Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings guard Ed Ingram (67) during practice at The Grove. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings have a 5-2 record through seven games, sitting in third place inside the NFC North. If the postseason started today, Minnesota would travel to Atlanta for a date with Kirk Cousins’ Falcons.
On Tuesday, General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired off a trade for Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson after Christian Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL in Week 8. Meanwhile, tight end T.J. Hockenson and offensive guard Dalton Risner will return to the active roster this week.
And three “losers” became apparent in the Robinson transaction’s fallout. These are those, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = primary loser).
Follow along for a moment:
Now, that plan is dead.
In theory, Risner could take Ingram’s RG job as soon as Sunday night.
If Robinson plays most snaps in the Vikings’ remaining 10 games, Minnesota will be charged a 4th-Round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, deposited in the Jaguars’ piggybank.
Minnesota is already dealing with severely limited draft capital in the 2025 NFL Draft, and until Tuesday, 2026’s allotment remained largely untouched. Now, however, a 4th- or 5th-Rounder will be missing, and some perceive Robinson as “just a 10-game rental.” He’ll hit free agency in March.
It’s worth noting, though, that Adofo-Mensah could snag a compensatory draft pick for 2026 if Robinson bolts via free agency in 4.5 months.
Sadly, any David Quessenberry fans won’t get their big night on Sunday. The Robinson trade directly disqualified Quessenberry from seeing the starting lineup. Instead, he’ll hop back to his regular ‘ol job — LT2 for the Minnesota Vikings.
Of course, the veteran lineman will be the next man up — again — if something happens injury-wise to Robinson or RT Brian O’Neill. It’s not a demotion for Quessenberry, but he had to think for about four days that LT1 for a 5-2 playoff-contending team was his new gig. No such luck.
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.