All Things 2026 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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I’m just been reading up on Caleb Williams trying to trademark the nickname Iceman for himself, as George Gervin also stakes his claim and I think it indisputably vaults William’s to the top of my list of athletes who I hope fall flat on their face as quickly as possible, narrowly edging out the Duke BB squad.
 

Murray starter, Wentz backup. Wentz gets another shot at starter if Murray gets hurt.

Do the Vikings do Nekton Mentality of the Week for scout team players? McCarthy is a shoo-in! All the work he did in California without pads & helmet on air and no defense.
 


coolhandgopher said:
I’m just been reading up on Caleb Williams trying to trademark the nickname Iceman for himself, as George Gervin also stakes his claim and I think it indisputably vaults William’s to the top of my list of athletes who I hope fall flat on their face as quickly as possible, narrowly edging out the Duke BB squad.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have done the unthinkable and surpassed Duke for my disdain (not counting a natural geographic, division or Big 10 Minnesota Rival).

1 spot below the top-hated Dallas Cowboys.
 


GopherGrit said:
Murray starter, Wentz backup. Wentz gets another shot at starter if Murray gets hurt.

Do the Vikings do Nekton Mentality of the Week for scout team players? McCarthy is a shoo-in! All the work he did in California without pads & helmet on air and no defense.
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What happened to the J J mCarthy is ready to lead chat from last year?
 

Meatsauce states that he loves the nfl draft more than anything but then struggles to pronounce a name. Is there a chance that he is kinda faking interest in the nfl draft? Seems like an odd thing to be faux interested in.
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
@Ogie Ogilthorpe

Thought you’d enjoy this clip of Megatron roasting my boy, Dan O.

I forgot about this play and I’m sure Dan has as well🤣

youtube.com

Calvin Johnson talks Dan Orlovskyâs Safety ð

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtube.com youtube.com
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I don't mean to pick on Danny O, but damn he just says some stupid shit sometimes. I don't mean to pick on him specifically but for starters, he works for the "worldwide leader", which has just become such a dumpster fire in the last decade or so.

Secondly, I just rarely listen to former players. They don't hardly offer anything of value in my mind from a knowledge standpoint. I listen to former GM's, former front office guys, maybe former Head Coaches, and a few former NFL scouts. Players will almost always give you the same old schtick, reading from the same general script.

And yes, a few of those folks have absolutely lit up Danny O over the last several years.
 









The Athletic had an article regarding all teams free agent forays and their take on it. I find the part bolded below scintillating-

The Vikings had to feel even better about adding quarterback Kyler Murray on the cheap after seeing one of their former QBs, Kirk Cousins, command guarantees in the second year from Las Vegas. Yes, the Vikings agreed not to use the franchise tag on Murray after 2026, but that’s a problem Minnesota might welcome at this point.

“Minnesota improved,” an exec said. “I like what they did with Kyler Murray. How could you not? They have a ton of talent on offense. They have a more competitive QB room now.”

Murray is one of 29 quarterbacks to start at least 25 games over the past three seasons. He ranks 17th among them in quarterback EPA per start, about the same as Sam Darnold, who ranks 16th.

Darnold has a league-best 28-7 (.800) starting record among those 29 quarterbacks over this three-year span. Murray’s record is only 13-17 (.433).

The difference: Darnold’s Vikings and Seahawks averaged +7.5 combined EPA on defense and special teams in his starts, which ranked No. 1 in the 29-quarterback sample. Murray’s Cardinals averaged -2.5 combined EPA on defense/special teams, worst in the sample.

This all points to Murray’s record improving significantly in Minnesota, unless the defense falls off.

“They lost some pieces on defense and had to shed a lot of cap,” another exec said. “Without a GM in place, I’d imagine (defensive coordinator) Brian Flores is very involved in what decisions are being made on defense, and he’ll be able to adjust. That should give them some comfort.”
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
@Slim Tubby

www.espn.com

Giants DT Dexter Lawrence requests trade, sources say

Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II has requested a trade after seven seasons in New York, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Mythic,

Make it work. Greenard and a first rounder? Get that man his 💰
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really ugly metrics last year though some of that may have been desire on a trash NYG team.

The only big downside would be hearing PA continually call him sexy dexy all broadcast
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
@Slim Tubby

www.espn.com

Giants DT Dexter Lawrence requests trade, sources say

Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II has requested a trade after seven seasons in New York, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Mythic,

Make it work. Greenard and a first rounder? Get that man his 💰
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Great player, and an impact player at a position that is hard to find elite players.

But DAMN, I'm never in favor of acquiring a player that is basically demanding a massive contract. So you're giving up premium assets (player and or draft capital) and you're going to eat up a huge portion of your salary cap. He's going to be 29 yrs old around Thanksgiving; not super old, but not a young guy.

Just not a fan of bringing unhappy people into your building. Someone will probably overpay and roll the dice though.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Great player, and an impact player at a position that is hard to find elite players.

