The consensus opinion here is that the Phillips trade was not good. Obviously, he is a quality human being and solid football player. He is well liked by all and it is hard to see them move on from him for what seems like very little in return. I am guessing Kwesi has other moves he wants to try to make. This definitely opens the door for the youts that are trying to make the team. I wonder though …
Is a Christian Wilkins signing on the horizon?
Right now, overthecap has the Vikings with $26,412,015
in effective cap space this year. Next year they are at negative ($65,861,028) which is not really a worry right now as there are several avenues to plenty of cap space. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space
I still think it is interesting that the Vikings have not extended Brian O’Neill to give him guaranteed money and lower his cap hit in 2026 at the very least. If they let it play out then it could be they will take a right tackle in the draft next year. They can extend some players like Hargrave and Kelly and restructure some players like Jettas, Hockenson, and Darrisaw. That could go a long ways to getting the team in the positive next year.
Is that enough to trade for an expensive receiver though? Tyreek Hill and Terry McLaurin are likely out as possibilities due to their contracts. Could the Vikings trade for Jauan Jennings? He wants a new deal in the 16-20M range though. Plus, the 49ers just traded for Skyy Moore. I would still love to see Kwesi pry away Kashon Boutte from the Patriots.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Harrison Phillips trade opens up different possibilities
It’s not just about the roster spot that opens up on the defensive line, there are other areas that help the Vikings.
The first of those is with the salary cap. While Phillips does give the Vikings some salary cap savings this season at $4.3 million, they did choose to eat $3.7 million in salary for this season, which helped instigate the trade with the Jets. most importantly, $7.5 million in cap space came off of the books for 2026, which will make a huge difference, as the Vikings are currently projected to be $65 million over the cap.
Minnesota Vikings have interesting trade options at wide receiver, including a game changing All Pro
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver trade candidates
Cincinnati Bengals: Mitchell Tinsley
Burrow is a big fan of Tinsley and endorsed him to make the 53-man roster after his two-touchdown showing on Monday night against his former team. Cincinnati signed him to a minimum deal back in February, so even if a late-round draft pick comes back in a trade, it would still be surplus value for the projected WR6 on this roster. – Bengals beat writer John Sheeran
Projected trade: Seventh-round pick
Miami Dolphins: Tyreek Hill
The Vikings drafted Tai Felton with the idea that he would be a speed threat that could take the top off the defense. Hill can do that and snap off routes with aggressiveness. There are some mitigating factors: trade compensation and money. Hill is due a $16 million roster bonus at the end of January, and the price to acquire him could be too high, especially if the Dolphins end up eating some of that money. Jaylen Waddle would make more sense financially, but my sense is they have zero interest in trading him.
Projected trade: As high as a second-round pick, but other factors can change this
Vikings exploring trade for veteran receiver: Who is best fit for Minnesota?
More likely, a trade would involve a veteran playing a complementary role, particularly when Addison returns.
Would the Panthers part with Adam Thielen, allowing a reunion in Minnesota? The Patriots could thin out their receiver corps. Allen Lazard could be a trade candidate out of New York if he’s healthy. As evidenced by the Monday night preseason game, the Cincinnati Bengals’ wideout room is stacked with Mitchell Tinsley flashing.
A few free agents remain on the open market, including veteran Amari Cooper.
Alec Pierce
TAR 69
REC 37
REC YDs 824
REC TD 7
The Indianapolis Colts might be inclined to keep all their wideouts after naming Daniel Jones their 2025 starter under center, seemingly favoring instant results over long-term development. Alec Pierce, however, is entering a contract year, and the team has no shortage of other young options out wide, including Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Adonai Mitchell. His deep-ball tracking ability could help stretch the Vikings’ passing attack while raw prospects like Tai Felton come into their own.
