Vikings Nopedy Nopes: No Darrisaw Yet, The Ramsey Trade, and Dead Cap
On Sundays, VikingsTerritory published “nopedy nopes” for the week, and they’re exactly as they sound.
It’s the Vikings Nopedy Nopes for the week — diminished Christian Darrisaw momentum, no Jalen Ramsey trade, and “no more” to dead cap. Let’s dive under the hood.
Nopedy nopes are items that are wrong, ridiculous, or literal “nope” from a player or front office member.
You can read last week’s Vikings Nopedy Nopes here.
Here Are Vikings Nopedy Nopes for July 6th
Christian Darrisaw, Jalen Ramsey, and dead cap make up this week’s edition.
The Nopedy Nope: Christian Darrisaw will be ready for Week 1.
Christian Darrisaw arrived at mandatory minicamp last month in full gear, even practicing with his teammates. Fans optimistically interpreted it as a sign that Darrisaw could be ready for Week 1 in September. Paul Allen, the Voice of the Vikings, also predicted that Darrisaw may be good to go by September 8th.
But then The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis came along this week with a healthy dose of reality.
“Will he be back in time for Week 1? That’s probably a rosy expectation at this point. Still, Darrisaw has attacked his rehab. The Vikings have commended his progress,” Lewis wrote.
Lewis generally knows his stuff, so the Darrisaw brake pump is probably legitimate. All eyes will be on the phenom left tackle at training camp.
It’s worth noting that a standard and moderate ACL tear recovery would have Darrisaw ready sometime in late August. Stay tuned.
The Verdict: Lewis said nope to the momentum on Darrisaw’s return for Week 1.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings as key players in the Jalen Ramsey trade sweepstakes.
Seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey to Minnesota via trade made sense for a few months because Ramsey worked with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles. The pair won a Super Bowl in 2021.
But then the Pittsburgh Steelers did the thing this week and acquired Ramsey from the Miami Dolphins.
The Ramsey rumor mill is dead for the Vikings.
Athlon Sports‘ Nathan Karseno wrote Saturday about Ramsey in Pittsburgh: “Pittsburgh clearly has to have had some idea about Ramsey’s attitude reputation amid his messy relations with the Dolphins leading up to the trade. Nonetheless, this is a bombshell report that makes fans question how tensions will be in the Steelers locker room.”
“The Steelers already shook up the offseason by trading temperamental wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in a move that gave up on any hope of his maturity. Pickens is just 24 … but inheriting Ramsey, 31, is a bit different with regards to changing his ways. Ramsey remains an elite-caliber player despite his age.”
If the Vikings still want an additional cornerback, they may have to explore Mike Hilton or Asante Samuel Jr. from free agency.
Karseno added, “That performance on the field, however, will only do so much if it’s muddled down by distractions from a toxic working relationship with the team. Ramsey may clean up whatever was acting out in Miami now that he has a change of scenery and got a slight pay raise. Pittsburgh is sure hoping this is the case, at least. Pittsburgh also welcomes new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a polarizing personality that faces plenty scrutiny of his own from his apparent attention-seeking motives and odd psychological practices.”
“The Steelers have clearly succumbed to a “win-now” philosophy that has driven them to pursue proven veterans with the hopes of contending in the AFC. That is, if they can freshen up whatever negative energy might waft through the locker room this season.”
Ramsey to the Vikings will now become a “what could have been.”
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Ramsey to Minnesota.
The Nopedy Nope: The notion of long-term dead cap on the Vikings’ salary cap.
Before this offseason, Minnesota always had too much dead cap on the books, often because the club wiggled money around on Kirk Cousins’ contract.
Yet, the dead cap woes are over, at least for a while. The 2025 season marks the first time in half a decade that Minnesota doesn’t rank in the league’s back half per dead cap.
Here are the numbers (note larger numbers in red, the NFL ranking, means more dead cap):
Vikings Dead Cap,
Since 2020:
+ NFL Ranking:
2025: $11.9M (6th)
2024: $70.3M (28th)
2023: $46.1M (20th)
2022: $29.0M (16th)
2021: $25.5M (16th)
2020: $36.9M (27th)
That’s right. Minnesota has the sixth-least dead cap funds this go-round.
The Verdict: General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said nope to dead cap on his books this season. No more outlandish waste.
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