Vikings Misses and Myths: The CB Trade, an Extra QB, Death of a Popular Rumor
In a given week, many Minnesota Vikings-themed items turn out to be false or simply don’t work out. Accordingly, VikingsTerritory logs them and attaches the “nopedy nope” label.
A look inside the latest Vikings chatter — clearing up myths about a cornerback trade, why another quarterback surfaced, and how a popular rumor finally died.
Plenty of nopedy nopes emerged from trade deadline week, and here’s a look under the hood.
Vikings Nopedy Nopes for Sunday, November 9th, 2025
Didn’t pan out, were wrong, or just awful takes.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings would trade for a cornerback before the Tuesday afternoon deadline.
Before Minnesota pulled off the upset over the Lions, Albert Breer noted that the Vikings were actively shopping for cornerbacks.
“As for buyers, the Vikings and Colts are among a list of teams looking for corners. That market isn’t rich with options, which could make the Rams (McCreary), Browns (Tyson Campbell) and Eagles (Michael Carter II) look smart for striking a little earlier. Indy could also look at adding an edge player, and teams have called to inquire on the Colts’ own surplus of receivers, so a wideout could end up being a chip for them in a trade,” he wrote.
That report landed Friday before the trade deadline and immediately caught fans off guard — mostly because few expected Minnesota to beat Detroit, let alone be in position to buy at the trade deadline. Yet Breer’s note hinted the front office wasn’t ready to fold, even as the market thinned and outside expectations sagged.
Then, Minnesota made no trades, even after beating the Lions. The momentum underwent a bit of a rollercoaster.
Verdict: Nopedy nope on the Vikings landing more cornerback depth via trade.
The Nopedy Nope: Minnesota scoured the league for an extra veteran quarterback via trade.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter floated the idea that Minnesota could be in the market for a quarterback before the trade deadline, but Kevin O’Connell didn’t sound sold on that notion Monday.
“To have that third guy, John Wolford, in there with Josh and Jordan, I feel pretty comfortable with that room right now,” he told media members.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert echoed the sentiment: “Asked if he is interested in adding a veteran QB at the trade deadline, Kevin O’Connell says he’s feeling pretty comfortable with the QB group right now. Talked extensively about John Wolford, signed to the practice squad last week. Said they hope to get him onto the 53.”
That didn’t sound like a coach preparing to call around for another veteran — no Russell Wilson, no Kirk Cousins reunion chatter. It sounds like a staff content to roll with what it already has.
The trade deadline then passed, and as mentioned above, the team conducted no deals. O’Connell told the truth about his QB3 trust in Wolford.
Verdict: Nopedy nope on an oft-mentioned quarterback trade.
The Nopedy Nope: Kirk Cousins was a trade option for Minnesota over the last few weeks.
As the NFL trade deadline came and went, attention shifted toward the few big names actually on the move — Sauce Gardner heading to the Colts and Quinnen Williams landing with the Cowboys.
At quarterback, Kirk Cousins was the headline act, with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston loosely following behind. But when the dust settled, all three stayed put. What was supposed to be a frantic quarterback market ended up quiet — almost anticlimactic.
For Minnesota, it was never really on the table anyway. The team believes in J.J. McCarthy both now and for the future, and financially, a Cousins reunion made zero sense. The 37-year-old is making $45 million a year to sit on Atlanta’s bench, with a staggering $57.5 million cap hit looming in both 2026 and 2027.
Even if another team could stomach that price tag, the Vikings couldn’t. After their competitive rebuild from 2022 through 2024, the books are tight. There was never any room for a splashy Cousins trade — nor any appetite for one.
Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have been consistent: McCarthy is their guy. They’ve said it for months, and when he returned healthy last week, their actions backed it up. He’s QB1. Cousins isn’t.
Pulling off a trade for an aging quarterback on a massive deal would’ve felt like something from a bygone era — a panic move that forward-looking franchises don’t make after one rough outing. That isn’t this regime’s modus operandi.
Verdict: Nopedy on a Kirk Cousins trade. It never made sense.
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