One Longstanding Vikings Rumor Was Confirmed Last Week
Entering the 2021 NFL Draft, some Minnesota Vikings believed the franchise would exit the event with a quarterback to prepare for life after Kirk Cousins.
One Longstanding Vikings Rumor Was Confirmed Last Week
Ultimately, then-general manager Rick Spielman did precisely that — but Kellen Mond was the result, not a high-profile 1st-Rounder.
And thanks to a wild interview from former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer last week, Spielman, indeed, sought a trade for quarterback Justin Fields, now a QB2 for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“The first round, Rick tried to trade up for Justin Fields, who hasn’t done anything. When he picked Mond, I walked out of the room. I left the building,” Zimmer told Star Tribune in an explosive, grudge-filled sitdown.
Zimmer added about his increasingly sour relationship with Spielman at the time: “I didn’t even talk to him on the phone. Rick said, ‘You mad at me?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think you took four backups when we had guys there I thought were starters.’ From that time on, it just kind of got worse between us. And I’m not saying nothing was my fault. I’m sure there were plenty of things that were my fault.”
Before the 2021 NFL Draft, some thought Fields could be on the Vikings’ radar — and per Zimmer, he was. It’s just that the trade price proved too expensive. Spielman eventually drafted Christian Darrsiaw, one of the best selections of his tenure. The Vikings cut ties with Mond 16 months later, and he’s bounced around the NFL since in practice squad roles. If it matters, Zimmer was right about Mond.
Former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who owned the QB1 job in 2021, also mentioned that the purple team wanted a quarterback three years ago. Cousins said on Bussin’ with the Boys in May, “Vikings, three years ago, I was finishing up a round of golf before the draft on Thursday, and I’m on like the 18th hole, walking up the fairway and Klint Kubiak calls me, our OC. And he says, ‘Just wanna give you a heads up, we may draft a quarterback tonight.’ I said, ‘OK.'”
Interestingly and unrelated to Spielman or Zimmer, the Vikings also poked around the Justin Fields Sweepstakes this offseason. Chicago traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but not before chatting with a few teams, including the Vikings.
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, in a report from May, the Vikings did diligence in exploring the Fields trade sweepstakes, which resulted in Fields to Pittsburgh for a conditional 6th-Round draft pick. “Chicago, intending to move the three-year starter as it prepared to select a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, was willing to give Fields some say in his next destination. The Steelers were one of four teams on Fields’ radar prior to the start of free agency, along with the Vikings, Raiders and Falcons, a source familiar with Fields’ thinking said,” Pryor wrote.
In early March, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote, “The major quarterback domino that many are waiting to fall is Chicago’s Justin Fields decision. Chicago has not played its hand, and several league sources believe Fields — who has not requested a trade — could probably garner a Day 2 pick in a potential deal. There’s no firm deadline on a trade, though the start of free agency is sort of a soft one. Chicago will need multiple teams in the fray to drive a market, and after asking around, I expect Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas and Minnesota to be on the radar.”
So let it be known — twice — the Vikings have nibbled around Fields at quarterback. The rumors were right, especially in 2021.
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.
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