SI.com’s Bold Prediction for Vikings … Is REALLY Bold
The 2023 NFL season ended on Sunday night, with the Kansas City Chiefs knocking off the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. The Chiefs became the first team to repeat as champions since the dynastic New England Patriots in 2003-2004.
SI.com’s Bold Prediction for Vikings … Is REALLY Bold
So now, evidently, is the time for 2024 bold predictions from some, and SI.com truly went nuclear with its Minnesota forecast this week.
SI.com’s Conor Orr claimed Minnesota will explore trading Justin Jefferson to the highest bidder.
Of course, Orr isn’t the first personality to advance the trade-Jefferson theory in the last month, but his bold prediction hoped to heighten the speculation. Assigning a bold prediction to every team, Orr wrote about Minnesota, ” The Vikings will seriously consider trading Justin Jefferson. Facing the possibility of a wide receiver who will cost well over $30 million per season, with a percentage of guaranteed money nearing 100, the Vikings will look at a barren roster and wonder what else they can do to generate some capital.”
For about a year, every Vikings leader — the ownership (the Wilfs), general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and head coach Kevin O’Connell — has insisted Jefferson will be extended for the long haul. But some just brush that aside and proceed with the offseason speculation.
“The Vikings need to add more than a handful of solid starters if they hope to compete in the near future. They also need to consider the possibility of drafting a quarterback high in the first round, and what it would cost them to move up,” Orr added.
The Vikings ranked 11th per defensive DVOA in 2023, and the offense notably struggled after quarterback Kirk Cousins went down with a torn Achilles in Week 8. With a depth chart consisting of Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, Ivan Pace Jr., and Josh Metellus, among others, it is unclear why the Vikings’ roster would be considered “barren.”
In January, Pioneer Press published a similar theory about trading Jefferson, advanced by Charley Walters, “There could be a better chance of Jefferson, 24, getting traded than anybody’s saying. That’s because it doesn’t make sense to pay the NFL’s best receiver the money he wants (expected to be at least $150 million over five years) on a team that’s not expected to be seriously competitive for several more years.”
Soon after, Kyle Long stated his case on CBS Sports airwaves for the Vikings to trade Jefferson in a since-deleted tweet. “The Minnesota Vikings, you need to trade Justin Jefferson. Because you’ve got the best receiver in football, but you didn’t win a Super Bowl. Kirk Cousins had an awesome year, but you’ve got other weapons in Braylon Addison, a number of receivers, you’ve got a great tight end there, you’ve got a coordinator, a great offensive mind at head coach,” Long spitballed.
A bit over a week ago, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd also banged the drum on a possible Jefferson trade. “I’ve got an idea. New England’s got the No. 3 pick. What does New England desperately need? A playmaker. Justin Jefferson — switch picks, I’ll give you next year’s (first-rounder) and Justin Jefferson to go from 11 to 3,” Cowherd said on The Herd.
Jefferson said personally last Wednesday at the Super Bowl’s radio row, “I’m definitely grateful for what Minnesota has done for me. I definitely wouldn’t be in this situation if they didn’t pick me, to be the fifth receiver taken. With everything that has happened and everything I have gave to the organization, of course, I would want to stay.”
It seems that everyone thinks a Jefferson trade is a real possibility. Everybody but the Vikings front office and Jefferson.
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.
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