Purple Rumor Mill: The Dalton Risner Snag, QB1 Odds, Tyler Boyd
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 May 4th edition.
Purple Rumor Mill: The Dalton Risner Snag, QB1 Odds, Tyler Boyd
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the Vikings, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the first batch of the week.
Rumor: Dalton Risner’s asking price is too spendy for the Vikings.
According to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, money is indeed the sticking point for Minnesota’s front office and Risner’s free agency. Lewis wrote this week, “Until free agent Dalton Risner lowers his monetary ask (he recently switched agents to Drew Rosenhaus, with whom the Vikings have a great relationship), it’s difficult to see a path toward his return.”
Risner’s price demands are unclear, but they must be significantly higher than his September addition to Minnesota’s roster last year.
“Otherwise, Minnesota could turn to Brandel at left guard. The coaching staff has raved about him for a couple of years, but he does not have much experience. His $3.1 million fully guaranteed deal is a signal of that belief, and it helps that Minnesota drafted Jurgens in the event of an injury on the interior,” Lewis added.
Risner could return to Minnesota, but we believe that ship has sailed.
Rumor: Remarkably, J.J. McCarthy has +150 odds to start Week 1 for Minnesota.
J.J. McCarthy currently has +150 odds to be the Week 1 starter for Minnesota, which is about twice as likely as the Denver Nuggets (+280) winning the NBA Championship in June, if that can be believed.
Perhaps this is Vegas’ way of cashing in on right-after-draft McCarthy momentum. After all, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said about McCarthy’s upcoming development last week, “A lot of times when we go back over history and say, ‘These quarterbacks have missed,’ there’s a lot of hands that are dirty in that regard. And we’re going to make sure that our hands are clean and give him the best opportunity he can to be the best player he can be in this offense.”
Fans can cross fingers over McCarthy starting right away, but it’s extremely unlikely.
Rumor: Tyler Boyd could become a Viking before too long.
Vikings Central tweeted Monday, two days after the draft, “Sources: Vikings and free agent WR Tyler Boyd have mutual interest and negotiations are ongoing. Minnesota didn’t select a pass catcher in the draft and are looking to add a reliable weapon to go along with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.”
Two days later, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted, “Free agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd was in Los Angeles this week to meet with the Chargers and will also head to the Titans later this week, per source, Market should heat up for Boyd, who has 513 catches for 6,000 yards over eight seasons in Cincinnati.”
Too, some more Titans-themed voices tweeted Thursday that Boyd’s would-be deal in Tennessee is close to done. Tommy R. Callahan III posted on X, “Tyler Boyd is expected to reach an agreement with the Tennessee Titans, per source. Boyd’s projected contract is 2 year/$15.8M. Tennessee will have nearly 23M remaining in cap space, top 10 across the NFL.”
So, this one is all over the place, and we don’t believe Minnesota is hot on Boyd’s trail.
Vikings Soar in NFL.com Power Rankings
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 MIN 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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.