in week 2. In 2017, Bradford played only two games due to injuries he sustained in Weeks 2 and 5.Case Keenum started in his place, leading the Vikings to a 13 win season, as well as theMinneapolis Miracle and subsequent NFC Championship Game. Keenum would sign with theDenver Broncos that offseason.
Ahead of the2018 season, the Vikings signed free agent quarterbackKirk Cousins from theWashington Redskins on a three-year, fully guaranteed $84 million contract. He started 31 consecutive regular season games to start his Vikings career before sitting out the final game of2019 with the team's playoff berth already secured;Sean Mannion started in his place.
After Cousins left to join theAtlanta Falcons before the2024 season, the Vikings signedSam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million contract. The Vikings would finish 14-3, yet go into theplayoffs as a wildcard.
Eight Vikings quarterbacks have made at least one start in their rookie season: Tarkenton in 1961, Vander Kelen in 1963, Kramer in 1977, Jackson in 2006, Webb in 2010, Ponder in 2011, Bridgewater in 2014, and Jaren Hall in 2023.
Jim McMahon was the Vikings' starting quarterback for the1993 season.Daunte Culpepper was the Vikings' starting quarterback for six seasons from2000 to2005.Brett Favre took over as the Vikings' starting quarterback in2009.Teddy Bridgewater was the Vikings' starting quarterback from Week 4 of the 2014 season until the end of the 2015 season. He tore his ACL on August 30, 2016, and was declared out for the rest of the 2016 season.Sam Bradford was the Vikings' starting quarterback during the 2016 season until Week 2 of the 2017 season.Kirk Cousins was the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback from 2018 to 2024.
Year
Column links to corresponding team season
(#)
Number of games started in the regular seasonor post-season win–loss record
Having been the franchise's starting quarterback for 13 seasons (longer than any other Vikings player), Fran Tarkenton holds the record for the most starts in a Vikings jersey, and those for the most wins and ties.[99] He is also the franchise's leading passer in terms of numbers of attempts, completions, total yards gained and passing touchdowns, although Brett Favre has the best pass completion percentage.[99] However, Tarkenton has also thrown the most interceptions.[99] The record for the longest completed pass by a Vikings starting quarterback is held by Gus Frerotte, who threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverBernard Berrian in a home game against theChicago Bears in the2008 season.[99][100]
Tarkenton is also the franchise leader for rushing attempts and rushing yards as a quarterback, but it is Daunte Culpepper – with 72 fewer rushing yards on 10 fewer attempts than Tarkenton – who has the most rushing touchdowns.[101]Joe Webb holds the record for the longest rush with a 65-yard run in Minnesota's 34–28 road loss to theDetroit Lions in2011.[101][102]
Years
Years that the quarterback was on the Vikings' roster
a In each game, a team picks one player to start in the quarterback position. Players may be substituted during the game, but the term "starting quarterback" refers to the player who started the game in that position.
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