Questions Answered: Dexter Lawrence to Vikings, Biggest Concern in London, Revised W-L Record

Julian Guadalupe-NorthJersey.com. © Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the October 2nd edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].

Questions Answered: Dexter Lawrence to Vikings, Biggest Concern in London, Revised W-L Record

Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images.

Q: Do you think the Vikings could realistically trade for Dexter Lawrence, as the rumor mill suggests?

Dexter Lawrence
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.

Answer: Hopefully — but probably not.

Three items separate Lawrence to Minnesota from realism:

1) Will the Giants even trade him at all? Why would they?

2) Would general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah be willing to offload the 2025 1st-Rounder for Lawrence? That pick is trending for somewhere in the 20s, but Lawrence is a 27-year-old, and perhaps Adofo-Mensah prefers a young player for his draft pick.

3) Can Minnesota immediately renegotiate Lawrence’s deal to accommodate his cap hit, or would the Vikings clear cap space elsewhere?

That’s a lot of hurdles. But we’d love Lawrence in purple.

Q: What’s your biggest concern for the Vikings in London versus the Jets?

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images.

Answer: The team stops forcing turnovers on defense.

Minnesota ranks fifth-worst in the NFL per giveaways — about where they left off (in a bad way) last year. Thankfully for their sake, the purple team is forcing turnovers at a fiendish rate, so everything balances out.

However, if Brian Flores’ defense discontinues the practice of causing fumbles and picks, the turnovers on offense and special teams would impact wins and losses.

And the world knows Aaron Rodgers historically doesn’t account for many turnovers.

Q: After the 4-0 start, what’s your revised win-loss record for Minnesota?

Jefferson Smashes
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

Answer: 12-5.

We had 7-10 entering the regular season, and clinging to that would be dumb. It would mean that Minnesota collapsed to a 3-10 finish. That feels unlikely.

Let’s roll with 12-5, meaning the Lions-Vikings in Week 18 could be for all the marbles.

Oddsmakers, though, believe Minnesota will take care of business by two or three points, and we like that outcome a lot more.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.