Vikings Rumors Simmer Heat Up on Joe Burrow, Daniel Jones, 2026 Draft Darlings
The Minnesota Vikings have less than a month remaining in a mostly sad 2025 campaign, while rumors about the team’s future remain a hot topic. It’s the nature of the beast, and the rumor mill never sleeps.
The Vikings’ rumor mill spun in a different direction this week, shifting the conversation toward big-picture questions about the roster and the team’s future.
This week’s mill touches on Joe Burrow’s melancholy, Daniel Jones‘ path back to Minnesota, and an early glance at mock draft darlings for the purple team.
Vikings Rumors Dragged in Burrow, Jones, Love, and Downs
From Burrow’s uncertainty to Daniel Jones speculation and early buzz around Caleb Downs and Jeremiyah Love, the Vikings landed squarely in the middle of the NFL’s weekly rumor cycle.
Rumor: Joe Burrow is so damn sad in Cincinnati that he could request a trade, and the Vikings could pounce.
On Wednesday, Burrow faced the Cincinnati media looking like a guy carrying too much weight for one season, maybe for one career. The mood was flat, almost hollow. He told reporters, “If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. You know, I’ve been through a lot. And if it’s not fun, what am I doing it for? I’m not sure there was a singular moment or time. It’s just reflection.”
He continued, “Reflection on a lot of things that I’ve done and been through in my career, I think. You know, I’ve been through more than most, and it’s certainly not easy on the brain or the body, so I’m just trying to have fun doing it again. There’s just a lot of things going on right now. A lot of things going on right now.”
When someone asked if enjoying football was tough at the moment, Burrow didn’t dance around it: “Yes, certainly.”
Another reporter pressed on whether he meant life or football. “All of the above,” Burrow said.
And while sportsbooks haven’t posted official odds yet — apparently still too early — BetMGM jumped ahead of the field and fired Burrow’s potential landing spots across the internet.
If Burrow requests a trade — he sounded like a guy who might — you better believe the Vikings will lead the way in the court of public opinion.
Rumor: Daniel Jones’ season in Indianapolis is cooked, meaning he could find his way back to Minnesota in 2026.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano is the one who kicked off the Jones reunion chatter this week.
He explained, “I’ve heard a few theories in the couple of days since Jones injured his Achilles. One is that it makes sense for him to re-sign with the Colts, since they know him and know he can run their offense.”
“He could rehab with them all offseason and hit the ground running whenever he’s cleared. That could be on another one-year deal or maybe a two-year deal with incentives that could make the second year more lucrative if he recovers fully and plays well.”
From there, Graziano swung the spotlight toward Minnesota: “Another is that it would make sense for him to go back to Minnesota, where he finished last season as Sam Darnold’s backup, and rehab there with a staff that knows him and wanted to retain him but couldn’t guarantee him the starting job this past offseason.”
“Either way, the idea of a lucrative, long-term contract extension in Indianapolis (or somewhere else) probably slides to the back burner in light of Jones’ most recent season-ending injury.”
And just like that, the Jones-to-Vikings storyline has legs.
Rumor: RB Jordan Love and S Caleb Downs are the two mock-draft favorites for the Vikings in December.
This time, it’s The Athletic‘s Nick Baumgardner doing the pointing. He connected Love to the Vikings at pick No. 10 and backed it up: “Maybe if you overwhelm J.J. McCarthy with enough skill talent to feed an actual group of Vikings, Kevin O’Connell’s paint will finally be able to dry here.”
“As with Downs, Love is a top-five player in this class, but we’ll see where he winds up — running back is a tough position to predict in terms of draft value. Regardless, he’s the type of offensive asset who can change a team immediately.”
That pushes the total to roughly 3–4 major mocks that have already shipped Love to Minnesota — and we’re barely out of the gate in draft season. Love-to-the-Vikings is officially a storyline.
Our Kyle Joudry framed it this way: “In Mr. Love, the Vikings could be welcoming a talent capable of taking a huge burden off of McCarthy’s shoulders. The simple fact that he’s both an explosive runner and pass catcher makes him ultra appealing.”
“Just how high could the team soar if it had its own version of Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs? The Fighting Irish were shoved out of the college playoffs, a misguided decision that has set football fans ablaze with concerns about greed impacting more clear-eyed judgment. Quibbles aside, the implication is that Love is now building solely for the draft.”
Minnesota hasn’t touched a Round 1 running back since Adrian Peterson back in 2007.
“He was central to Notre Dame’s impressive squad. Love carried the ball 199 times in 2025, picking up 1,372 yards while bringing the ball across the goal line 18 times. Ultra impressive stuff; the 6.9 yards-per-carry average is game-breaking talent. Go ahead and add on that he has caught 27 passes for 280 receiving yards (10.4 yards-per-reception average) and 3 touchdowns,” Joudry added.
Meanwhile, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is the other early-cycle crush. He, too, has been mocked to the Vikings in the first wave of projections.
Akin to Kyle Hamilton in long-term outlook, Downs profiles as a plug-and-play staple who should thrive for a decade-plus. Whether he’s available depends on where Minnesota finishes. Win a few more games, and he may slide out of reach; hover around pick No. 11, and Downs stays on the board as a real draft-night option.
He’s already drawing comparisons to Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed — not exactly mid-tier benchmarks. At 6’0″ and 205 pounds, Downs packs burst, power, and easy turnover creation. He’s widely viewed as the best safety in the class, with many scouts calling him the top defensive back overall. Some even go further and label him the best defensive player in the entire draft.
Remember those names for draft time: Love and Downs.
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