Something's going to give in Purple Pride land next year. Gus may or may not remain starter and Tarvaris may or may not reclaim the starting job--either way the Vikings front office will sign another QB to come in (without or without Chilly's blessing, if he's still here) to provide competition.

And if we have a new HC? Well, the FO will still sign whoever they want. So who are some options out there for us to look at? ESPN has graciously provided a convenient list to start with:

Here's a list of quarterbacks about to enter free agency:

• Kurt Warner
• Kerry Collins
• Jeff Garcia
• J.P. Losman
• Rex Grossman
• Kyle Boller
• J.T. O'Sullivan
• Byron Leftwich
• Charlie Frye
• Patrick Ramsey
• Alex Smith (under contract but likely to be cut)

And if none of them do anything for you, Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper and Chris Simms always seem available.

Of these names, I think a few are worth looking at. Are they perfect? No. But some are intriguing. One other thing--I'm valuing younger guys over older guys, even though there are two old guys (Garcia and Warner) who would be outstanding stop gaps for us. Ok, on to the list:

1. Matt Cassel--the Patriots version of Chad Pennington (who incidentally wouldn't be worse than what we have now at QB). Cassel will be 27 next, has almost no tread on the tires, but is completing a gaudy 66% of his passes right now. He's got Moss and no one else. We've got AD and a bunch of complimentary role guys who would benefit greatly from a guy who can distribute completions and keep the chains moving.
   
2. J.P. Losman--whatever happened to that guy? Yes, he might be a bit of a headcase, but he's also a solid 63%+ passer with 7 YPA. He's a year older than Cassel, but he'll probably also be more signable at a reasonable price. Could be the Kyle Orton of next year with a change of scenery.
   
3. Charlie Frye/Chris Simms--While he was a starter in Cleveland, Frye's completion percentage was over 60%. While a little turnover prone, he's definitely average, and that's enough for this Viking's squad (see: Gus Frerotte). As for Simms, I think he's another guy who is average, with perhaps a little higher ceiling than Frye. While at Tampa he completed just under 60% of his passes. Except for a horrendous start and subsequent injury in 2006 he still might be Tampa's starter today. He strikes me as a slightly better and significantly younger Gus Frerotte with a bit better accuracy.
4. Jeff Garcia/Kurt Warner--OK, so they really deserve to be listed down here, but I felt like the young guys make for more interesting debate. Garcia would be perfect here: high percentage, high YPA, scrambling ability, and only a year+ older than Gus. He has 3000 more yards and and almost 50 more TDs than Gus in five fewer seasons. Enough said. Warner is only a month older than Gus but has 5000 more yards and almost 60 more TDs in 4 fewer seasons. Both Garcia and Warner have averaged 61.5% and 6.9 YPA or better for their careers. Of the two I think Warner is more gettable and would provide better leadership and tutoring to Tarvaris or whatever young QB is drafted to become starter in 2-3 years.
   

I don't think the Vikings should--or need--to break the bank finding a starting QB. In the short term Garcia or Warner make by far the most sense. They would give us a chance to win now, make our receivers better, hopefully help mentor Tarvaris/unnamed future young QB, and have no significantly detrimental salary cap effects.

The younger guys--especially if the scouts and FO are convinced are ready to come in and take the next step--are a much better medium term solution. The right guy could come in and win and establish himself as the QB of the next 5-10 years, or (at worst) would provide us another season of Gus with better running ability and less injury risk.

Of course the most obvious solution is to improve the offensive play calling and scheming to reflect and maximize the abilities of the players we have, but only time will tell if that shoe will fall. In the meantime, who do you think should be the Vikings starting QB next year?