3 Vikings Offseason Dreams That Probably Won’t Happen
Every offseason, Minnesota Vikings fans have some big dreams that don’t work out. For example, in 2025, an extraordinary number of fans wanted the club to sign Aaron Rodgers, a recommendation that did not come to fruition. In that same vein, here are a few 2026 offseason dreams that likely won’t shake out.
From splashy quarterback fantasies to expensive roster moves, Vikings fans have big wishes this offseason.
Action will get hot and heavy after the Super Bowl in two weeks, including trades, free agency in March, and the draft in April.
Three Big Vikings Wishes Facing Real World Obstacles
These big plans probably won’t work out for the purple team.
The Lamar Jackson Trade
A theory from The Athletic suggested a few weeks ago that Jackson could be traded this offseason, and the Vikings were named as a landing spot.
That obviously gained serious traction among Minnesota’s fan base — who wouldn’t want prime Jackson leading their football team? Yet, with John Harbaugh’s termination, Jackson will likely stay put in Baltimore, or if The Athletic theory comes true, a team with a higher draft pick in 2026 could probably tantalize Baltimore more than Minnesota’s 18th overall pick.
There’s also the matter of Jackson’s play style and age. He’ll turn 30 next season, and most quarterbacks with that many rushing yards on the tire tread tend to decline more quickly than pocket passers. In fact, Cam Newton sadly followed this path a decade ago. Would the Vikings really send three 1st-Rounders and more to the Ravens for a quarterback who appeared to start his decline in 2025?
Bleacher Report‘s Julia Stumbaugh wrote about Jackson as a trade candidate this week, “Should Jackson decide he wants out of Baltimore following this season’s playoff miss and head coaching turnover, he could conceivably decline to renegotiate his contract and force Bisciotti to seek a trade in order to clear cap space. The Raiders have no clear answer at quarterback and the cap space to take on a major contract.”
“The franchise currently ranks third in effective 2026 cap space with $67 million in wiggle room heading into the offseason, per Over the Cap. All of that would likely require Jackson wanting to leave, however. Jackson said earlier this month he ‘absolutely’ wants to stay in Baltimore, although who the Ravens ultimately hire to replace former head coach John Harbaugh could potentially play a role in his desire to stick around with the franchise.”
Signing Free Agent Center Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum will be one of free agency’s top prizes, rest assured. He may just re-sign in Baltimore and call it good. Often, NFL-themed media publishes “The Best X Free Agents of X Year” lists, and then the top three on the menu vanish because their employers don’t want an elite performer to leave the building.
Meanwhile, the Vikings don’t have much cash on hand entering the offseason, situated at about $35 million over the salary cap. They’ll have to cut players and/or restructure several players’ contracts just to sign a player asking for a million bucks.
Being over the cap by $35 million and eying a center who might request $20 million per season doesn’t seem a probable outcome.
The Joe Burrow Trade
Listen, the idea of Burrow to Minnesota is fantastic — utterly fantastic. Let’s do it.
But the only reason this theory is out in the open is that Burrow said last month that he wasn’t happy with his life or with football. Those comments do not mean the Bengals leaders looked at each other and said, “Time to trade him.”
In fact, Burrow would have to request the trade, and he seemed to get happier later in December and into January. Even if Burrow asked to be traded, Cincinnati is hard-nosed enough to tell him no and let him rot into nothingness. The Bengals’ front office is notoriously stubborn.
Newsweek‘s Tyler Erzberger on a Burrow trade to Minnesota, “The move would be a sign that the Bengals are looking to embark on a complete rebuild and believe their current core can’t return to the postseason. Unlike the Lions with Goff, however, McCarthy hasn’t shown he can be a starting QB in the NFL and could be more of a detriment than anything for a team that made the Super Bowl in 2022 and has been trying to find its way back since the loss to Stafford and the Rams.”
“While this might be what the Vikings call the Bengals’ offer, there are no signs that Cincinnati wants to trade its key player, who is still under contract for several more years. But that’s what people thought when Goff and Stafford were also under contract with their respective teams, so you never know in the NFL. One day, it’s a rumor by a third-party team source on social media. Next, the entire league landscape has changed with a post from Adam Schefter at 2:00 AM.”
The only reason this trade dream has legs is that sports are unpredictable. Nobody thought the Dallas Mavericks would trade Luka Doncic, especially not to the Los Angeles Lakers. But they did — for a criminally small sum.
You must be logged in to post a comment.