Purple Rumor Mill: That’s All for Now on JJets, Cousins Passes Culpepper, Maybe on Davenport
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 September 10th edition.
Purple Rumor Mill: That’s All for Now on JJets, Cousins Passes Culpepper, Maybe on Davenport
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 second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: Justin Jefferson and the Vikings couldn’t reach an agreement on a contract extension, and talks are now delayed until February.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Saturday, less than 24 hours before the Vikings opener, “Vikings’ All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson is not expected to sign a contract extension before Sunday’s opener, per sources. Both sides made a strong effort to get a deal done, but the plan now is to revisit after the season.”
The camps, Jefferson’s and the Vikings front office, apparently both want each other but couldn’t decide on the gritty details in the last eight months.
“Of course, I would want a contract to be done. But at the end of the day, it is all up to them and what the ownership want to do with that,” Jefferson told reporters this week when asked about the extension.
“I’m in a different situation. I’ve done something that no one has ever done in the history of the game. So my situation is a little bit different than everyone else’s. Of course, I’m going into my fourth year, trying to talk about contract two years early. There’s so many different parts that go in towards it. That’s why I leave it up to my agent and just keep my mindset on the field,” he added.
So, now we wait. Vikings fans should count lucky stars that Jefferson isn’t a primadonna.
Rumor: Kirk Cousins will have started more games for the Vikings than Daunte Culpepper after Sunday afternoon.
Indeed, Daunte Culpepper started 80 games in purple, and when Kirk Cousins takes his first offensive snap against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, he will have started more games as a Viking than Culpeper.
About once a year, Vikings fans erupt in a debate about “who was better” between Culpepper and Cousins. The simple answer? Culpepper’s peak was mightier than Cousins’, but Cousins is markedly more consistent and durable than Culpepper.
Rumor: Pass rusher Marcus Davenport may be out for his Vikings debut.
Davenport is the only Viking on the final Week 1 injury report. He’s battling an ankle tweak.
The new defender is listed as questionable but is expected to play.
Moreover, for curious minds, Davenport becomes the first Vikings player ever to wear the No. 0 this weekend.
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 Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.