Vikings Misses and Myths: Justin Jefferson Trade, New GM’s Philosophy, Aaron Donald
If you ever wanted to know what an example of a “Nopedy Nope” for the Minnesota Vikings might look like or what can be considered a Myth and a Miss, it’s the notion that the club would trade Justin Jefferson this summer.
That and more are on the docket this week, as our weekly “Nopedy Nopes” series continues in early June. The following are Vikings-themed items that are too bombastic, false, or just didn’t work out as the world planned.
Minnesota’s Latest Rumor Batch Gets Weird
The Nopedy Nope: Justin Jefferson could be traded to the Buffalo Bills — in the spirit of the Myles Garrett trade to Los Angeles.
Bleacher Report‘s Alex Kay came up with five wild NFL trade ideas this week, and Jefferson to the Bills was not immune.
He explained, “Buffalo Bills receive: WR Justin Jefferson. Minnesota Vikings receive: 2027 first-, second- and fourth-round picks, 2028 third- and fifth-round picks. Dealing Jefferson in exchange for a massive amount of capital would position the Vikings to land one of the coveted quarterback prospects set to be available in the 2027 draft.”
“With a slew of high-end signal-callers set to enter the league next offseason, Minnesota can’t afford to miss out if it wants to return to prominence in the brutally tough NFC North. A team all-in on winning a Super Bowl this coming season would be the ideal suitor for Jefferson. The Buffalo Bills would be an intriguing choice after they came up painfully short last season.”
Jefferson actually wound up with the Vikings because of a WR trade to the Bills in 2020: Stefon Diggs.
“While they did trade for DJ Moore to bolster an undermanned receiving corps, they failed to land a true needle-mover to pair with star QB Josh Allen. An Allen-Jefferson battery could put up historic numbers akin to what Randy Moss and Tom Brady accomplished with the 2007 New England Patriots,” Kay continued.
“It would cost the Bills a haul of future picks to bring the tandem together, but doing so would give the club perhaps its best shot yet at a championship.”
If Minnesota traded Jefferson this summer — to Buffalo or anywhere — it would eat over $70 million in dead cap funds. That’s just happening.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on any Jefferson trade. The idea is ludicrous.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings will rebuild because they hired a new general manager.
Reporters asked new boss Nolan Teasley if he would “rebuild” the Vikings’ roster, and he swiftly responded, “I believe we’re ready to compete right now because they’ve been competitive.”
“I don’t know if I would get into depth in terms of staffing or anything in that regard because I haven’t been here to assess the people that are here. But I know there’s a lot of strong evaluators and a really strong football operation in place. The roster, it’s obvious it’s a strong nucleus of talent on both sides of the ball.”
Minnesota completed a competitive rebuild process two years ago.
Tealsey also remarked, “They’ve won a lot of football games here in the last four years, including five in a row to end last season. We’re going to build the deepest, most competitive roster possible so that we can be at our best in December and January and February, and ultimately working toward winning the Super Bowl that this fan base deserves.”
The Verdict: Surprise, surprise: the Vikings are not rebuilding after finishing their version of a rebuild two offseasons ago.
The Nopedy Nope: With Myles Garrett on the Rams’ roster, it’s time for Aaron Donald to unretire.
The Cleveland Browns shipped Garrett to Tinseltown, stacking the deck in the Rams’ favor and evidently luring Aaron Donald to contemplate unretirement.
Pro Football Network‘s Nicolaas Ackermann wrote after the Garrett deal, “Myles Garrett’s trade from the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles Rams caused a frenzy in the NFL community to the point where attention is turning to Aaron Donald. The trade strengthens the Rams’ chances of winning the Super Bowl, and people around the league quickly started speculating about Donald’s potential return to the Rams.”
“Talks of how good the defense can be this year poured over into further speculation about who else the team could add. The NFL world, on one hand, was quick to call for three-time Defensive Player of the Year Donald to come out of retirement to join what already looks to be a rockstar defense.”
The Rams already have good defensive tackles. They don’t need an ever deeper superteam.
The Verdict: Out of respect for fairness to the NFC, nopedy nope on Donald to a superteam. We say no thanks.
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