Quiet Vikings Trade Deadline Tells 2 Stories
There are three times in the year that Vikings fans get excited, hopeful, and somewhat frightened. First off, you have free agency. Second, you have the NFL Draft. Finally, it’s the trade deadline.
The Vikings made no moves at the trade deadline — and that silence says plenty. It reveals two clear stories about the team’s direction.
Fans sit and wait with bated breath to see what moves the team will make and whether they’re an immediate boost or a long-term plan. When nothing happens, it can be an absolute frenzy on social media. This always comes in different levels of excitement or anger, depending on what a particular fan is hoping for.
Tuesday was the 2025 trade deadline, and it seemed only fans were speculating on trades for their favorite team in purple.
Why the Vikings’ Silence at Trade Deadline?
Leading up to the trade deadline, the amount of talk about the Vikings equated to deafening silence. Tom Pelissero, Adam Schefter, Ian Rapoport, and other insiders had nothing regarding the Vikings leading up to the deadline, and there were no rumblings of any trade attempts.
The few weeks leading up to it, there were writers for sites like ESPN, etc., that speculated on possible trades or just their guesses that General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might pull off, but there was never anything concrete. It was simply open discussions.
The rest came from fans and bloggers speculating and hoping, based on past patterns and player injuries. When 3 PM Central rolled around on Tuesday, there was nothing about the Vikings. Not even a failed attempt rumor.
Leading up to Tuesday, a few players on the team had been mentioned as possible trade candidates to be shipped out. Most notably, Jordan Addison’s name had been tossed about after a couple of run-ins with the law, the second of which earned him an NFL suspension.
He had barely gotten back on the field from that when he missed a team walkthrough in London and had to sit out the beginning of that game at the order of Head Coach Kevin O’Connell. With his contract a topic of discussion next year, it might have been a good time to part ways and save future cash.
Fans know how good he is and how much better the team is with him on board, but the constant waiting for the other shoe to drop and the team being put in an awkward position were becoming too much to handle. Most felt it would be better to cut ties earlier than later and at least salvage a high-round pick out of him before he got cut outright for another misstep.
Another name was tight end T.J. Hockenson, whom Adofo-Mensah traded for a few years ago. He immediately became a fan favorite and a powerful weapon until a knee injury in 2023 ended his season, and he spent 2024 recovering from it and not really getting in sync with the previous starter quarterback, Sam Darnold.
This year, he has been involved in the blocking scheme more due to injuries on the offensive line, and he has sacrificed passing targets for the betterment of the team. Some felt that his big contract no longer reflects what he used to bring to the table, and to help with next year’s cap, he should be considered trade bait.
Another name whispered more than shouted from the rooftops was Ivan Pace Jr., as he seemed to be struggling this year, while Eric Wilson was shining in Blake Cashman’s absence. Pace actually got benched for a game, which seemed like a message from the staff, only to come back against the Lions this weekend and play to his usual standards. But Tuesday came and went, and they were all still on the roster.
Following the aforementioned insiders all day and watching NFL Network, none of them even mentioned the Vikings. While I’m sure the team had the lines of communication open, there wasn’t anything hardcore to report.
When Sauce Gardner was traded to the Colts, it sent the biggest shockwave through the NFL and Minnesota fan circles. Most feel the team could use one more cornerback to match with Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers to take the defense to the next level. I saw a lot of fans tweeting out, “Why not us?!” Most of that got a bit tempered when his contract numbers were released.
The other wave was the one that didn’t happen: Breece Hall not being traded at all. Many fans thought he would be the perfect piece to add to the backfield and make the offense fully dimensional. Reports indicated the Jets were not moving off a 3rd-round pick for compensation, and the team most associated with Hall was the Chiefs.
The Vikings were never mentioned as being in discussions with the Jets. Either they never were, or they immediately balked at the hard stance and passed it up. Unless more rumors slip out this week—and I’m sure some will — it sounds like the Vikings weren’t hot on anyone’s trail.
Two Thoughts On Why the Vikings Didn’t Trade
With the win over Detroit on Sunday, the Vikings got back to .500. Look at the activity in the last week by the Eagles and today by the Colts. They’re looking to win now and compete against the better teams in their divisions and conference as they make a push to the playoffs.
The Jets, with only one win so far this season, are sellers, and they’re looking at all those first and second-round draft picks they’ve acquired to build a new team and secure a franchise quarterback. The Vikings could have swung either way to help with the immediate future or the present.
Not only was it a win in Detroit, but it was a signature win that usually puts a team in “buying” mode, meaning they look to add pieces to push them over the top. I’m sure the staff wasn’t out playing golf today, and they made and received calls. My guess is that they weren’t sellers unless someone came at them with an offer they couldn’t refuse.
More than that, they don’t need to trade away players because they don’t have depth at the positions I mentioned. Getting rid of Addison or Hockenson hurts them now, and it takes weapons away from J.J. McCarthy, who they’re trying their best to support.
The fact that they didn’t go out and get other pieces may mean the prices for the ones they wanted were too steep. The Vikings not trading for Hall is more than just giving up a 3rd round pick. I’ve already seen fans and bloggers questioning why the Vikings didn’t pull the trigger.
The thing is that the team would also have to sign him to a new contract. He was a 2nd-round pick, which means there isn’t a 5th-year option on him, and this is his fourth year. The teams looking at him probably have talked to their sources to figure out how much they would have to pay a running back of his caliber to keep him past this year.
Otherwise, you’re just renting him and hoping you win it all with his help, and a Super Bowl is worth a 3rd round pick. Since the Vikings are already way over the cap next year, they would have trouble signing him to a new contract that he is definitely worth without cutting major players in the process. If you make that trade, don’t win the Super Bowl, he walks away next year for more money, and you’re out a 3rd-round pick, then it was all for nothing.
Is he better than Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason? Probably, but it’s a high-risk move if it doesn’t work out for a position you’re also not starving at. There’s a bigger issue at the cornerback position, where the starters are already questionable.
Tariq Woolen from the Seahawks has been a name floated around since the offseason, and they didn’t go after him either. He’s in a similar situation contract-wise, so again, it could be a one-year rental and then what? We don’t re-sign him next year, and we’re out another pick, even if it’s a lower one.
Players and agents may not want to go to a team that can’t throw money at them right away, either, and that can shut down a transaction just as fast. No, players don’t want to keep jumping from team to team if they can get paid and settle down in a place where they have a chance to win. Money may be the motivating factor, but stability is what cements it.
Looking Towards The Future
Another school of thought is that you can’t build a team solely through free agency. Teams have to draft well and have the currency to do so.
The Vikings have struggled at times with drafting, and last year, they didn’t have many picks to work with, even though they all made the final roster. Next year, the Vikings have eight picks that could go as high as 10 or 11, depending on the compensatory picks they receive.
Being $36 million over the cap next year could mean they lose players and have to restructure some contracts to keep key pieces. While always a crapshoot, a 3rd round pick could be a key player for years that you can keep on board for a reasonable price. If McCarthy blossoms into an elite quarterback, those are the kind of players and prices the team will need to have to place a good roster around him when his contract blooms as well.
I try to remember it’s never “just a (insert round) rounder” to get a trade accomplished in the NFL. If you don’t look beyond that, you’re right back where you started, or you have a whole new problem to deal with.
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