Purple Rumor Mill: Adam Thielen Reunion, the Justin Herbert Revelation, a New RB for Vikings
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s Vikings rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the July 27th edition.
Purple Rumor Mill: Adam Thielen Reunion, the Justin Herbert Revelation, a New RB
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the purple team, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the first batch of the week. All past rumors can be read here.
Rumor: An Adam Thielen + Vikings reunion in 2024 actually makes sense.
Thielen has worked out with Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy a couple of times and has joined KFAN to sing the youngster’s praises. Of course, the hubbub has led some fans to believe a reunion could be on the way, even if Thielen is under contract in Carolina for two more seasons.
Well, Thielen-to-Minnesota truthers received a bit of a boost last week thanks to Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, who joined KFAN to chat about Thielen, among other topics. “Adam Thielen is still under contract in Carolina, but he’s been working out with J.J. McCarthy. And if he ends up getting cut in Carolina, I guess I wouldn’t be stunned by that. I mean, it certainly would make some sense for him to come back,” Goessling said.
Carolina added two notable receivers this offseason: Diontae Johnson from free agency and rookie Xavier Legette from Round 1 of April’s draft. That may cut into Thielen’s workload, and there’s a small chance he could be the odd man out via roster cuts next month.
If he hits the open market at all, it would make all the sense in the world for Thielen to reunite with the Vikings, especially because the club doesn’t have a clear-cut WR3.
Rumor: The Vikings inquired about Justin Herbert’s trade price with the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert recently wrote an article about Kirk Cousins’ exit from the Twin Cities and tucked inside the publication was a nugget about Herbert.
“ESPN spent the offseason tracking the Vikings’ quarterback transition, one that took them through intense negotiations with Cousins, included a check-in on the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the acquisition of a second first-round pick that ultimately helped secure Turner rather than McCarthy,” Seifert wrote. “It featured a set of five private workouts around the country, one big surprise and the first top-10 quarterback pick in team history (Daunte Culpepper was No. 11 in 1999).”
Herbert wasn’t for sale, but Minnesota did the diligence — a fascinating retrospective revelation about the purple team’s offseason.
Rumor: Minnesota could end up signing former Golden Gopher star Mohamed Ibrahim.
Minnesota could be interested in former Golden Gophers standout running back Mohamed Ibrahim, according to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson. He said on SKOR North this week, “Heck, maybe end up signing Mohamed Ibrahim, who apparently they’ve kicked the tires on.”
Earlier this week, Cam Akers landed in Houston with the Texans after a few weeks of speculation that Akers could return to the Vikings or already be on the roster pending a physical. No luck — Akers is a Texan, at least through the end of summer.
Ibrahim to Minnesota would make sense for depth, but it’s unclear if he’s an upgrade over Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride, or Myles Gaskin. He has zero rushing attempts in his NFL career.
Otherwise, free agents like Kareem Hunt, Darrell Henderson, and Latavius Murray, for example, remain available on the open market.
A Weird Twist at Vikings Training Camp
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 Vikings 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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