Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports activities.
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle every week. All of the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for evaluation. In the present day is the January twenty sixth version.
Vikings Rumors: Cooper Kupp to Vikings, Sam Darnold’s Subsequent Cease, Large Roster Lower
Bear in mind — rumors are rumors. What you learn on weekends in these items is what the world is speaking about pertaining to the Vikings, not essentially objects that can come to fruition.
Right here’s the second batch of the week. Yesterday’s may be learn right here.
Rumor: Cooper Kupp may be part of the Vikings this offseason.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports activities.
Kupp is below contract with the 2025 Rams. However that will not materialize. “Who knows what’s going to happen. That’s out of my control. And we will see what it’s going to be. … I don’t have any clarity on what that’s going to look like or anything like that. So yeah, obviously would love to be in L.A., but I don’t know what that’s going to look like,” Kupp advised ESPN this week after his group misplaced within the Divisional Spherical to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
In fact, Kupp has ties to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell from the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Kupp even received Offensive Participant of the Yr with O’Connell as his offensive coordinator.
If Kupp departs Los Angeles, it’s cheap to anticipate Minnesota to discover his free company.
Rumor: Sam Darnold is probably going headed to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports activities.
Courtesy of Jeremy Fowler, ESPN made official offseason predictions this week with the session of nameless NFL executives. Per them, Darnold will head to Vegas.
“All it takes is one suitor to drive Darnold’s market to the point where it’s cost prohibitive for Minnesota to retain him. And the numbers favor Darnold — at least five teams selecting in the top 10 of the NFL draft need a quarterback during a year when the supply doesn’t meet the demand. Darnold is the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback in free agency,” Fowler defined.
Heading into the 2024 marketing campaign, the Raiders have been the one NFL membership with out not less than some semblance of a long-term plan at quarterback, showcasing Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Their season netted 4 wins and 13 losses.
Fowler concluded, “Las Vegas is slated to have nearly $100 million in 2025 cap space, more than enough to pay a veteran passer. Most execs polled believe Darnold belongs in the Geno Smith/Baker Mayfield class of contracts, somewhere in the range of three years and $100 million.”
This one makes quite a lot of sense.
Rumor: Josh Oliver might be Minnesota’s large roster minimize.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Pictures
Per Bleacher Report, Minnesota’s high roster-cut candidate is tight finish Josh Oliver.
BR’s collective employees wrote this week, “This signing was a bit of a head-scratcher when it happened, and it’s likely to be re-evaluated in the spring. The Vikings signed Josh Oliver to a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023, and the final year is set to be the most expensive. Oliver is a good blocking tight end, but paying him just under $10 million is a questionable value when he only played 56 percent of the offensive snaps in 2024.”
To Oliver’s credit score, nonetheless, he’s among the best blocking tight ends in all of the land.
“The Vikings will already be paying T.J. Hockenson $16.9 million next season. Giving that much money to a second tight end is a difficult pill to swallow, and cutting Oliver would free up $5.1 million,” BR added.
This rumor isn’t completely outrageous, but it surely feels extra seemingly that Oliver will keep for yet another season.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his each day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options visitors, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple group, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doorways (the band). He follows the NBA as intently because the NFL.
All statistics supplied by Professional Soccer Reference / Stathead; all contractual info supplied by OverTheCap.com.
