Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) warms up before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
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 November 2nd edition.
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.
Addison uploaded a photo of himself to Instagram last weekend with a “FREE 3” caption, his slogan since his collegiate days at the University of Pittsburgh.
Folks thought “FREE 3” meant he wanted to be freed from the Vikings organization via trade. But that was incorrect.
“People just try to make something out of anything. It ain’t nothing,” Addison said via ESPN this week.
Because Vikings fans are familiar with sly WR tweets courtesy of the Stefon Diggs era, many pounced on the harmless Instagram post to announce Addison’s discontent.
Addison added, “I think I came up with that in 2020 fall camp at Pittsburgh. So that’s where that started. People got to do their homework before they start saying stuff.”
Addison won’t be traded, and the “FREE 3 caption” wasn’t a sign of vexation. It’s his personal motto.
According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, McCarthy’s recovery is progressing well, a wonderful omen for 2025 and beyond. “Rookie first-rounder J.J. McCarthy was part of the team’s traveling party for the first time,” Breer wrote Monday.
“He went out to dinner in L.A. with the quarterbacks Wednesday night and was on the headset on the sideline Thursday night. He’ll be with the team going forward, but most of his focus is still on rehab. He’s building strength back now and isn’t yet at the point where it’s 50-50 rehab-to-football work, but he’s getting there.
The Vikings drafted McCarthy six months ago with the 10th overall pick, nominating the Michigan alumnus as the quarterback of the future after Kirk Cousins skedaddled to the Atlanta Falcons in March. McCarthy looked the part in every way, shape, and form in May, June, July, and August — and then tore his meniscus during the first preseason game.
“McCarthy’s done a lot of rehab while his teammates are on the practice field, has participated in meetings and has a one-on-one meeting once a week with O’Connell,” Breer added.
Everything is going well for future QB1.
The Draft Network’s Justin Melo recently linked DT Deone Walker of Kentucky to the Vikings in a mock draft: “Deone Walker is extremely light on his feet for a 6-foot-6, 345-pound interior defender. Vikings DC Brian Flores is overseeing an outstanding defense this season, but it would be even better with a quick-footed gap penetrator up the middle.”
And Pro Football Focus mock drafted cornerback Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame to Minnesota this week, and Trevor Sikkiema explained: “Benjamin Morrison is going to miss the rest of 2024 but was playing excellent football over the past year and a half prior to his injury. The 6-foot, 190-pound inside-out cornerback projects as a late-first to early second-round pick.”
It sounds like DT and CB will be the top team needs in 2025, at least per the draft community’s estimation.
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.