Purple Rumor Mill: The Most Likely Playoff Opponent, New Team in Darnold Sweepstakes, the Vikings’ Weakness
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the December 29th edition.
Purple Rumor Mill: The Most Likely Playoff Opponent, New Team in Darnold Sweepstakes, the Vikings’ Weakness
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 second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: If Minnesota doesn’t earn homefield advantage, the most likely playoff opponent in Round 1 is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is Tampa Bay’s remaining schedule:
- vs. Carolina Panthers
- vs. New Orleans Saints
If Tampa wins both of those games — they should — while the Falcons lose at the Washington Commanders this week and the Vikings lose one more regular season game, it would be Vikings at Buccaneers in the Wildcard Round.
By the math, this is the likeliest scenario as of Christmas Eve.
Rumor: The Cleveland Browns could be a free-agent suitor for Sam Darnold.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot claimed this week that the Cleveland Browns should not be ruled out as a Darnold landing spot. She published a mailbag article this week, and one reader asked about Darnold in Cleveland.
Cabot replied, “If the Vikings are willing to part with Sam Darnold, who’s led the team to a 12-2 record this season, he’s certainly the kind of veteran the Browns would be looking for in 2025 — someone who could come in and win for them right away. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has done a phenomenal job with him, and of course it helps to have a premier receiver such as Justin Jefferson catching 80 passes and eight touchdowns for you.”
Darnold is on track to tabulate about 4,300 passing yards and 38 touchdowns by season’s end in 2025.
“If the Browns could get their hands on a QB like that who’s still in the prime of his career at age 27, it would be the ideal situation for next season. With Vikings’ first-round pick J.J. McCarthy due back from his torn meniscus, Darnold could become available, and the Browns would undoubtedly explore him,” Cabot added.
The Browns’ long-term QB1, Deshaun Watson, was scheduled to post a $72.5 million cap number to Cleveland’s books next season, but he and the Browns’ front office renegotiated the deal on Friday. So, it would still be tricky per dollars and cents, but Darnold to Cleveland could perhaps work.
Rumor: The Vikings’ top weakness is taking too many sacks on offense.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell basically claimed that quarterback Sam Darnold holds the football too long, a sentiment many Vikings fans would agree with because, well, Darnold does hold the ball too excessively at times.
“The difference is what’s missing from passer rating and yards per attempt: sacks. Darnold has been very good, but in addition to the occasional rash of interceptions, the one issue he has battled is taking too many sacks. His 8.5% sack rate ranks 30th. The only regulars who have run higher sack rates than Darnold are Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams,” Barnwell explained after Week 16 when the Vikings toppled the Seattle Seahawks on the road.
Barnwell called “taking sacks” the Vikings’ top weakness.
“Those sacks aren’t impossible to overcome, but they’re essentially dream-enders for Minnesota’s offense. When Darnold doesn’t take a sack during a drive, the Vikings score touchdowns 31% of the time. Add even one sack to the mix and Minnesota’s touchdown rate drops below 5%. The Vikings have scored only two touchdowns across 42 possessions with at least one Darnold sack, and they each had weird circumstances,” Barnwell added.
All purple fans would sleep easier if Darnold got rid of the rock a bit quicker, indeed.
Adam Schefter Has Cryptic Prediction for Sam Darnold
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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