The Top 25 Most Weird and Wild Moments of Vikings 2024 Season
The Minnesota Vikings capped a fairly successful 2024 campaign about three weeks ago, winning 14 games and coming within inches of taking the NFC North.
The Top 25 Most Weird and Wild Moments of Vikings 2024 Season
The ride was beset by many peaks, a few valleys, and several oddities, so let’s re-live 25 of them. The weirdness is ranked in ascending order, so the weirdest item is at the bottom of the article.
25. Vikings Lose to Lions and Rams — and Lions and Rams Again. The Only Losses.
The Vikings had four losses in 2024, and then that was it:
Week 7: Loss to Lions
Week 8: Loss to Rams
Week 18: Loss to Lions
Playoffs: Loss to Rams
For those who enjoy symmetry, you were in luck.
24. Sam Darnold Nominated for Comeback Player of the Year after NFL Said “Don’t”
Senior AP writer Rob Maaddi clarified the CPOTY rules in October.
“Vikings QB Sam Darnold probably would’ve been a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year award before the AP issued guidance to voters before the season, instructing them that ‘the spirit of the award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.’ If he keeps playing at this level, Darnold could end up with another award: Most Valuable Player,” Maaddi explained on the website formerly known as Twitter.
And then Darnold was nominated for the award anyway in January.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
23. ESPN Claims Vikings Signed Cam Akers. But They Didn’t
ESPN claimed Cam Akers signed with the Vikings in July, pending a physical.
The problem? That never happened.
22. ESPN Predicts the Vikings Would Finish with NFL’s Worst Record
ESPN’s Seth Walder predicted Minnesota would end up with next year’s first overall pick, a bittersweet prediction for a squad that lost its rookie quarterback to a torn meniscus in August.
“There was hope, back in the halcyon days of September, that quarterback Sam Darnold would finally figure it out after spending the 2023 season with Kyle Shanahan before playing in Kevin O’Connell’s scheme in 2024,” Walder wrote. “How naïve we were. Darnold did not, in fact, figure it out. The Minnesota Vikings’ offense crumbled while the rest of the league came up with adjustments to defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ relentless blitzes. The result? A paltry four-win season.”
Minnesota won 14 games in 2024.
21. Fans Boo the Hell Out of Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins returned to U.S. Bank Stadium in December, and his team lost to the Vikings 42-21.
Heading into the game, fans claimed they would vociferously boo Cousins because “that’s what we do toward former players who are now the enemy.”
The only caveat is that Minnesotans certainly did not boo Stefon Diggs two months earlier, nor did they give Karl-Anthony Towns that treatment at Target Center in December. They made up the story as cover to boo Cousins.
And boo, they did.
20. Vikings Trade for Cam Akers in 2 Straight Seasons
In October, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded a late-round draft pick to the Houston Texans for Cam Akers less than one year after trading for Akers with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Vikings cannot quit Akers.
19. Stefon Diggs Says Vikings Traded Him to Bills Out of Malice
Diggs sat down for an interview with SI.com in June and, among other topics, discussed the trade that sent him from Minnesota to Buffalo in 2020. He said the Vikings “sent me to Buffalo, and I don’t know if they sent me to Buffalo with the kindest intent, but all’s well that ends well. When I got to Buffalo, Josh was my guy. People really understand what it’s like to be out there. He really embraced me, kind of had that Southern hospitality.”
Buffalo ended up as a sure-fire Super Bowl contender, so Minnesota sending him there without the “kindest intent” was a little strange.
18. Allegedly Wanting to Trade Up for Malik Nabers
Per the Pioneer Press and Pro Football Talk, Minnesota was in the mix for Malik Nabers last April. “Pssst. There was buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a quarterback but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was picked No. 6 by the Giants. Had that trade occurred, Jefferson would have been traded and Nabers would have been the No. 1 receiver,” Charley Walters wrote in May.
Bizarre all around.
17. The Near-Collapse at Soldier Field
Minnesota almost collapsed at Soldier Field in November, possessing a 27-16 lead with 1:56 left in the 4th Quarter.
The game later went to overtime, where the Vikings prevailed, but it wasn’t without real anxiety that the Bears could’ve scored a wild comeback. Thanks to Sam Darnold and replacement kicker Parker Romo, Minnesota won in overtime 30-27.
16. Vikings Basically Swap Danielle Hunter for Jonathan Greenard
Adofo-Mensah signed Jonathan Greenard in March as his keynote free-agent addition on defense, and the Houston Texans turned around and signed former Viking Danielle Hunter.
Both men posted eerily similar stats and reached the Pro Bowl. Hunter was more expensive, however.
15. Vikings Start Season 5-0 — When Most Expected 1-4 or 2-3
If one would’ve polled most fans before the start of the regular season, they would’ve predicted a 1-4 or 2-3 start.
Instead, the Vikings started 5-0, toppling a schedule most considered brutal.
14. Vikings Trade Mini-Version of the Farm for Dallas Turner
Minnesota sent the 23rd overall pick and the 167th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, in addition to a 2025 3rd-Rounder and 2024 4th-Rounder, to the Jaguars for the draft pick that netted Dallas Turner.
Most thought the Vikings would conduct a splashy trade for a quarterback, but instead, they didn’t have to trade much to get McCarthy.
But per draft capital, Turner was quite expensive.
13. Tua Tagovailoa Calls Brian Flores a “Horrible Person”
Tagovailoa spoke with The Dan LeBatard Show in August and claimed Brian Flores, his head coach in 2020 and 2021, was awful for his development, a stark contrast from current Dolphins skipper Mike McDaniel.
“To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven’t earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for this,” Tagovailoa told the show’s hosts, implicating Flores as the culprit. “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other, you see what I’m saying?”
