Souhan: Sam Howell’s alarming performance vs. Patriots raises more Vikings QB questions

What grade did Sam Howell earn on Saturday?

Kevin O’Connell’s favorite letter: F.

In the Vikings’ 20-12 loss to the Patriots, Howell, their presumptive backup quarterback, looked unready to claim the position.

O’Connell spent the third quarter of the game being interviewed on the television feed, and, after one Vikings mistake, uttered a word not fit for the Minnesota Star Tribune, or any tribune.

O’Connell wasn’t talking about Howell at that moment, but the residual effect of watching Howell play may have influenced the coach’s vocabulary choice.

Saturday, Howell completed one of his five passes for 13 yards. He ran three times for 14 yards — and those plays were problematic because he looked like he had no intention of letting pass patterns develop.

He had receivers open. He didn’t see them, or didn’t look for them. His final passer rating: 0.0.

We could offer the usual disclaimers associated with preseason football.

Yes, the Patriots played their starters and the Vikings didn’t.

Yes, Howell faced an intense pass rush.

Yes, Howell was without the Vikings’ front-line receivers and backs, as well as the first-team offensive line.

Even under those circumstances, he looked lost.

The ball hung in the air like an oblong piñata. Time passed. The Twins traded another 10 players. Beards grew.

Finally, Howell’s pass fluttered back to earth, and a few Patriots drew straws to decide who would intercept it.

After the game, O’Connell gave Howell credit for escaping pressure, and said the QB was trying to throw the ball out of bounds.

Which means that Howell missed the entire out of bounds.

The prevailing question in this Vikings’ training camp is whether J.J. McCarthy is ready to lead an NFL team.

Howell has started 18 NFL games and has played in 20. He has thrown 22 touchdown passes — and 23 interceptions.

He has talent. He’s mobile. Before Saturday, Vikings fans could have been excused for making the obvious comparison between Howell and Case Keenum, another backup with active feet and the ability to make big plays.

Saturday, Howell looked like the version of Keenum who imploded in the NFC Championship game in Philadelphia.

Brett Rypien was better than Howell on Saturday, but hardly impressive. Max Brosmer looked like the most poised and accurate of the three backups, and that in itself is a problem. Having a rookie who played only one year of major college football serve as a backup to a virtual rookie quarterback would not be wise.

Kirk Cousins would likely be too expensive, in terms of draft capital and salary. At this point, I’d rather have someone like Kenny Pickett, who seems lost in the shuffle of potential starting quarterbacks in the Browns’ camp, especially with Shedeur Sanders looking like he could take over the starting job at some point this season.

Maybe Mitchell Trubisky or Mike White, who are vying for the Bills’ backup job.

When we get to the point in the conversation where we’re mentioning Pickett and White, we can understand the Vikings’ challenge. There aren’t many good backup quarterbacks in the NFL, because truly good backup quarterbacks become starting quarterbacks.

After the game, O’Connell didn’t say anything revealing about the backup quarterback position, other than to call it a competition.

The Vikings didn’t trade for Howell to compete for the backup job. They traded for him to become the backup.