Vikings Rumor Mill Spinning with Thielen, Cousins, and Gilmore Buzz
Every Saturday and Sunday, VikingsTerritory keeps the Minnesota Vikings fan community abreast of the latest pertinent rumors regarding the purple team.
Fresh Vikings rumors are swirling, linking the team to a possible Adam Thielen return, a new landing spot for Kirk Cousins, and interest in an old friend from free agency.
It’s the Purple Rumor Mill, and this week, the mill includes Adam Thielen, Kirk Cousins, and Stephon Gilmore fodder.
Have a look.
Vikings Rumor Mill | Vikings, August 9th
Peruse the Vikings’ rumors for the last week, starting with Adam Thielen theories.
Rumor: Minnesota should trade for Adam Thielen in light of Jordan Addison’s suspension.
Minnesota won’t have Jordan Addison for the first three games of 2025. That prompted some to call for an Adam Thielen reunion.
For example, FantasyLife‘s Paul Charchian tweeted this week, “Bringing Adam Thielen back to Minnesota makes so much sense. He’d cost very little to acquire. Carolina has young receivers who need reps. Thielen was legitimately great in the second half of last year, when Bryce Young was cookin’. And he knows the KOC offense. DO IT!”
Charchian’s coworker at FantasyLife, Thor Nystrom, called for another wide receiver, too. He wrote, “The Vikings should seriously consider trading for a playable WR. You’re gonna be without Addison for 3 games, Jefferson is currently sidelined, and your depth behind those 2 is crazy shaky — Nailor has been stone-handed all camp, and you can’t hang your hat on anyone else.”
And VikingsWire‘s Andrew Harbaugh noted Wednesday, “The Vikings are set to be without wide receiver Jordan Addison for three games to start the year after the league announced a suspension on Tuesday. Their star wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, is dealing with a hamstring injury and is expected to be held out of the preseason, but what if he misses regular season time too?”
“That is where Vikings fan favorite and Minnesota legend Adam Thielen can come into the picture. The Vikings could likely send a day-three pick to the Panthers, or even a 2027 pick, to get the deal done.”
Some really, really want Thielen to end his career in purple, which would be fitting.
Rumor: Kirk Cousins could end up with the Los Angeles Rams.
Matthew Stafford has a bad back.
TurfShowTimes’ JB Scott noted last week, “It doesn’t seem as if we will see Stafford on the field soon, though ultimately only the team knows where the quarterback stands. Stafford will do his own individual workout on Monday while the rest of the roster has a ‘jog thru’ in advance of the joint practices with the Dallas Cowboys. This is me being honest. It’s not intended to incite panic or stir the pot.”
“It sounds like Stafford has a ways to go before he returns to football activities. There is a finite amount of time until the regular season. He’s already slated to miss the entirety of training camp at LMU and is going on Week 3 of absences. With each passing day, the panic meter seems to be ticking upwards.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay offensively coordinated Cousins during the Washington days. You better believe the Rams would explore a Cousins trade if the Stafford injury bled deep into the regular season.
Rumor: Stephon Gilmore remains a free-agent option for the Vikings.
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling mentioned the Vikings’ cornerback room on Access Vikings last week, opining that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could scour the market for a free agent.
He said, “It could be him, Gilmore … I would not be surprised at all if they added somebody at that position.”
Dallas, too, is in the rumor mill for Gilmore. The Landry Hat’s Jerry Trotta explained in July, “DaRon Bland is the only returning starter who is healthy. Jourdan Lewis was not brought back this offseason and Trevon Diggs is working his way back from another knee surgery. The same can be said for 2025 third-round pick Shavon Revel, who hopes to be cleared for training camp.”
“The group is so decimated that Andrew Booth saw reps with the first-team defense in offseason workouts. That is a recipe for disaster. While Kaiir Elam impressed in OTAs and minicamp, it’s important to remember he hasn’t had much success in the league since Buffalo selected him No. 23 overall in 2022.”
Gilmore played for the Cowboys in 2023.
Trotta added, “Starting Elam opposite Bland would be a massive roll of the dice. Signing Gilmore would quell a lot of those concerns. All of a sudden we’d be talking about Bland, Gilmore and Elam as the top three CBs. It would also allow the Cowboys to ease Revel back into the swing of things.”
“With training camp around the corner, Gilmore won’t last on the open market for much longer. Jerry Jones needs to act fast before another team scoops him up.”
Perhaps Gilmore’s most logical landing spots are Dallas and Minnesota, especially if a Vikings cornerback gets hurt in the preseason.
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