The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason will take the next significant turn in two weeks when free agency gets underway.
The franchise has over $60 million to spend on free agents, its most in eons. The 2025 NFL Draft is six weeks after that.
The 4 Strangest Vikings Offseason Ideas to Date
And, like most Vikings offseasons, some strange theories have emerged, almost exclusively involving the quarterback position.
So, for your at-home scorecards, these are the strangest offseason ideas to date for the purple team.
4. Matthew Stafford to Minnesota for a 1st-Rounder
Thanks to CBS Sports, in an article outlining Stafford trade packages, Minnesota could hand the Rams its 24th overall pick in exchange for Stafford.
“This is a much more straightforward deal for Stafford, which would land him with the Minnesota Vikings. First off, this truly centers around the Vikings’ desire to retain Sam Darnold (who faltered down the stretch) and confidence in J.J. McCarthy. If they want to improve their quarterback play from Darnold and still believe McCarthy needs more time to develop, Stafford gives the Vikings a high ceiling for at least the next two seasons,” Tyler Sullivan wrote last week.
“If they think McCarthy is ready to ascend to QB1, however, or decide to stick with Darnold either via the franchise tag or an extension, that blocks this landing spot for Stafford.”
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will not spend his 1st-Rounder on a 37-year-old quarterback after drafting J.J. McCarthy, a 21-year-old at the time, less than a year ago.
It’s worth noting that Sullivan’s theory, generally speaking, isn’t standalone. Several media outlets have whispered about Stafford to Minnesota because of the Kevin O’Connell connection (Rams, 2021).
3. January Kevin O’Connell Trade Fodder
ProFootballTalk.com‘s Mike Florio, relying on a Week 18 report from Jay Glazer that claimed other NFL teams could trade for O’Connell, mentioned “tension” between O’Connell and the Vikings brass to start the offseason.
“The Week 18 Sunday Splash! report from Jay Glazer that multiple teams are interested in trading for O’Connell wasn’t idle talk. There’s tension in the relationship, stemming largely from the fact that he didn’t get an extension after his second season. Now that he’s one year away from free agency, he could be willing to let it ride, if necessary, and hit the market,” Florio wrote last month.
Florio also explained a reason behind the alleged beef: “Beyond money, O’Connell could be looking for more say in roster construction. For better alignment with the General Manager. For a situation where he’ll have more of what he needs to put together a team that can both get to the playoffs and win when the postseason arrives. If there’s an impasse, the Vikings will have to choose between one more year and no compensation on the back end and listening to the teams that might be calling about O’Connell.”
O’Connell signed his extension a few days after the Florio reporting, so if there was beef, it was the most diminutive version conceivable.
2. Aaron Rodgers to Minnesota
Aaron Rodgers, like Brett Favre in the 2000s, has a choice between retirement — he’s 41 — and signing with another quarterback-needy team. The Jets informed him that he won’t be a 2025 option.
According to SI.com, Rodgers could reasonably be a quarterback solution for the Vikings in 2025, even if the purple team has rookie passer J.J. McCarthy waiting to take over.
“It’s not difficult to figure out where Rodgers would look to land if he escaped from New York: Just simply rule out non-contenders or teams already set at QB. Once you’ve done that, two teams come into plain view: the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers,” SI.com’s Colin Keane wrote last month.
Keane continued, “With Vikings future star J.J. McCarthy still just 21 years old (plus recovering from a major injury), Rodgers could be the perfect guy to join the Vikings and keep the wins coming for their competitive roster, all the while serving as a mentor for the heir apparent McCarthy. It would be a full circle moment for Rodgers, and a fitting way to finish off his career.”
The Vikings won’t hop on board with a 41-year-old Rodgers when a 22-year-old McCarthy is ready to lead the enterprise.
1. Trading J.J. McCarthy
Screwy trade scenarios involving J.J. McCarthy have circulated the world wide web in the last two months.
Some say Minnesota should trade him to the Cleveland Browns for Deshaun Watson and Myles Garrett. Others envision the Las Vegas Raiders as a potential trade partner.
And last week, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz claimed, as a bold move, that Minnesota should extend Sam Darnold’s deal for the long term while trading McCarthy.
These ideas are only present because Sam Darnold mostly played well in 2024, but anything about trading McCarthy is simply ridiculous. Minnesota doesn’t view McCarthy as some risky asset. He is their guy.
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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. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings 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.