Four prevailing storylines from the Vikings’ bye week
On Wednesday the Minnesota Vikings get back to work at TCO Performance Center after spending last weekend watching their lead in the NFC North increase with a Green Bay Packers loss to the Washington Commanders. Now they begin the unofficial second half of their season with two winnable games against Arizona and Washington. Let’s have a look at the most interesting storylines that have developed since the Vikings last played…
Trade deadline options
No team in the NFL has less cap space than the Vikings according to OverTheCap.com, making potential deadline additions a little tricky. With less than $1 million in space they would need to do some contract shuffling before the November 1 deadline in order to make almost any deal work. What could they do? The top options would be to extend defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and/or convert a veteran player’s salary to signing bonus. One candidate mentioned by the Star Tribune is right tackle Brian O’Neill. Adjusting his contract could make about $3.3 million in space.
Step 2 of the process for the Vikings would be to figure out how much they are willing to spend. While Kwesi Adofo-Mensah used the words “competitive rebuild,” they have leaned more toward the Wilfs’ declaration that the team would be “super competitive” with a 5-1 start. But if we continue to follow those bread crumbs, Adofo-Mensah suggested in a preseason USA Today article that the Vikings wouldn’t be going “full Rams,” which refers to Los Angeles sending out much of their draft capital to acquire Matthew Stafford and Von Miller last year.
So it seems unlikely that the Vikings would be willing to throw a first-round pick at anyone for a rent-a-player at the deadline but it’s hard to say that they wouldn’t be willing to push the envelope in an NFC that has turned out to be remarkably weak. The Vikings are mid-pack in both offensive and defensive scoring — could one player push them to the top of the conference? If they feel that’s the case, why not strike when the iron is hot? There won’t be many years where 75% of the conference is struggling.
But strike where? Receiver? Cornerback? Pass rusher? All seem like viable options. There appears to be an abundance of receivers that could potentially be moved, both of the veteran and young/unhappy variety. Former Ram Brandin Cooks, Pittsburgh’s Chase Claypool and Denver’s Jerry Jeudy have all reportedly been drawing interest. Trading for a younger receiver would achieve a now-and-later effect and give the Vikings more depth at the position this season and a potential Adam Thielen successor down the road if things work out. Naturally younger players carry higher price tags, so the option for a true rental player might be more cost effective and allow the Vikings to avoid giving up too much of their future capital while improving the middling passing game right away.
On the defensive side, the Vikings’ outside corners have played well but nickel corner Chandon Sullivan has been at the center of opponents’ passing attacks and there might be reason to look for an improving move. As far as pass rush goes, there’s always need for one more, even if Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith are coming off big games versus Miami.
The Vikings have to weigh all the options carefully because they probably won’t be able to make more than one deal unless one of their players is involved. That’s not impossible since there have been some misfits within the offensive and defensive systems but it would be unusual for a 5-1 team to subtract in any way.
The deadline could be somewhat of a litmus test for how good the Vikings really think they are. Will they make a serious bet in Year 1? They half-measured a deal for Jalen Reagor before the season, which gave only a whiff of going big in 2022. With struggling teams around the league becoming more accepting of peddling players these days, the Vikings may have their chance to take a swing if they are all in on this year.
Upcoming opponents are hexed
Vikings fans have long felt that their team is cursed — and who’s going to argue with them when you consider the series of events that have kept them out of the Super Bowl over the years. But there is some sort of reverse jinx going on this year. The Vikings have already faced two games with backup starting QBs and have won the battle of turnovers and penalties, which are often thought to fluctuate randomly. Two of those turnovers were game-clinching.
Even when they didn’t play, things went their way. In New England, the Patriots benched quarterback Mac Jones after a poor interception. While Bill Belichick claimed it was all part of his grand scheme, there seems to be some trouble in Foxborough between Jones and the coaching staff. Last offseason Belichick brought back Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to run the offense when neither is an offensive coordinator and things didn’t jell with Jones from the start. Backup Bailey Zappe flashed when Jones got hurt but he turned into a pumpkin against the Bears on Monday night. We can somewhat safety figure it will be Jones when the Vikings play the Patriots on Thanksgiving but New England is a team in disarray.
