Purple Rumor Mill: The Kirk Proposal, Deonte Banks, 2023 Bargaining Chip
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 5th 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: The Kirk Proposal, Deonte Bank, 2023 Bargaining Chip
Here’s the second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: The Vikings could get a haul from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade for Kirk Cousins.
CBS Sports Radio’s Andrew Perloff tweeted the hypothetical Vikings-49ers idea Thursday, “How about 49ers trade Minnesota native Trey Lance, a good defensive player and a future first to Vikings for Kirk Cousins? “
So, yes, this gripped the Vikings digital media community, as spitballing trade packages for Cousins always garners interest. Some media outfits discuss trade-Kirk proposals daily, in fact.
Of course, the particular idea advanced by Perloff would probably be welcomed by the Vikings front office, but on the whole, it isn’t realistic. Cousins will be 35 this summer, and a team may not donate their franchise quarterbacks, a big-name defender, plus a 1st-Rounder.
This just kind of feels like an offseason talker, not a reality. Cousins also has a no-trade clause, so there’s that.
Rumor: Deonte Banks is the current frontrunner to join the Vikings in Round 1 of the draft.
In the last two weeks, ESPN’s Mel Kiper, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, and Pro Football Focus all mock-drafted cornerback Deonte Banks to the Vikings. Draft analyst Jordan Reid also told Vikings reporter Gabe Henderson Thursday, “Deonte Banks from Maryland — he’s one I would put a gold star beside if I was Vikings fans. I think he’s going to be a name you see projected to the Vikings.”
Jeremiah forecasted Banks for the Vikings and noted, “Banks has good size, and I think you’ll see his stock rise as the evaluation process unfolds. The cornerback is physical and tough.”
Before the Banks enthusiasm, South Carolina CB Cam Smith was the faux frontrunner to join the Vikings, but for now, Banks has taken his spot.
There are still about 7.5 weeks before the draft, and Smith to Banks to anonymous player x can change markedly between now and then.
But Banks did have a dazzling NFL Combine.
Rumor: Minnesota has a nifty bargaining chip to lure free agents.
The Vikings led the NFL in “team grade” via the NFLPA’s first-ever team-report-card grades. Minnesota scored an A+ and outdueled the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders, teams that also ranked rather high.
This was the criteria:
- Treatment of families
- Good service/nutrition
- Weight room
- Strength coaches
- Training room
- Training staff
- Locker room
- Team travel
When free agency hits in eight days, the only real thing that matters is money in players’ pockets, but these new report grades cannot hurt anything. The grades are especially noteworthy because a new leadership regime just took over 13 months ago.
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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