All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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GopherGrit said:
Bold: if we roll out with McCarthy and Mullens, and McCarthy isn't ready yet ... mentally, physically, whatever ... and we go 1-5 in the first 6 ...... how do you figure this?


Hey, if McCarthy is going to be Daniels, then he should absolutely start.
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If they thought JJM was ready, but turns out he wasn't then that's on KOC and company.

The first 6 games for any team there can be lots of flux, now that training camps are shortened and limited playing time of starters/key contributors. They could just as easily go 1-6 with any of the current Stop Gap/Bridge QBs are available.

We don't even know who the opponents will be in those first 6 games or locations. Maybe there will be few pushovers to make at least going 3-3 or 4-2 highly obtainable with even a rookie.

Sometimes the bridge turns out to be Donovan McNabb. Sometimes the bridge turns out to be Sam Darnold.

GopherGrit said:
If you start slow, that could easily cost you a #1 seed down the line, which could cost you a more likely path to the Championship game.
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Philly won the Super Bowl as a #2 seed. The #1 seed from the NFC didn't even win a Playoff game. Just sayin'...
 

^^^^^ True, but the number 1 seed was decimated by injuries.

I'm not sure if we've ever seen anything like it.
 

golf said:
Back to back amazing free agent seasons by Kwesi.
Vikes have the best gm - head coach combo in the NFL. Easily.
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Factoring in our poor Draft results and lack of Playoff success, I'm not sure KAM and KOC even crack the Top 10 in the NFL.

I want to believe, though...and there's certainly a lot to like about both our guys.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Factoring in our poor Draft results and lack of Playoff success, I'm not sure KAM and KOC even crack the Top 10 in the NFL.

I want to believe, though...and there's certainly a lot to like about both our guys.
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I think KOC is learning on the job and he'll get better as a HC as far as calling the game. They haven't had an awesome set of tools to run the ball so I'm anxious to see how he calls the game this year. If they don't run it better with THIS OL, and I expect them to draft an RB that will make an impact, I'll be very disappointed.

I'm in the camp that thinks KAM is doing an incredible job. Drafting is a small part of the job and yes they've missed on a couple picks. But this group's understanding of the salary cap and the work, hard work, they did over the last 3 years to rid themselves of the salary cap hell the previous regime put the franchise in has been nothing short of incredible.

This is the year they will have "their" QB, the salary cap where they want it, and the roster they have assembled for the DC and the OC they have (much of the defensive talent the first year was assembled for Donatell, remember).

No, I wouldn't trade this HC/GM tandem for very many in the league right now.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Factoring in our poor Draft results and lack of Playoff success, I'm not sure KAM and KOC even crack the Top 10 in the NFL.

I want to believe, though...and there's certainly a lot to like about both our guys.
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Wow. Can agree regarding drafting. If McCarthy and Turner are misses, that would be bad. We will see.
 


golf said:
Wow. Can agree regarding drafting. If McCarthy and Turner are misses, that would be bad. We will see.
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Top 10 might be a bit harsh by me. I've personally got these teams ahead for sure:

BAL
PHI
KC
DET
SF

I think you can make an argument for and against our guys with this group:

PIT
GB
BUF
DEN
LAR

You nailed it regarding the eventual outcome of JJM, though. If he turns out to be a legit franchise QB, all the drafting errors will be forgotten.
 

Vikings will release Bradbury if they can't find a trade partner. The move would free up another $3.6M in cap space.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Vikings will release Bradbury if they can't find a trade partner. The move would free up another $3.6M in cap space.
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The new center was hurt a ton last year. He's only played 3 full healthy seasons his entire career.

I'm almost in the keep Bradbury camp this year, just in case, and then he completely comes off the books next year.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Top 10 might be a bit harsh by me. I've personally got these teams ahead for sure:

BAL
PHI
KC
DET
SF

I think you can make an argument for and against our guys with this group:

PIT
GB
BUF
DEN
LAR

You nailed it regarding the eventual outcome of JJM, though. If he turns out to be a legit franchise QB, all the drafting errors will be forgotten.
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At the risk of relitigating that first draft, are we even having this discussion if you insert UDFA Ivan Pace, a starter since day 1 basically and often wears/wore the green dot, for that #32 overall pick in Cine? Booth and Cine both had injury issues and part of that is on KAM for overlooking that, no doubt.

It's also hard to not give them super high marks alone for just getting us out of the Cousins salary cap hell without hardly missing a beat.

I'm admittedly higher on KAM and Co than others because I listen to a lot more discussion on how they've handled the salary cap since they took over than I do with how the draft picks have turned out. Everything they have done since they took over has been to set things up for 2025 and 2026. And here we are.