Jauan Jennings
TAR 113
REC 77
REC YDs 975
REC TD 6
San Francisco isn’t really in a position to be dealing wide receiver talent, given the 49ers are still without a rehabbing Brandon Aiyuk. But Jauan Jennings isn’t satisfied with his current contract, so it’s not out of the question he’ll be shopped. Minnesota can afford to sweeten his deal before a scheduled 2026 free agency. Stylistically, he’d offer head coach Kevin O’Connell more in the way of multipurpose work and blocking support, which fits Minnesota’s apparent plans to beef up the ground game in 2025.
Vikings’ perfect Terry McLaurin trade proposal to Commanders
Why McLaurin is a Perfect Fit for the Vikings
Minnesota’s wide receiver group is in disarray, with Jalen Nailor sidelined indefinitely, Rondale Moore out for the season, and Jordan Addison facing suspension. That leaves Justin Jefferson without the support he needs, and the Vikings searching for answers. McLaurin, with his elite route-running, contested catch skills, and yards-after-catch ability, would instantly address those concerns while forming a dangerous tandem with Jefferson. His track record of production gives young quarterback JJ McCarthy a proven target to stretch defenses and keep the offense humming.
The Vikings’ Proposed Trade Package
If the Vikings are serious about pursuing McLaurin, they’ll need to balance their immediate needs with the Commanders’ long-term outlook. The perfect deal might look like this:
Vikings acquire: Terry McLaurin (WR)
Commanders receive: 2026 second-round draft pick and WR Tai Felton
After surprise Harrison Phillips trade, what could Vikings be planning next?
The Vikings being comfortable making this move would seem to signal that Brian Flores didn’t feel Phillips’ presence was necessary in the middle of his scheme. The trade clears a path to more playing time for guys like Redmond and Ingram-Dawkins, while also shedding salary (even if the Vikings are paying half of it) and adding some late-round draft capital.
The other possible reaction or theory is that this move could help set up another move of some sort. The Vikings just picked up an extra sixth-round pick in 2026 and boosted their 2027 seventh-rounder into a sixth. Those are assets that could be used in a trade to acquire a player. The Vikings weren’t in immediate need of cap space, but creating more space could also help with future additions around roster cutdown day next week.
Two analysts predict last-place finish for Vikings in NFC North
Here’s how Bhanpuri has the division shaking out:
Packers: 11-6
Lions: 9-8
Bears: 8-9
Vikings: 8-9
And here’s how Rank — who is famously biased as a diehard Bears fan — sees it:
Bears: 11-6
Packers: 10-7
Lions: 8-9
Vikings: 7-10
Note: Am I an “analyst” just because I write stuff about the Vikings? Please.
Predicting NFL teams most likely to decline in the 2025 season
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46003861/nfl-teams-likely-decline-lose-more-games-2025-season-predictions-vikings-chiefs-commanders-lions-colts
Minnesota Vikings
Record in 2024: 14-3
Point differential in 2024: plus-100
2024 record in games decided by seven or fewer points: 8-1
Projected strength of schedule, via ESPN’s FPI: Fourth toughest in NFL
The 2024 Vikings were different. For one, they were much better. They went 14-3 with the league’s seventh-best DVOA. They played the ninth-toughest schedule.
…
Let’s talk about that defense. Can the Vikings keep their level of play up? While acknowledging they have a great front seven and an excellent coordinator, I’d be a little nervous. They led the league in turnovers (33) and were second in turnover rate (16.6% of opposing drives), trailing only the Bills. Defense is more difficult to sustain than offense, and successful defenses built around high turnover margins are even tougher to maintain from year to year. The Bills were able to do that between 2023 and 2024, but the other teams directly below them in turnover rate two years ago were the 49ers, Bears, Cowboys, Ravens and Saints, none of whom were able to sustain their takeaway rate in 2024. Their defenses all took a meaningful step backward.
That’s not a one-year trend, either. Looking at 2000 to 2023 and the teams that ranked in the top five in turnovers per drive — as the Vikings did a year ago — just 17% of those teams finished in the top five again the following season. Their average rank in turnover rate was 15th. Minnesota could certainly field an excellent defense again, but it probably won’t lead the league in turnovers.
