Purple Rumor Mill: Trey Lance, Dalvin and Cowboys, Purple Purgatory
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 June 25th edition.
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.
Purple Rumor Mill: Trey Lance, Dalvin and Cowboys, Purple Purgatory
Here’s the second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: Despite reports in March and April, the Vikings never actually pursued Trey Lance.
About one week before the 2023 NFL Draft, Pro Football Talk reported, “At this year’s Scouting Combine, there were rumors of a potential Kirk Cousins trade from Minnesota to San Francisco. Those rumors may have come from the reality that the 49ers and Vikings had discussions about another quarterback. Per a league source, the two teams talked about Trey Lance.”
The Vikings may need a QB1 for life after Kirk Cousins in 2024, and some folks nominated Lance as a possible successor.
Fast forward to June, and there was no real trade interest expressed in Lance this offseason. ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on The Pat McAfee Show this week and explained, “There really was never a lot of interest in Trey Lance.”
“For what they gave up and what they’d get back, which is not very much at all, it doesn’t make sense to trade him. There was no trade market, and Kyle Shanahan has said that they didn’t have any trade talks with teams. He’s not going anywhere right now,” Schefter added on The Pat McAfee Show.
Somebody got their wires crossed about Lance-to-Vikings.
Rumor: Dalvin Cook could join the Dallas Cowboys when the dust settles on his free agency.
Dan Orlovsky, a pundit for ESPN and former NFL quarterback, said this week on the network’s First Take program, “Dallas, don’t tell me you’re legit about wanting to do everything that you can do to go win a Super Bowl if you don’t sign Dalvin Cook.”
Like the Vikings, the Cowboys said goodbye to their bellcow RB1 this offseason, Ezekiel Elliott. And Elliott has garnered next to zero attention on the free-agent market.
Orlovsky added, “You’re starting tailback Tony Pollard broke his leg like five months ago. You want to run the football more with the guy that just broke his leg five months ago?”
Cook-to-Dallas makes sense, particularly because Jerry Jones and Co. are accustomed to a certain style of living at RB. The Cowboys are also a contender in 2023, a team trait likely sought by Cook.
Don’t rule Dallas out of the Cook Sweepstakes.
Rumor: The Vikings are dragging their feet on Justin Jefferson’s contract extension, hinting at a ‘Purple Purgatory.’
On Thursday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio began rhetorically asking why the Vikings are waiting so long to finalize the Jefferson extension. He wrote, “Plenty of teams drag their feet, however. Because they can. If the player doesn’t take a stand, the player doesn’t get his money. And Jefferson has made it clear he won’t be taking a stand. There’s plenty of noise out there that the Vikings will wait to extend Jefferson.”
Jefferson is expected to fetch a gigantic contract extension this offseason — it’s just a matter of when per the Vikings front office, head coach, and Jefferson personally.
“They have a rare talent in Jefferson. They should be treating him that way. There’s no reason not to. And if/when they wake up one day with another Randy Moss or Percy Harvin or Stefon Diggs who end up being sent elsewhere for one or more draft picks, the Vikings will have only themselves to blame. And, if that’s what happens, Vikings fans will just shrug and says, ‘It’s just another day in Purple Purgatory,'” Florio concluded.
Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017. His contract extension talks began in the spring and summer of 2020 — so, like, right now on the same timeline for Jefferson. The Chiefs completed the deal with Mahomes on July 6th, 2020. If the Chiefs waited until July with Mahomes, the Vikings can definitely wait until July with Jefferson. With two full seasons before Jefferson’s contract expires, bemoaning days and weeks sans an extension isn’t worth the trouble.
A deal will get done. It’s a no-brainer.
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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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