Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 27 February 2024

“Sometimes you lie in bed at night and you don’t have a single thing to worry about. That always worries me!” – Charlie Brown

The combine is underway but the workouts do not start until Thursday.

I think that while the debates have been great, the Vikings will find a way to bring back Cousins and sign JJ to a huge mega-deal. I hope the can bring back Hunter but they look to free agency for a cheaper and younger option (Bryce Huff) and draft an edge in round 1 or 2.

This would be OK too but the expectations should be very very high.

Since yore last open thread

Kirk Cousins’ projected contract value from ESPN is more than the Vikings can give him

Kirk Cousins is throwing again

Vikings Report 2024 NFL Draft Preview: Wide receivers

Other News

If the Vikings are thinking about trading Justin Jefferson, this is the week to make a deal

If the Vikings are going to trade Jefferson in exchange for draft capital that, for example, would allow them to move up from No. 11 in an attempt to get their first true, multi-year, franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton, now is the time to do it. The entire league is convening on Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine. If there’s business to be done, this is the chance to do business.

On Sunday, Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press buried this nugget in a lengthy, catch-all column: “Meanwhile, steam continues that the Vikings could make Justin Jefferson available for trade.”

We’re not sure where the “steam” is coming from. The circumstances suggest that, until a long-term deal is done, a trade could be made. The two sides failed to work out a contract before the start of the 2023 season. The Vikings, we believe, believe they made Jefferson a more-than-adequate offer. Jefferson, obviously, does not share that belief.

Keeping Justin Jefferson Is a Surefire Way for Vikings to Remain in NFL Purgatory

When the Minnesota Vikings poached Kwesi Adofo-Mensah from the Cleveland Browns back in 2022, the now GM was billed as a sort of missing link in the football universe; an analytically inclined personnel executive who could also speak the language of those molded exclusively by matters related to scheme and film.

That was no small praise given the marketplace’s desperation for such credentials, and with that kind of runway, one would expect to see something we’ve never seen before.

The Vikings, undoubtedly, were the perfect roster for this kind of general manager. Unlike many other NFL teams whose roster tells something of a coherent story related to their immediate ability to contend (or not), Minnesota was sandwiched into this perpetual, middling purgatory. A quarterback whose upside we accept but are not necessarily enamored by. A defense that needed drastic turnover. An offensive line that could be good enough to eventually support a high powered offense. And Justin Jefferson.

Top Storylines Surrounding Vikings as NFL Combine Week Begins

Bears And Vikings Have Control Of 2024 NFL Offseason As Combine Starts

NFL Draft Rumors: Vikings Approached Patriots About Trade for No. 3 Pick

KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson took the speculation a step further last week, reporting the Vikings recently spoke with the Patriots while in Mobile, Ala., for the 2024 Senior Bowl.

“Here’s what I was told: Down in Mobile, there was a seed planted with New England by the Vikings,” Wolfson said on the “Mackey and Judd” podcast.

“Now, I’m not suggesting talks have advanced — it was one of those, ‘Hey, we’ll circle back to you (at the NFL Combine) — but that some sort of seed was planted in terms of, ‘Hey, is there even any interest on your front to move off that No. 3 pick?’ ”

Wolfson added, “I’m not suggesting it’s going to get done. … I’m just saying, I was led to believe that at least some sort of seed was planted in Mobile.”

Matthew Coller: On Justin Jefferson, Moneyball and Minnesota sports history

Monday Morning Mailbag: NFL Combine Arrives with Vikings Weighing Decisions

Kirk Cousins Rumors: Vikings to Initiate Contract Talks During NFL Scouting Combine

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Vikings plan to open contract talks with Cousins at the upcoming NFL scouting combine.

“He will certainly have a job, no doubt about it. People felt like he was throwing the ball better than he really ever had last year before he got hurt,” Fowler said Sunday on SportsCenter. “The Vikings, the feeling is they do want to re-sign him. They’re certainly open to talks. They’ll initiate talks around the NFL Scouting Combine next week. Will guaranteed money be the sticking point? He’s always gotten his guaranteed money. Are the Vikings and the new regime willing to do that on a long-term or even short-term deal? They have to decide that in the next few weeks.”

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