Purple Rumor Mill: Cooper Kupp to Vikings, Sam Darnold’s Next Stop, Big Roster Cut
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the January 26th edition.
Vikings Rumors: Cooper Kupp to Vikings, Sam Darnold’s Next Stop, Big Roster Cut
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the Vikings, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the second batch of the week. Yesterday’s can be read here.
Rumor: Cooper Kupp could join the Vikings this offseason.
Kupp is under contract with the 2025 Rams. But that may not materialize. “Who knows what’s going to happen. That’s out of my control. And we will see what it’s going to be. … I don’t have any clarity on what that’s going to look like or anything like that. So yeah, obviously would love to be in L.A., but I don’t know what that’s going to look like,” Kupp told ESPN this week after his team lost in the Divisional Round to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Of course, Kupp has ties to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell from the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Kupp even won Offensive Player of the Year with O’Connell as his offensive coordinator.
If Kupp departs Los Angeles, it’s reasonable to expect Minnesota to explore his free agency.
Rumor: Sam Darnold is likely headed to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Courtesy of Jeremy Fowler, ESPN made official offseason predictions this week with the consultation of anonymous NFL executives. Per them, Darnold will head to Vegas.
“All it takes is one suitor to drive Darnold’s market to the point where it’s cost prohibitive for Minnesota to retain him. And the numbers favor Darnold — at least five teams selecting in the top 10 of the NFL draft need a quarterback during a year when the supply doesn’t meet the demand. Darnold is the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback in free agency,” Fowler explained.
Heading into the 2024 campaign, the Raiders were the only NFL club without at least some semblance of a long-term plan at quarterback, showcasing Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Their season netted four wins and 13 losses.
Fowler concluded, “Las Vegas is slated to have nearly $100 million in 2025 cap space, more than enough to pay a veteran passer. Most execs polled believe Darnold belongs in the Geno Smith/Baker Mayfield class of contracts, somewhere in the range of three years and $100 million.”
This one makes a lot of sense.
Rumor: Josh Oliver will be Minnesota’s big roster cut.
Per Bleacher Report, Minnesota’s top roster-cut candidate is tight end Josh Oliver.
BR’s collective staff wrote this week, “This signing was a bit of a head-scratcher when it happened, and it’s likely to be re-evaluated in the spring. The Vikings signed Josh Oliver to a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023, and the final year is set to be the most expensive. Oliver is a good blocking tight end, but paying him just under $10 million is a questionable value when he only played 56 percent of the offensive snaps in 2024.”
To Oliver’s credit, however, he’s one of the best blocking tight ends in all the land.
“The Vikings will already be paying T.J. Hockenson $16.9 million next season. Giving that much money to a second tight end is a difficult pill to swallow, and cutting Oliver would free up $5.1 million,” BR added.
This rumor isn’t totally outrageous, but it feels more likely that Oliver will stay for one more season.
Vikings Coach Could Be Stolen by Bears
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.