Jul 17, 2018; Marina del Rey, CA, USA; New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold during the Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards at The Ritz-Carlton. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
A weekend publication from VikingsTerritory, we present to you: the Vikings Nopedy Nopes of the week.
The nopedy nopes are weekly Minnesota Vikings-themed items that we’re not buying. It’s a spin-off of our rumor mill, and we hope you enjoy. Here is the 16th batch of Vikings nopedy nopes in the series’ history.
SI.com’s Conor Orr authored 100 bold NFL predictions this week, and for Darnold, the forecast was a trade out of Minnesota into the lap of a playoff-contending team. Orr wrote, “This will be the season of Sam Darnold. The 2018 No. 3 pick of the Jets will have a short runway as the Minnesota Vikings’ starter before he gets traded before the Nov. 5 deadline to a contender that has an injured starter, paving the way for the J.J. McCarthy era to begin in Minnesota.”
Darnold became a Viking in March after Kirk Cousins bolted to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. He’s expected to start Week 1 for Minnesota, while some believe he could script a 2023 Baker Mayfield tale with all the playmakers at his disposal.
Orr then dropped the juiciest part of his bold Darnold prediction, “Darnold will head back to the AFC and start in a critical late-season game against the Jets, a team that will be teetering on the brink of playoff contention. After playing well in a thrashing of the Jets, the New York Post back page headline will be GHOST STORY.”
This one was designed to be fun and bold, but a Darnold trade shouldn’t realistically be on any Vikings fan’s radar.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
Here’s the clip:
This is fascinating because Thielen plays for the Panthers. However, he’s under contract through the end of 2025, and it doesn’t make much sense for Carolina to cut Thielen this summer. He’d have to join his old team via trade, an unlikely outcome this summer.
Thielen won’t return to the Vikings in 2024, but 2025 is a different story if Carolina cuts ties next March.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
“I expect a Super Bowl,” Bynum told NFL.com this week. “Everybody says that, and everybody should say that. But you look at the guys on the team, you look at the locker room, all the experience we have. Look how much depth we have, especially on the defense. So many guys. It’s almost weird looking around, you’re like, OK how are we all going to get on the field? There’s just so many ballers.”
In the locker room, Minnesota has high hopes, but Minnesota cannot reasonably considered a Super Bowl contender until it determines if J.J. McCarthy is the real deal. We do not believe the Vikings will hoist a Lombardi Trophy this year. This is a season to get McCarthy ready for the bright lights of stardom — hopefully.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
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.