But DAMN, I'm never in favor of acquiring a player that is basically demanding a massive contract. So you're giving up premium assets (player and or draft capital) and you're going to eat up a huge portion of your salary cap. He's going to be 29 yrs old around Thanksgiving; not super old, but not a young guy.

Just not a fan of bringing unhappy people into your building. Someone will probably overpay and roll the dice though.
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Agreed. I'd swap Greenard for him straight up but I'm not including any draft capital unless it's a Day 3 pick.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Great player, and an impact player at a position that is hard to find elite players.
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It’s the only position I’d do if for and we’d have an elite DLine.
Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
But DAMN, I'm never in favor of acquiring a player that is basically demanding a massive contract.
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EDIT
-

He’s grossly underpaid at $20M and this has been going on for two years now and when he sees
Hargrove signs with the pack @2/$23M - I’d be pissed as well.

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
So you're giving up premium assets (player and or draft capital) and you're going to eat up a huge portion of your salary cap. He's going to be 29 yrs old around Thanksgiving; not super old, but not a young guy.

Just not a fan of bringing unhappy people into your building. Someone will probably overpay and roll the dice though.
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I can’t imagine someone won’t bite, too tempting not to.
 
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Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Great player, and an impact player at a position that is hard to find elite players.

But DAMN, I'm never in favor of acquiring a player that is basically demanding a massive contract. So you're giving up premium assets (player and or draft capital) and you're going to eat up a huge portion of your salary cap. He's going to be 29 yrs old around Thanksgiving; not super old, but not a young guy.

Just not a fan of bringing unhappy people into your building. Someone will probably overpay and roll the dice though.
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He played in 17 games last year with 1/2 a sack and 17 tackles

What the hell is up with that?
 

Slim Tubby said:
Agreed. I'd swap Greenard for him straight up but I'm not including any draft capital unless it's a Day 3 pick.
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I did use a Question Mark.

You’re way too conservative, a second day pick and you’d balk?

I bet you’ve never inhaled either 😎
 

kg21 said:
He played in 17 games last year with 1/2 a sack and 17 tackles

What the hell is up with that?
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Vita Vea is arguably the most disruptive DT in the NFL and he only had 16 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season.

We need more pressure up the middle to stifle interior runs and to force the ball out of the QB's hands before their receivers break open to take pressure off our secondary.

Stats don't always tell the whole story about the effectiveness of a DT but I agree that his stats alone are not overwhelming by any stretch.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
I did use a Question Mark.

You’re way too conservative, a second day pick and you’d balk?

I bet you’ve never inhaled either 😎
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You're 100% right...I tend to be very conservative about Draft picks in the first three (3) rounds. I could very well be proven wrong but I'd much rather have Greenard and a DT like Peter Woods at #18 on a Rookie contract than Lawrence.
 

Slim Tubby said:
You're 100% right...I tend to be very conservative about Draft picks in the first three (3) rounds. I could very well be proven wrong but I'd much rather have Greenard and a DT like Peter Woods at #18 on a Rookie contract than Lawrence.
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Okay,

You’re Fired😎
 

Slim Tubby said:
Vita Vea is arguably the most disruptive DT in the NFL and he only had 16 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season.

We need more pressure up the middle to stifle interior runs and to force the ball out of the QB's hands before their receivers break open to take pressure off our secondary.

Stats don't always tell the whole story about the effectiveness of a DT but I agree that his stats alone are not overwhelming by any stretch.
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Last year was off and I’m assuming he was pissed thst they didn’t renegotiate his contract before the start of last season (the beginning of this saga) and he was on another crappy Giants team.

His previous three years saw him as a three time Pro Bowler and two time All-Pro.


His numbers from them years are eye popping and legit interior pass rushers are rare; he and my boy, Redmond would be causing Straight Nightmares for OLs.

Sometimes you need to push the chips all in😉
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Last year was off and I’m assuming he was pissed thst they didn’t renegotiate his contract before the start of this saga and was on another crappy Giants team.

His previous three years saw him as a three time Pro Bowler and two time All-Pro.


His numbers from them years are eye popping and legit interior pass rushers are rare; he and my boy, Redmond would be causing Straight Nightmares for OLs -
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Dexter has a great reputation around the league for a reason. He's been a great player for a while now.
 

For Ogie:

The Ringer’s Todd McShay reports that “someone in the Cardinals’ building is pushing really, really hard” to draft Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love.

The unnamed individual is said to be someone “who has a say” in what the Cardinals do with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. McShay notes the Cardinals are also candidates to trade back a couple of spots to potentially draft Love, though “they still need an offensive tackle [and] they still need an EDGE.”

Rotational players like former starter RB James Conner, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury last year, and free agent signee, RB Tyler Allgeier, crowd the Cardinals’ backfield. The combo could keep Love from handling an elite rookie season workload, but they are unlikely to prevent him from winning the starting role this summer. He would likely warrant RB2 treatment right away if the Cardinals were to draft him early in the first round.
 



Also, I clicked on a Matthew Coller purple insider podcast. 3 hours? I didn’t listen to it but now I know folks are making stuff up.
 

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