Are there reasons to think the Vikings will simply field better defensive talent? I’m not sure. They were the league’s fifth-healthiest defense a year ago by adjusted games lost, per the new FTN Football Almanac, and they fielded the league’s oldest defense on a snap-weighted age basis. In fact, with the league’s fifth-oldest offense, they were the league’s oldest team on a play-by-play basis. That isn’t inherently disqualifying, but it’s a reality of where they were with their roster construction.
…
The Vikings are a pretty unique team. The age of their roster and the moves they have made suggest they’re trying to win right now, but they have what essentially amounts to a rookie quarterback leading the way. And while we normally associate debuting quarterbacks with subpar teams and young rosters, McCarthy is taking over a 14-win team, something I’m not sure has ever happened in the modern era. I’m not expecting a dropoff below .500 like the one we saw in 2023, but a record more in line with their 11.1-win point differential from 2024 would make sense.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: Unique decision-maker or just a ‘normal dude’?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6562339/2025/08/20/vikings-gm-kwesi-adofo-mensah-decisions/
“I love football, too. I’m just a normal-ass dude who loves football and decision-making. That’s it. Normal-ass dude.”
He would eventually explain all of this to the Wilfs. What earned their approval, as much as anything else, were Adofo-Mensah’s convictions about the most critical aspects of the most successful NFL organizations — a finding that emerged from his studies with the 49ers.
“Of all the decisions you make,” Adofo-Mensah says, “head coach and quarterback are the two you need to not screw up.”
J.J. McCarthy: How Vikings Support Impacts Confidence Level
Asked afterward to describe his confidence level, McCarthy said the following:
“Just looking at the guys around me and the coaching staff like that gives me all the confidence in the world to go out there — knowing [what] I’ve got at my back, at all of our backs — I just get goosebumps right now just thinking about it.
“The way we attack every single day, we put in the work, and the rest is going to take care of itself,” McCarthy added. “Having that confidence level as a precursor of the work we put in, it makes me really excited.”
During a pre-practice media session, Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips noted the 22-year-old QB is often “wise beyond his years.” Teammates have said similar things of McCarthy, whose leadership has been noted on multiple occasions.
McCarthy is intentional about building connection and camaraderie with players across the locker room, regardless of position or depth chart standing.
“I feel like it’s one team, one heartbeat,” he said. “It’s not just the quarterbacks, the receivers, the o-line. We are in this thing together. I know training camp is a lot of head-to-head and going against each other, fights and all that — but every single time we’re in this locker room, it’s one family.
“I feel like I do a really great job of trying to connect with every single person on this team,” McCarthy continued. “Starter, not starter, defensive player, special teams guy. You know, that’s your role as a quarterback. And at the end of the day, I just love every single guy. We have such great human beings in there, and they’re a joy to talk to and get to know.”
Leaders come in many shapes and sizes, and McCarthy thinks of himself as a quieter, lead-by-example type rather than one who defaults to reprimanding.
“I’m not going to get on you. I’m not going to scream at you if you get something wrong,” he said. “I’ll pull you to the side, you know, our previous conversations are going to let me know how I should approach that. If a guy needs to get a little chewed out and yelled at a little bit, then yeah, I’ll do that, but I don’t do it in front of teammates. I won’t do any of that where it’s exposing him in some way.
“If it’s somebody that, I sit down 1-on-1 with them and say, ‘Hey, man, what were you thinking on that? I need you here,’ little stuff like that,” McCarthy added. “I feel like with success comes more leadership and being able to use your voice more. I’ve got to earn my stripes in order to get up in front of the team or something like that — but I’m constantly doing it in all these different ways that I learned from the past.”
3 Observations: J.J. McCarthy TD Highlights Red Zone Work; Vikings Receivers Make Plays
Vikings training camp recap, Day 18: An eventful scrimmage-style practice
2025 Unofficial Depth Chart: Vikings at Titans Preseason Game
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
- No discussion of politics or religion
- No feeding of the trolls
- Leave the gender hatred at the door
- Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
- Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
- No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
- If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
- While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
