Vikings Nopedy Nopes: Bizarre O’Connell Theories, Trading J.J. McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers
A weekend publication from VikingsTerritory, we present to you: the Vikings Nopedy Nopes of the week.
Vikings Nopedy Nopes: Bizarre O’Connell Theories, Trading J.J. McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers
The nopedy nopes are weekly Minnesota Vikings-themed items that we’re not buying. It’s a spin-off of our rumor mill, and we hope you enjoy. Here is the 45th batch of Vikings nopedy nopes in the series’ history.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings owners and Kevin O’Connell had tension before signing a long-term extension.
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 strike strife between and the Vikings’ brass.
“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 Wednesday.
“Yes, it rarely happens. Sure, there’s much more than a whiff of collusion when it comes to the NFL and coaches. There’s no salary cap, but there’s also no salary floor. And there’s no union. The 32 teams can engage in subtle, or otherwise, efforts to keep the market down, with the only downside being the wafer thin chance that a coach will risk his career by suing the league and its teams for antitrust violations,” Florio continued.
A few days after the alleged tension, the Vikings and O’Connell secured a long-term extension, a full year before the contract expired.
If there was tension, it was the least suspenseful kind.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings will trade J.J. McCarthy and roll with Sam Darnold.
The purple team can re-sign veteran quarterback Sam Darnold for megabucks and let J.J. McCarthy watch and learn for another season. It can apply the franchise tag and trade Darnold to a new team. Or the Vikings can let Darnold walk via free agency and let McCarthy start in 2025.
Those are the stakes, and some outfits, like ESPN, believe McCarthy as a trade chip is a real possibility. If one polled Vikings fans, most would probably roll with McCarthy as the QB1 of the future — that was the plan, after all — but ESPN’s Benjamin Solak isn’t convinced.
“Big prediction for the offseason: I really, truly believe the Vikings will extend Darnold. They have the room for something in the Daniel Jones neighborhood — four years, $160 million is probably optimal, if they can get Darnold to sign that before another team in the free market offers him a whale of a deal,” Solak wrote last weekend.
Solak then added the McCarthy trade nugget, “Depending on the size of the contract, they’ll either keep McCarthy or quietly look to trade him ahead of a bad quarterback draft class and see if a needy team takes the bait.”
In theory, Minnesota would probably fetch a Top 5 or 10 pick in this April’s draft for McCarthy. Thereafter, in Solak’s prediction, the Vikings would just start Darnold indefinitely, and that’d be that.
But let’s face it: Minnesota isn’t going to trade McCarthy and roll with Darnold — not after six years with Kirk Cousins. It would be doing the same thing over and over again.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
The Nopedy Nope: Aaron Rodgers is a QB1 candidate for Minnesota in 2025.
Aaron Rodgers could retire this offseason, rejoin the New York Jets, or sign with a team. Those are his options. And according to Bleacher Report, the Vikings are Rodgers’ best theoretical landing spot.
BR’s Kristopher Knox explained on Wednesday in an article about the best and worst landing spots for quarterbacks on the move: “While this scenario is highly unlikely, following Brett Favre’s Green Bay-to-New-York-to-Minnesota path could be the best possible outcome for Rodgers. If the 41-year-old decides to extend his NFL career, it’ll be to ensure that the Jets debacle isn’t his final chapter. He won’t come back to lead another directionless franchise. He’ll want to play for a contender, and there aren’t many that will consider employing him.”
“The Vikings theoretically could have an opening if they part with both Darnold and Jones while deciding that McCarthy needs another year as an understudy. Minnesota has a strong enough offensive cast to support Rodgers, while the veteran has stated that he’s open to mentoring a young quarterback,” Knox continued.
Rodgers would be a rather weird mentor choice for McCarthy. We don’t buy that angle.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
ESPN Officially Predicts Sam Darnold’s New Team
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 MIN 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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