Vikings Casually Linked to Blockbuster Trade
The Dallas Cowboys aren’t playing nice with three-time All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons.
The Vikings have been casually floated in connection with a potential blockbuster swap involving a three-time All-Pro. Here’s what’s fueling the fodder.
The two parties evidently cannot agree to a contract extension, as the Cowboys reportedly wish to bypass Parsons’ agent, which is unfathomable in the NFL.
Parsons recently requested a trade, so the internet has popped off with landing spots for the 26-year-old. And yes — the Vikings have been mentioned a couple of times.
Micah Parsons Requests Trade
Some think Minnesota would check some boxes as his next employer.
Yes, Some Believe in Micah Parsons to the Vikings
Let’s start with a stark disclaimer: the likelihood of Minnesota pulling off a trade with Dallas for Parsons, the team that infamously robbed Minnesota in the Herschel Walker trade about 35 years ago, is low. Really, really low.
Still, the world is intrigued by it. The Athletic‘s Ted Nguyen tweeted last week, “Micah Parsons to the Vikings would be cinema.”
Other usual suspects, like Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, got in on the fun, too.
Florio recently remarked, “The obvious candidates are the Bills and the Ravens. Both want to get past the Chiefs. Parsons could help make that happen. The Broncos become an interesting option, too. Ownership has the money to make it happen. And getting Parsons would thrust Denver into the upper echelon of the AFC.”
“The Cowboys probably wouldn’t trade Parsons in the conference — and definitely not in the division. He’d be a major factor for the Lions, but they still have to pay Aidan Hutchinson. And Parsons would be a fascinating chess piece in the Brian Flores defense in Minnesota. Parsons is one of the best defensive players in football. He’s on the front end of his prime.”
The mentions are notable, as not every NFL team has been linked to Parsons. Mainly contenders over the last few days.
An Astronomical Price
Of course, Minnesota would have to pay a godforsaken price for Parsons. Some consider him a Top 3 player in all of the land, and that’s not far off from accuracy.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, like other executives, would have to dust off their godfather packages, likely needing at least two 1st-Round picks and perhaps a player for Parsons’ services.
For example, a Minnesota-Dallas deal for Parsons might look something like this:
Minnesota Receives:
— Micah Parsons
— 2026 2nd-Rounder
— 2027 4th-Rounder
Dallas Receives:
— Dallas Turner
— 2026 1st-Rounder
— 2027 1st-Rounder
Just speculative on that idea. Trades are an inexact science.
Vikings OLBs if So
If Adofo-Mensah did pull the trigger and somehow kept Turner in the cabinet, the purple OLB room would showcase devastating talent and depth:
- Micah Parsons
- Jonathan Greenard
- Andrew Van Ginkel
- Dallas Turner
- Bo Richter
There’s an oft-mentioned saying in the NFL: “You can never have too many pass rushers.” The hypothetical deal for Parsons to Minnesota would stretch that slogan to its outermost limit, especially financially.
A Trade Unlikely on the Whole
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who is partially responsible for Parsons’ trade request, appeared to indicate that he is personally bluffing last weekend.
He told ESPN: “It seems like that we forget that it’s been less than a year and I paid the highest that’s been paid in the NFL to Dak and I paid a big price for Lamb. Anybody that says I’m not interested in financially rewarding my players hasn’t been looking at the tea leaves. So there’s always negotiation, and the negotiation is to put the best team on the field. And many times it’s not even a question of ‘deserving.'”
“I enjoy Micah. But as always in any relationships there’s different moods at different times of your relationship. That’s what it is. Don’t lose any sleep over it. That’s the one thing I would say to our fans, ‘Don’t lose any sleep over it.'”
The odds of Jones letting Parsons slip away over a dumb contract dispute are teensy. Both sides will come to their senses, particularly if Jones lets Parsons’ agent do his job.
The Bengals as a Fascinating Option
The Ringer sized up landing spots for Parsons, and among six destinations, Steven Ruiz listed the Cincinnati Bengals as a wise landing spot.
Ruiz argued, “While this trade would never happen, it would provide a convenient resolution for both franchises and the players involved. The Bengals are reluctant to pay a premium on an extension for a pass rusher on the wrong side of 30.”
“The Cowboys are reluctant to reset the edge rusher market, which will be required for securing Parsons’s signature. Hendrickson has been just as productive as Parsons and would presumably accept a more modest deal than the Cowboys star is seeking.”
The trade price for Cincinnati, per The Ringer? A 1st-Round pick and EDGE Trey Hendrickson.
Ruiz continued, “If Cincinnati throws in a first-round pick, Jerry could easily spin this as a win for Dallas — in his own mind, at least.”
“The last thing Bengals owner Mike Brown needs is another high-profile contract negotiation, but if he wants to beat the cheapskate allegations and show his increasingly vocal franchise quarterback that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to support Burrow’s quest for a ring, trading for and then paying top money to a defense-altering star like Parsons might do the trick. Again, this trade would never happen, but it might be the fairest swap I’ve proposed in this exercise.”
Parsons to Minnesota is unlikely to materialize, mainly because Dallas will discontinue hardball before too long. But let it be known that the world has some degree of intrigue in seeing the man in purple and gold.
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