I apologize for not having the details (I'm sure it's easy enough to look up) but from what I gather, they were given high marks this last week by some merely because they handled the FA signings without impacting our Comp pick situation; signings coming in can offset the people walking out the door.

I'm also higher on some of the late round and UDFA guys that most don't talk about; CB Dwight McGlothern, DE Gabe Murphy, NT Taki Taimani, DT Levi Drake-Rodriguez, et al are all guys that they are very high on and I expect to make meaningful contributions this year.

I think the roster that will hit training camp in August will be the best roster the Vikings have put on the field in a long, long time. It's a tough division, but this is shaping up to be a very, very good roster.
 



kg21 said:
The new center was hurt a ton last year. He's only played 3 full healthy seasons his entire career.

I'm almost in the keep Bradbury camp this year, just in case, and then he completely comes off the books next year.
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I would prefer the extra OL depth, too, unless his cap space could be used towards another starting OG or a guy like Kupp. (Rumors are NO is making a hard push for Kupp)
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
At the risk of relitigating that first draft, are we even having this discussion if you insert UDFA Ivan Pace, a starter since day 1 basically and often wears/wore the green dot, for that #32 overall pick in Cine? Booth and Cine both had injury issues and part of that is on KAM for overlooking that, no doubt.

It's also hard to not give them super high marks alone for just getting us out of the Cousins salary cap hell without hardly missing a beat.

I'm admittedly higher on KAM and Co than others because I listen to a lot more discussion on how they've handled the salary cap since they took over than I do with how the draft picks have turned out. Everything they have done since they took over has been to set things up for 2025 and 2026. And here we are.

I apologize for not having the details (I'm sure it's easy enough to look up) but from what I gather, they were given high marks this last week by some merely because they handled the FA signings without impacting our Comp pick situation; signings coming in can offset the people walking out the door.

I'm also higher on some of the late round and UDFA guys that most don't talk about; CB Dwight McGlothern, DE Gabe Murphy, NT Taki Taimani, DT Levi Drake-Rodriguez, et al are all guys that they are very high on and I expect to make meaningful contributions this year.

I think the roster that will hit training camp in August will be the best roster the Vikings have put on the field in a long, long time. It's a tough division, but this is shaping up to be a very, very good roster.
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I'm not "down" on KAM overall. I just hope that his overall success in the Draft can at least come close to how well he has has hammered Free Agency. Like golf said, if JJM is the real deal, folks like me will quickly forget all of his Draft misses.
 


It is difficult for me to make sense of the Rodgers steam. Can't imagine he would come in as a backup. Is there concern still about JJ's health?

Local media would lose its everloving mind if that happened. Would almost make it worth it. 🙂
 




Slim Tubby said:
I would prefer the extra OL depth, too, unless his cap space could be used towards another starting OG or a guy like Kupp. (Rumors are NO is making a hard push for Kupp)
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Once Bradbury is gone, all that will be left on the roster for IOL is Brandel, Kelly, Fries, and OG Michael Jurgens who was a 7th round pick in 24 draft.

They've gotta add at least one more guy who can play G and ideally also be a backup at C, unless Brandel or Fries can do that if/when Kelly gets hurt again.

(They also list OG Henry Byrd, who has only been a practice squad player since being undrafted in 2023.)
 

Some other QB is coming here. Pickens slim outside of Cousins and Rodgers, for a vet that could come in, win the starting job, and lead us to NFC Championship this year.


Commanders were 4-13 in 2023 and fired their coach. They weren't expected to do anything in 2024. They had absolutely nothing to lose by starting a rookie QB and hoping for the best. Glad it worked out for them!

Vikings were 14-3 in 2024, have one of the best HC/OC and DC pairs in the league, have retained a lot of pieces and added some great ones, and Detroit is a question mark.

Opposite situation. No way you can just roll the dice on a rookie QB, who hurt himself in preseason and had to rehab/sit on the bench for all of 24, and hope for the best
 
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GopherGrit said:
There's just no way in hell you roll out there with only McCarthy and Mullens. No way

Some other QB is coming here. Pickens slim outside of Cousins and Rodgers
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I guarantee they won’t roll out there with McCarthy and Mullens!
 

GopherGrit said:
There's just no way in hell you roll out there with only McCarthy and Mullens. No way

Some other QB is coming here. Pickens slim outside of Cousins and Rodgers.


Commanders were 4-13 in 2023 and fired their coach. They weren't expected to do anything in 2024. They had absolutely nothing to lose by starting a rookie QB and hoping for the best. Glad it worked out for them!

Vikings were 14-3 in 2024, have one of the best HC/OC and DC pairs in the league, have retained a lot of pieces and added some great ones, and Detroit is a question mark.

