***2026 Minnesota Vikings***
- Thread starter Marcelason78
- Start date
Wasn’t the talk always that 9 was the starter? So that meant a contract as a backup.
They offered him a one year deal because that's all they could afford. Sam wanted a multi-year contract.
Also, Darnold led the league in turnovers this year. Seattle's defense was just able to make up for that.
And did anyone notice how many times Kubiak rolled him out or bootlegged him to get him outside the pocket last night to avoid the rush? KOC could learn a thing or two about that. He put JJ in too many bad spots with those long developing play action passes that made him have to make super quick decisions because of the pressure. He wasn't ready for that.
And as you said, the money they would've spent on Darnold means they wouldn't have signed Kelly and Fries on the OL and Allen and Hargrave on the DL. Did those work out? Kelly/Fries not so much but at the beginning of the season I know I was excited to finally have what looked to be some stability on the interior of the OL.
The Vikes were a good team this year, they just needed some consistency on offense. They led the league in turnovers and a lot of that falls on KOC and the positions he put his QBs in. I really hope he learned something this year and starts adapting his offense to help his QBs. I just worry he has too much hubris as the "QB whisperer" to change his offense or force the QBs to fit into it.
Although there are rumors that JJ doesn't take to the coaching and doesn't do the things KOC wants him to do during games...the griddy TD is an example. And KOC got frustrated that JJ couldn't carry things over from practice to the games.
This. They did Darnold a solid by not tagging him. He deserved a long term deal and the Vikings weren't the team that was able to give it to him for the money he was going to get.
I think they thought Jones was going to resign and when he didn't they were left scrambling. Now that is on them...they never should've traded for Sam Howell, I don't know who thought he was a viable option but they should be flogged.
Nope. From everything you hear he is the epitome of a leader and does everything right on and off the field. His leadership kept the offense and probably the team from imploding this year. If the Vikes are ever going to get to a SB it's going to be under his leadership. You don't trade guys like that away.
Let's take a look at what the org is and was thinking for a sec, also. They knew they paid to draft a guy and they knew he got hurt, making it hard to know what they have now. KOC is no stranger to how tough it is to be a new QB in the NFL, himself being a washout from that exact role. However, what I noticed early on is they MIN did not cater its offense to its new, green QB -- they sent JJM out there to run the same offense previously ran by multi-year vets and expected perfection. Instead, they got this:
December is when it started coming out that KOC was fed up with telling JJM to work on perfecting his mechanics on the field and essentially told him to just play ball at that point, and along with that, they seemed to simplify some of the offense down to better match what they had in him...and yes, they played some weak opponents also in that time. Not a bad thing in the moment.
The change in philosophy is visible somewhat in stats. Are they great, absolutely not, but they are better to season's end. Improvement was slowly happening. This is why you aren't hearing rumblings about tossing him to the streets right now and starting over at QB. He still ended the season above .500 as a starter, and the team on a win streak. That's just not enough for an org to quit on.
December is when it started coming out that KOC was fed up with telling JJM to work on perfecting his mechanics on the field and essentially told him to just play ball at that point, and along with that, they seemed to simplify some of the offense down to better match what they had in him...and yes, they played some weak opponents also in that time. Not a bad thing in the moment.
The change in philosophy is visible somewhat in stats. Are they great, absolutely not, but they are better to season's end. Improvement was slowly happening. This is why you aren't hearing rumblings about tossing him to the streets right now and starting over at QB. He still ended the season above .500 as a starter, and the team on a win streak. That's just not enough for an org to quit on.
Unless you're trading up to get that QB right now, there's no point in doing so. Raiders aren't gonna let Mendoza go.
It would be more like "sell the farm and start over" instead of just getting a haul for Jets.
Trading up for any QB in this draft class should be subject to immediate dismissal.
Yeah tough draft for QB, even if you really like Mendoza. Second QB is who? Ty Simpson? He strikes me as your typical Alabama QB from an NFL standpoint
No idea the validity of the report, but JJ, Grenard, and 2 1sts for Burrow floated by Sporting News.
www.sportingnews.com
Vikings trade rumor details Minnesota's planned offer for Bengals' Joe Burrow | Sporting News
A Minnesota Vikings trade rumor details what the team plans to offer the Cincinnati Bengals for quarterback Joe Burrow in what would be a historic NFL trade.
www.sportingnews.com
Rumor I saw was basically that, except it was 3 firsts and having to eat Burrow's contract (which is a close to $50MM cap number). Just don't see any world where MIN can make those numbers work.No idea the validity of the report, but JJ, Grenard, and 2 1sts for Burrow floated by Sporting News.
Vikings trade rumor details Minnesota's planned offer for Bengals' Joe Burrow | Sporting News
A Minnesota Vikings trade rumor details what the team plans to offer the Cincinnati Bengals for quarterback Joe Burrow in what would be a historic NFL trade.
to be fair, Kwesi was part of Cleveland during one of their brief bright stints going 19-14. He was part of the FO that broke their 17-year playoff drought, hired the COY, and won a playoff game more recently than Minnesota.
I'm far from a Kwesi defender and I want him gone, but I honestly think that people at the time of his hiring thought it was actually a good thing he came from Cleveland where people viewed him as a member of the FO that turned around the dysfunctional browns. Hindsight, people spoke too early.
Yesterday I saw it was JJ, Grenard, and 4 firsts. So maybe tomorrow it will only be only one first.No idea the validity of the report, but JJ, Grenard, and 2 1sts for Burrow floated by Sporting News.
Vikings trade rumor details Minnesota's planned offer for Bengals' Joe Burrow | Sporting News
A Minnesota Vikings trade rumor details what the team plans to offer the Cincinnati Bengals for quarterback Joe Burrow in what would be a historic NFL trade.
Pretty soon we'll be getting firsts just for taking him off their hands.
According to one site, they are 49M above the cap.
Cutting Hockenson and Kelly knock that down to $25M.
I would probably keep Aaron Jones. Could save $8M, but there would be $7M is dead cap space.
You can save $18M by restructuring Jefferson. A lot of other players would restructure and save 8-12M. That would kick the can down the road a bit and you might be stuck with guys, but restructuring Allen, Darisaw, Greenard, Van Ginkel, Murphy and Fries could save up to $52M. A lot of these guys would save money on trades too.
Greenard and O'Neill could be trade candidates. Would have to take into account the supplemental draft picks each would warrant.
I am not to worried about the salary cap for next year. There are a lot of ways to clear space.
Cutting Hockenson and Kelly knock that down to $25M.
I would probably keep Aaron Jones. Could save $8M, but there would be $7M is dead cap space.
You can save $18M by restructuring Jefferson. A lot of other players would restructure and save 8-12M. That would kick the can down the road a bit and you might be stuck with guys, but restructuring Allen, Darisaw, Greenard, Van Ginkel, Murphy and Fries could save up to $52M. A lot of these guys would save money on trades too.
Greenard and O'Neill could be trade candidates. Would have to take into account the supplemental draft picks each would warrant.
I am not to worried about the salary cap for next year. There are a lot of ways to clear space.
Because of the $7M dead money, it's possible. Jordan Mason may be sufficient as a #1. Maybe the go with a mid round RB as backup. However, if the sign a free agent, just add $7M to their salary to find the true cost. Still some macings but probably more like $5M in savings.
