Purple Rumor Mill: The Sauce Gardner Trade, Other Trade Options, Compensatory Picks
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 March 16th edition.
Vikings Rumors: The Sauce Gardner Trade, Other Trade Options, Compensatory Picks
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: The Vikings have sniffed around a Sauce Gardner trade.
Gardner trade rumors appeared to emerge from an account named “Playmaker Dave,” who boasts an impressive social media accuracy run, predicting events like Daniel Jones to the Vikings a few months ago, Davante Adams to the Los Angeles Rams, and Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, among other fulfilled prophecies.
The account tweeted Tuesday, “SOURCE: Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets in discussions for blockbuster trade involving Sauce Gardner’ lots of movement in the last 24 hours and the cap situation makes it all work.'”
Gardner later retweeted a SKOR North video clip on X, after that show afforded a whole segment to Gardner trade rumors. Gardner wrote, “i thought it was a joke this whole time, but y’all were serious all along huh😂.”
We’ve asked around our usual sources, and no one knows much about a Gardner trade, leading to the notion that it’s probably internet fan fiction.
Rumor: Ed Ingram was traded this week. Brian Asamoah or Garrett Bradbury could be next.
Minnesota extracted a 6th-Rounder from Houston for Ingram, which surprised many because Ingram felt like a roster cut candidate.
If trading Ingram was in play, well, anything’s possible.
Asamoah and Bradbury are the natural trade candidates right now, with a possible side dish of Blake Brandel if Minnesota signed another veteran interior offensive lineman like Shaq Mason, Brandon Scherff, Will Hernandez, or Teven Jenkins.
Rumor: Minnesota is already on tap for a 2026 compensatory pick for Sam Darnold’s free-agent exit.
Minnesota received the very top compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins’ exit last offseason and will spend that capital with the 97th selection in April.
Well, the Vikings are in a similar situation again this go-round, as Sam Darnold bolted for the Seattle Seahawks this week.
Here’s the lay of the land this week per 2026 compensatory forecasting:
Minnesota appears to be in the driver’s seat to grab at least one compensatory pick in 2026 and perhaps more, depending on Daniel Jones’ fate in Indianapolis — if he wins a starter’s job — and Cam Robinson’s eventual contract.
But you can count one for Darnold’s free-agent departure. It’s an exact replica of Cousins last year.
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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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