We had a brief happy hour meeting with Local Quipster last night, and as usual it required him to hastily obtain a pen and a piece of paper (in this case a cocktail napkin) for a list. LQ, who “played the game,” is not sold on Tarvaris Jackson as the Vikings’ quarterback, to put it mildly. We tend to agree. Bottom line: the Vikings should not — nay, cannot — go into next season with the plan being T-Jack No. 1, some other ancient QB as the definite backup and Booty as the No. 3. Quarterback can’t continue to be a question mark position. So the two of us compiled a list of quarterbacks who would be both “possibly” available either via trade or free agency, and also desired. We came up with 16 names, then ranked them. Here is what both of us had:

1. RandBall: Donovan McNabb. Local Quipster: McNabb.
2. RB: Matt Cassel. LQ: Jeff Garcia.
3. RB: Garcia. LQ: Kerry Collins.
4. RB: Matt Hasselbeck. LQ: Brett Favre.
5. RB: Favre. LQ: Hasselbeck.
6. RB: Kurt Warner. LQ: Cassel.
7. RB: Collins. LQ: Warner.
8. RB: Marc Bulger. LQ: Byron Leftwich.
9. RB: Derek Anderson. LQ: Anderson.
10. RB: Sage Rosenfels. LQ: Bulger.
11. RB: Leftwich. LQ: Rosenfels.
12. RB: David Carr. LQ: Billy Volek.
13. RB: Daunte Culpepper. LQ: Carr.
14. RB: Volek. LQ: J.P. Losman.
15. RB: Losman. LQ: Culpepper.
16. RB: Rex Grossman. LQ: Grossman.

Obviously, several factors are in play. McNabb and Philly’s recent resurgence seems to make it unlikely the Eagles would deal him, even with Kevin Kolb waiting as the heir apparent. Cassel will likely be designated as a franchise player by New England, tying up nearly $30 million in QBs on that squad but giving the Patriots a year of insurance against Tom Brady’s knee injury. If Cassel was a non-exclusive franchise player, any team signing him away would have to give up a pair of No. 1 picks. That’s a lot to give up based on one good season. Garcia is a free agent and seemingly a good fit for the Vikings’ offense, but he also turns 39 in a month (if only Minnesota would have signed him two years ago …). Hasselbeck is intriguing, but there is no concrete evidence — just rumors — that Seattle would trade or cut him. Favre might retire. He might stay in New York. He might marry a buffalo. You just never know. Plenty of baggage, but playing in the Dome is still a better fit than the swirling winds of New York.

On and on. Such matters were, of course, factored into the list and debated endlessly. And now, we open the floor to you: What is your wish list, what is a realistic expectation, and what, ultimately, do you want to see out of the QB position next year?

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