Opposite situation. No way you can just roll the dice on a rookie QB, who hurt himself in preseason and had to rehab/sit on the bench for all of 24, and hope for the best
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I'm pretty sure that Mullens signed with JAX unless the deal fell apart.
 

LOL, ok sure I'm an idiot for not noticing that.

So isn't that even worse???

We have literally no backup for McCarthy at all?
 

GopherGrit said:
LOL, ok sure I'm an idiot for not noticing that.

So isn't that even worse???

We have literally no backup for McCarthy at all?
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Flacco would be a great mentor and can still chuck it. He's a statue for sure and strictly a pocket passer but with our improved OL, he seems like a good option.
 

OK here is the official roster: https://www.vikings.com/team/players-roster/

Only other QB listed is Rypien. Obviously that's not a realistic backup.


They six OT including Travis Reid (who is just listed as "OL"), Johnson (practice squad), and new signee Skule. And Rouse drafted 6th round in 24.

Wonder if one of those guys (Rouse?) would move inside?
 
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Slim Tubby said:
Flacco would be a great mentor and can still chuck it. He's a statue for sure and strictly a pocket passer but with our improved OL, he seems like a good option.
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I'm not sure Flacco does it for me as a vet to come in, win the starting role, and lead us to the NFC Championship in 2025.


A high-level winning team who is looking to do even better just can't start a rookie QB.

The Chiefs didn't even start Mahomes in 2017. They started Alex Smith.

2024 doesn't count for McCarthy because he had to rehab all year. Mental reps aren't good enough for development.
 

Ope3 said:
If they thought JJM was ready, but turns out he wasn't then that's on KOC and company.

The first 6 games for any team there can be lots of flux, now that training camps are shortened and limited playing time of starters/key contributors. They could just as easily go 1-6 with any of the current Stop Gap/Bridge QBs are available.

We don't even know who the opponents will be in those first 6 games or locations. Maybe there will be few pushovers to make at least going 3-3 or 4-2 highly obtainable with even a rookie.

Sometimes the bridge turns out to be Donovan McNabb. Sometimes the bridge turns out to be Sam Darnold.


Philly won the Super Bowl as a #2 seed. The #1 seed from the NFC didn't even win a Playoff game. Just sayin'...
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Bold: not good enough.

You can't "aw shucks, better luck next time" the 2025 season.
 

GopherGrit said:
Bold: not good enough.

You can't "aw shucks, better luck next time" the 2025 season.
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That's obviously not the goal, but you seem to be discounting the possibility that Vikings leadership may think JJM is the best option to start by Labor Day.

As I also said, they do need a reliable backup QB. Odds are one will need to be called upon for a multi-game stretch at some point.
 

WR Rondale Moore visiting the Vikings today. He'd be a nice WR3 option if he could ever stay healthy.
 


I hadn't realized the Rodgers possibility was so close to a reality until I read the Alec Lewis piece in The Athletic this morning; basically saying this all hinges on Kevin O'Connell and whether or not he wants to take on Rodgers.

I get it from the standpoint of, the roster is built to win NOW in Minnesota; if JJM either falls on his face out of the gate or gets hurt, you can't put your season in the hands of someone like Josh Dobbs or name one of the other less-than-inspiring career backups floating around out there.

It would be weird as f*ck though
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I hadn't realized the Rodgers possibility was so close to a reality until I read the Alec Lewis piece in The Athletic this morning; basically saying this all hinges on Kevin O'Connell and whether or not he wants to take on Rodgers.

I get it from the standpoint of, the roster is built to win NOW in Minnesota; if JJM either falls on his face out of the gate or gets hurt, you can't put your season in the hands of someone like Josh Dobbs or name one of the other less-than-inspiring career backups floating around out there.

It would be weird as f*ck though
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I don't see why it would be any weirder than 2009 with Favre.

Except this time, we WIN the damn thing!

Let'sgooooooo!!!
 

(*IF the money works and he agrees to come on terms that Vikings organization and KOC can live with)

I just don't see a possible downside.

If he (Rodgers) gets hurt: then McCarthy goes in. Great
If he plays awesome and we win: Great - McCarthy starts in 2026. Great
Rodgers mentors McCarthy, regardless, getting him ready for 2026. Great

What am I missing??
 

GopherGrit said:
(*IF the money works and he agrees to come on terms that Vikings organization and KOC can live with)

I just don't see a possible downside.

If he (Rodgers) gets hurt: then McCarthy goes in. Great
If he plays awesome and we win: Great - McCarthy starts in 2026. Great
Rodgers mentors McCarthy, regardless, getting him ready for 2026. Great

What am I missing??
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Come on. JJ McCarthy need to be name the starter week 1. Aaron Rodgers need to be no he not signing with Minnesota. JJ McCarthy need to be the starter not Aaron Rodgers end of the story.
 

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