Purple Rumor Mill: Thielen’s Free Agent Tour, Dalvin Trade Sweepstakes, 1st Rounder Preference
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the March 18th edition.
Purple Rumor Mill: Thielen’s Free Agent Tour, Dalvin Trade Sweepstakes, 1st Rounder Preference
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the Vikings, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the first batch of the week.
Rumor: Adam Thielen met with the Carolina Panthers, but his next team remains undetermined.
Beloved ex-Vikings wideout Adam Thielen is a true-blue free agent. He can sign with any of the league’s 32 teams. This week, he met with the Carolina Panthers and did not exit with a contract. The Athletic’s Joe Person tweeted about the visit, “WR Adam Thielen keeping his options open following his visit with Panthers today, per a source with knowledge of the situation. One of those options remains signing with CAR.”
Philadelphia Eagles corner Darius Slay also recruited Thielen on a podcast. He said on the Big Play Slay podcast, “If you want to come over here to Philly, come over to Philly. Come on over here, we winning. But I hope wherever you land at big time, you find a great home and make that team do what it do.”
“Adam Thielen, how he got released from Minnesota, it was wild to me because it’s not like they didn’t give him the shot to be the guy they want him to be even though they got an amazing No. 1 receiver over there,” Slay elaborated.
Other teams in the Thielen rumor mill include the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs. We’ll also throw out the Cleveland Browns to monitor, thanks to the Kevin Stefanski connection.
Ultimately, Thielen in Kansas City feels like the smartest play or safest bet.
Rumor: There’s a full-on Dalvin Cook trade sweepstakes ongoing.
The Miami Dolphins allegedly wanted a piece of Dalvin Cook earlier this week, but Mike McDaniel and friends wound up getting the gang back together at running back with the re-signings of Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson.
The Atlanta Falcons seem like the sensible trade partner for Cook — if the Vikings are even shopping the 27-year-old at all. Cook could return to Minnesota for a seventh season; it’s just that his $14.1 million cap hit is perplexing for a team that employs an analytics-focused general manager.
The Cook rumor mill has been loud the past week and a half. It won’t die down until he’s traded, released, or restructured.
Rumor: The Vikings draft plan is crystalizing and might involve an early-round WR or CB.
The Vikings have somewhat quietly filled many roster holes during the first week of free agency with the additions of Josh Oliver (TE, Ravens), Marcus Davenport (EDGE, Saints), Byron Murphy (CB, Cardinals), and Dean Lowry (DT, Packers).
What they still need is a WR2 and another starting cornerback. Therefore, inside your personal mock drafts, it is wise to choose the best wideouts and corners available, assuming general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah doesn’t trade out of the No. 23 pick. We actually expect him to do just that.
The writing is on the wall. Choosing a WR or CB with the first couple of picks feels like the path as of March 17th.
Another Free Agent Reunites with Vikings
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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