Vikings Will Win Super Bowl, Says One Starter
Wipe that smile off your face. He isn’t kidding.
Vikings Will Win Super Bowl, Says One Starter
Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum expects his team to win the Super Bowl in 2024, an achievement the Vikings have not accomplished in 58 previous tries.
Of course, according to sportsbooks, Minnesota is only forecasted to win about seven games, but don’t tell that to Bynum, who enters Year No. 4 in Minnesota this September.
“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.”
The Vikings have the eighth-worst odds to win Super Bowl LIX next February, assigned a +8,000 moneyline by oddsmakers, territory shared with the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints.
Bynum added, “You look at the offense. There’s a baller at every position when you look across the whole board. That’s why I’m confident when I say I expect us to be a Super Bowl team. But really, our preparation has to tell it all. You say that every year. Every team says that every year, but we have to put all these names and everything. We have to make it real.”
Even Vikings fans don’t envision 2024 as the year for the Promised Land, mainly because of quarterback-themed unknowns. Kirk Cousins departed for the Atlanta Falcons in March, Minnesota signed Sam Darnold 12 hours later, and the general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted J.J. McCarthy in April. Without knowing if Darnold can take off inside the Vikings’ offense, along with McCarthy’s unrevealed translation to the pros, hardly anyone is picking Minnesota to win the chip, at least not this year.
Except Bynum.
Bynum blossomed in 2023 with the help of new defensive coordinator Brian Flores in charge. He’s even eligible for an extension. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson said on SKOR North earlier this month, “I did talk with Cam Bynum about a potential contract extension … my sense is there is mutual interest on getting an extension done whether it’s right before training camp / late July… or before the opener before the New York Giants.”
As a rookie in 2021, Bynum flourished in relief of Harrison Smith for a few games, so much so that his trajectory as a sophomore in 2022 soared, at least per offseason outlook. Then, Minnesota cut ties with Mike Zimmer, hired Kevin O’Connell as head coach, and O’Connell onboarded Ed Donatell as his defensive bossman in 2022. The Donatell experiment didn’t fare well, lasting just one season before Flores took over in 2023. In 2022, Bynum’s second campaign, he struggled to catch fire in Donatell’s defense, like many defenders that season. Bynum was a fringe roster-cut candidate last summer, though the theory never took hold too seriously.
Bynum later arrived to the 2023 season — producing a 73.2 Pro Football Focus grade and commanding a bit of Pro Bowl attention. He didn’t get the nod from voters, but his performance nibbled at the honor.
And the man isn’t short on confidence. Thinking the Vikings can realistically win the Super Bowl in 2024 is one of the boldest offseason takes to date.
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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 Vikings 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.
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