The Vikings’ Big 3 News Items | Offseason Week 8
Dustin Baker
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The NFL Combine is about over in Indianapolis, and all eyes turn to free agency in about eight days.
The Vikings’ Big 3 News Items | Offseason Week 8
The Minnesota Vikings will have about $36 million to spend on existing free agents and new ones, by far their largest sum in about a decade.
In the meantime, these were the Vikings’ top three news items of Offseason Week No. 8. They’re ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most important).
3. Vikings Want Cousins Back, but ATL Might Want Him too
Kirk Cousins has quarterbacked the Vikings for six seasons, but nobody knows if it’ll be seven. The riddle has genuine coinflip stakes. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, though, wants Cousins back — at the right price.
“Had a great conversation with him a few days ago. At the end of the day, it’s we have our interests, he has his, and we get to the table and see if we can figure out a creative solution and how to meet in the middle. What we do know is we have a really great quarterback, a great leader, and somebody that we think we can win the ultimate prize with, and so that’s ultimately what I focus on, and that’s where we’re at right now,” Adofo-Mensah told reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday.
Cousins’ return to the Vikings boils down to whether he and the club can meet in the middle financially. Plain and simple.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons evidently want a piece of Cousins, too. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported Saturday morning after her time at the NFL Combine, “Over the next month, I’m keeping an eye on the Falcons. They believe Cousins is the type of player who moves them from a fringe playoff team to a contender. New Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson both have familiarity with Cousins. Knowing this could be a seamless transition for Cousins and the talented young group of players across their roster, I expect the Falcons to compete for the rights to his contract. It makes all the sense in the world.”
The Cousins Sweepstakes might be a two-horse race between Minnesota and Atlanta.
2. All Jefferson Trade Rumors Were Utter Nonsense
Jefferson is due for a ginormous extension, probably the largest in NFL history for a non-quarterback. And Adofo-Mensah knows it.
“We’ve said it, and we’ll continue to say it: we think he’s the best wide receiver in the league and should be compensated as such. We think he’s one of the best non-quarterbacks in the league, think he should be compensated as such,” Adofo-Mensah explained the state of play regarding Jefferson. He also said trading Jefferson isn’t an option. “That is not something that has ever crossed my mind,” Adofo-Mensah replied when a reporter asked about trading Jefferson as a possibility.
He added, “You got a blue player, a blue person. You try to keep as many of those as you can.”
Adofo-Mensah, too, stated the Vikings and Jefferson were “incredibly close” to making the extension final last September.
NFL-themed media ran hogwild with Jefferson trade theories for a few weeks. But after Adofo-Mensah set the record straight, the Jefferson rumor mill turned to cricket noises.
1. Alexander Mattison Dropped
A tweet out of nowhere.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted on X Thursday night, “Vikings informed RB Alexander Mattison today that they are releasing him, per source. Mattison took over last season for Dalvin Cook and ran for 700 yards and caught 30 passes. Now he becomes a free agent again, like last year when he signed a two-year deal with Minnesota.”
And just like that, the Mattison era in the Twin Cities is presumably over after five seasons. Minnesota will likely pursue his replacement in free agency or the draft, and Ty Chandler should get a look as RB1.
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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