Vikings Misses and Myths: Justin Jefferson Trade, J.J. McCarthy’s Alter Ego, The Playoff Math
The Minnesota Vikings are slogging through a 5-8 season with four games to go, clinging to the hope they can close strong and show real progress from their rookie quarterback. But when a season unravels as this one has, the orbit fills up with what can only be described as pure “Nopedy Nopes.”
This week’s rundown sifts through the loudest Vikings noise — Jefferson trade talk, overreactions to McCarthy’s “Nine” persona, and unrealistic playoff math — to separate fiction from reality.
Here are this week’s Nopedy Nopes — the myths, misses, and flat-out wrong ideas hovering around this team.
Sorting Through This Week’s Vikings Myths and Misses
It’s the weekly nopey nopes from VikingsTerritory.
The Nopedy Nope: Justin Jefferson will be traded to the San Francisco 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk and some picks.
Kyle Madison from NinersWire wrote last week, “With the potential for a lengthy QB search ahead, it doesn’t seem impossible that the Vikings would look to move Jefferson for the right price.”
“Here’s what we offered in a hypothetical trade: 49ers get: Justin Jefferson. Vikings get: Brandon Aiyuk, 2026 first-round pick, 2026 third-round pick, 2027 second-round pick. The value for the 49ers would be tough to assess because they’re still in the midst of a retooling where restocking their cupboard with young talent is paramount.”
So the proposal is simple: Minnesota gives up the best wide receiver alive and, in return, gets Brandon Aiyuk plus a first, second, and third.
And in this scenario, San Francisco sends Minnesota its injured, frustrating, high-priced receiver as the centerpiece. Aiyuk signed a massive deal in 2024, started last season like he’d rather be anywhere else, got hurt, and hasn’t been back since.
Of course 49ers-centric media want him off the books. The contract is a problem, the availability is a problem, and the production doesn’t justify either. In a way, the whole idea reads like a polite dumping ground: Here you go — please take the guy who isn’t helping us.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on the Vikings taking on injured players for a superstar in Jefferson.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings coaching staff — and even Paul Allen — is not impressed with McCarthy’s “Nine” gimmick.
Paul Allen, the Voice of the Vikings, said this week that McCarthy’s alter ego “sucked.”
He asked O’Connell to speak on that opinion, and O’Connell did. He told Allen that quarterbacking — and McCarthy’s approach to it — comes down to identity.
“You better have confidence, and you better have a comfort in who you are to be in certain roles. I think being the starting quarterback of an NFL team is one of those things. All I’ve asked J.J. to do is just be authentically himself,” O’Connell opined.
Most people interpreted that as a subtle swipe at McCarthy’s Nine alter ego.
O’Connell pressed the point: “I think at times, guys try to — and maybe it is the moment, and if it’s authentic in the moment, fire away, have at it — but we don’t need to exhaust any energy. Our jobs are hard enough already. Trying to be somebody else, or trying to play to some sort of persona, whatever it may be, let’s just go back to work, man. Let’s just go back to work and try to get better every single day.”
He continued, “When we do have moments like Sunday and we can take a step back like J.J. and I were able to do —and I told him, I was proud of him. I was proud of the way from the moment he showed up on Wednesday all the way through to flipping him that game ball afterwards — it just felt like the guy that he can be for us, and it felt like it’s repeatable.”
The head coach’s message couldn’t be clearer: play quarterback, not superhero. Leave Nine in the comics.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on the “Nine” gimmick being an asset.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings can still reach the playoffs.
Here’s the only path Minnesota has left to sneak into the playoffs:
— Vikings win their next four
— Bears lose out
— Lions drop three but beat the Bears
— Panthers lose twice
— Cowboys fall to the Vikings and one more opponent
It’s a miracle scenario, no way around it. Still, the idea of a rejuvenated Vikings squad — McCarthy suddenly hot, rolling into Wild Card Weekend for a road date with the Rams or Packers — has a certain chaotic charm. Nothing to lose.
Fun to imagine. Just don’t expect it to materialize.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on the longest-of-longshots playoff parlay.
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