The Minnesota Vikings are facing a pivotal point in their franchise history. They have pivotal decisions to make across the board, none bigger than what they do at quarterback. It is well past being established that J.J. McCarthy struggled and they are now second-guessing letting Sam Darnold walk after his Super Bowl win.

Because things can go zero to a hundred at anytime in the NFL, of course, that is what happened at the NFL combine this past week. What happened exactly is that the team is now being attached to a multitude of quarterbacks to either backup or challenge McCarthy.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano shared that the team could target an “unproven backup” to add to the quarterback depth chart. He writes, “It’s also possible that the Vikings look into one of the potentially available unproven backup QBs who could be available via trade, such as Tanner McKee, Davis Mills or even Anthony Richardson Sr. But while such a move might help them feel better about the depth of their QB room, it likely wouldn’t help them accomplish their goal with McCarthy — either get him back on track or at least buy themselves another year to evaluate his long-term viability.”

Any of these options would make sense as the team has shown a liking for going after guys who have fallen off a perch, or are just looking for a fresh start. All of them check that box while also not shaking the confidence of McCarthy too much, either. He would have to earn the job in camp and during the season, but fending off someone from this group is easier than others.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Vikings offseason: J.J. McCarthy could get ‘unproven’ competition