“And then you hear it, no matter what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to believe that. I don’t care who you are. You could be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things that you don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start believing that about yourself,” Tagovailoa continued his scathing critique of Flores. “And so that’s what sort of ended up happening. It was, it’s basically been what two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of guys as well that have been here my rookie year all the way until now.”
Flores later accepted accountability when asked about his former quarterback’s accusations and wished Tagovailoa the best.
12. Playoff Game Moved to Arizona Because of Wildfires
Wildfires forced the Vikings’ playoff game with the Rams to be relocated easterly. The clubs played at the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium, which later felt like a telethon at times for the tragedy beset on Southern California.
11. Lions Fans Reportedly Harass Vikings Players’ Wives
In addition to losing the NFC North and No. 1 overall seed throughout the postseason, the Minnesota Vikings allegedly encountered another misfortune at Detroit in Week 18 — opposing fans’ treatment of players’ wives.
Dalton Risner’s wife, Whitney, led the charge, detailing rude behavior from Lions fans as she watched her husband’s team lose at Ford Field.
“Little did I know that I would be heckled, touched, and called names at last night’s game by Detroit Fans. (Simply for being a Vikings fan),” she posted on social media.
Whitney Risner wasn’t alone, either.
Blake Cashman’s wife, Taylor, added in response to a Lions fan on TikTok who claimed the fan base was not guilty: “Wishing injuries on the opposing team’s players ain’t the vibe, babe.”
Some Lions fans on X stated that this behavior happens at every NFL stadium, which is false.
10. The “Kevin O’Connell to Bears” Trade Theory
Here’s the tweet:
Nothing ever came of it.
9. The Wilfs Buy Lions Tickets at Market Value … and Sell to Vikings Fans for Face Value
Heading into Week 18, tickets to Lions-Vikings — for control of the NFC North and homefield advantage throughout the postseason — cost about $1,200-$1,500 a piece in Ford Field’s lower bowl.
As a gesture of goodwill, the Vikings owners bought over 1,000 tickets for Vikings season ticket holders and sold them for $200-$300 a pop.
Just because.
8. Mekhi Blackmon Lost for the Season Right Away at Training Camp
Vikings training camp began in late July, and immediately, second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL, canceling his entire 2024 campaign.
Minnesota later signed Stephon Gilmore as a temporary replacement.
7. Jay Glazer Breaks Kevin O’Connell Trade Rumors Hours before Week 18
On the morning of the Vikings winner-take-all Week 18 for homefield advantage in the playoffs, FOX Sports Jay Glazer claimed multiple teams wanted to trade for O’Connell, with the league’s coaching carousel right around the bend.
Glazer said multiple teams were calling about O’Connell, even if the young skipper wasn’t for sale. Coach trades are rare in the business, although the Denver Broncos acquired Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints in 2023 for a considerable haul, including a 1st-Round draft pick.
“There’s one candidate out there that’s going to surprise you all, that no one knows is on lists, and he is. There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O’Connell,” Glazer said.
“Maybe the Vikings don’t let it happen. But also Kevin O’Connell kind of has the card saying, ‘Hey, listen, I’m not going to re-sign there so you might as well get something for me’. Now, I don’t know because, obviously, I don’t think Kevin knows about this right now. But there are multiple teams who have them on that board to say, ‘Let’s at least try and see if we can trade,” Glazer added.
The Vikings extended O’Connell two weeks later, and no trades materialized.
6. Sam Darnold Faceplants in Final 2 Games
Darnold delivered 36 total touchdowns in the first 16 games of the season. Then, with the lights brightest, he fired up two stinkers, ending Minnesota’s once-promising season.
The team saved its worst two performances for when it mattered the most.
5. Jordan Addison Arrested for DUI
On July 12th, Addison was arrested near Los Angeles International Airport for suspicion of DUI while asleep in his Rolls-Royce that blocked a lane of freeway traffic. According to Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, alcohol was indeed a factor in Addison’s arrest. “Addison was charged on July 31 with driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with blood-alcohol content over California’s legal limit of .08 percent, after officers found him asleep behind the wheel of a white Rolls-Royce blocking lanes of a highway near the airport,” Goessling wrote in August.
The legal matter is ongoing, and Addison could serve a three-game suspension in 2025.
4. Christian Darrisaw Tears His ACL
In Week 8, Darrisaw tore his ACL in a loss at the Rams, ending his season like teammate Mekhi Blackmon three months prior.
It was a major blow to a team hoping to make a Super Bowl push, so Adofo-Mensah traded for left tackle Cam Robinson a few days later.
3. Randy Moss Diagnosed with Bile Duct Cancer (That He Beat?)
Randy Moss revealed a bile duct cancer diagnosis in mid-December and also claimed he had survived. “I am a cancer survivor. Some trying times, but we made it through,” Moss said in an Instagram video.
The Vikings paid tribute to Moss by carrying his jersey to midfield during the coin toss the following weekend.
2. J.J. McCarthy Tears Meniscus — in First Preseason Game
McCarthy bedazzled fans in his first-ever showing, a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The rookie showed off a little bit of everything, instilling confidence in onlookers that Minnesota had drafted the right guy.
About three days later, Minnesota revealed he tore his meniscus, and McCarthy missed his entire rookie season. He became the first quarterback in NFL history drafted in the Top 10 to miss his whole first year due to injury.
1. Khyree Jackson Passes Away
Ending the list on a somber note, Khyree Jackson died in a car accident on July 6, 2024, in Maryland.
The Vikings paid homage to Jackson throughout the 2024 season, wearing a “KJ” patch on their jerseys and leaving the No. 31 unworn.
Jackson was 24.
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.
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