Speaking of which, the Packers had a tough weekend, blowing a lead against Washington and drawing more questions about whether they can even be competitive this year. Before the game Aaron Rodgers publicly said that the team needs to simplify the offense and then in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss he said the offense is making too many mental errors.
“We had so many mental errors and mistakes. It's not the kind of football we're used to playing over the years,” Rodgers said.
The only potential downside for the Vikings would be if the Packers make a panicked trade for a receiver and it actually turns out to be the spark they need. Outside of a big trade, it’s hard to see them getting back on the same track as the last two years without Davante Adams as Rodgers’ unstoppable force receiver.
The Jets got another win and stand at an impressive 5-2 but they lost star offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker and emerging running back Breece Hall to season-ending injuries.
The Colts benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger. It’s tough to see that as a major upgrade.
Carson Wentz was placed on IR, guaranteeing the Vikings play against backup Taylor Heinicke in two weeks.
After scoring 45 points against Seattle to take the early lead in offensive production the Lions have just six points in two weeks.
Of course, not everything is going bad for Vikings upcoming opponents. Buffalo has a strong argument for being the NFL’s best team, Arizona scored 42 points with DeAndre Hopkins back off suspension, Dak Prescott returned to lead a team that also has the No. 2 defense in the league and Brian Daboll is emerging as a potential coach of the year candidate in New York.
The Vikings’ path to a terrific regular season might not exactly be treacherous but it isn’t quite as favorable as the first six games. They do get the advantage, however, of playing three of the four most difficult opponents (Bills, Cowboys, Jets, Giants) at home.
Oli Udoh arrested
Kevin O’Connell got his first bye week phone call as head coach when a report came from Miami that Oli Udoh had been arrested at a nightclub for disorderly conduct. In a statement the said they were “gathering information.” He was charged with misdemeanors for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct after allegedly following a woman into the bathroom and refusing to leave when security guards asked him to exit.
The team did not make an immediate move regarding Udoh but if there was ever a situation where they could seamlessly send a strong message it would be this one. O’Connell has emphasized culture and taken the role of a player’s coach but that has to come along with discipline. While it wouldn’t be surprising if the team did nothing and/or quietly made Udoh inactive or fined him as punishment, this would be an opportunity to swing an iron fist.
A strange year in the NFL
There are nine teams in the NFC that are either sitting at 3-3, 4-3 or 3-4. We have already seen a coach get fired, running back get traded for a huge haul, a long-time backup Geno Smith play like an MVP candidate and usual MVP-level quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson perform like backups.
Quarterback play has been so spotty that only nine QBs have at least 10 touchdown passes and the entire touted 2021 QB class is playing below average football. We are seeing the league hit a strange rut that is reminiscent of the late-90s and early 2000s after Dan Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Steve Young and Troy Aikman all retired. That opened the door to some unexpected teams reaching the Super Bowl i.e. the Trent Dilfer-led Ravens, Brad Johnson Bucs, Matt Hasselbeck Seahawks and Rex Grossman Bears. Even more recently the 2017 season came within a whisker of a Nick Foles-Blake Bortles Super Bowl. Thankfully Tom Brady saved US Bank Stadium goers from that.
The randomness of the 2022 season swings the door wide open for the Vikings. They are healthy enough and talented enough to put themselves in position to make noise in the playoffs against a conference that is wholly unimpressive outside of the Eagles. In a year that initially seemed like it would be a transition between old and new there is sudden urgency to win with a mostly veteran roster whose salary cap situation doesn’t get any easier in the future.
The yellow brick road is laid out in front of them, whether they can follow it deep into the postseason is up to them. And that may hinge on how much they were able to solve in the bye week. As we stand the Vikings aren’t particularly good at anything but rather average at a lot of things. That will need to change, even in a bizarre season.
