Questions Answered: Tradable Vikings Players, Sam Darnold in 2025, The Extremes

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Patrick Jones II (91) during their football game on Sunday, January, 1, 2023 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the October 8th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected]. Questions Answered: Tradable Vikings Players, Sam Darnold in 2025, The Extremes Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. The Vikings defeated the New York Jets in London, running their 2024 start-of-season win streak to five games. Q: If the Vikings turn into sellers at the trade deadline to recoup some draft capital, who might they trade? Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports. Answer: This one is a little tricky because undefeated teams (to this point) typically turn into buyers, not sellers. And one of the keynote signatures from this current Vikings team is depth. It might be odd to dwindle the roster depth amid a would-be Super Bowl push. However, to answer the question, let’s go with these assets as possible tradable commodities: Brian Asamoah (LB) Akayleb Evans (CB) Ed Ingram (OG) Patrick Jones II (OLB) Jay Ward (S) The only problem is that none of these players will fetch much draft capital. Probably late-rounders for all. Q: Do you think Sam Darnold will return to the Vikings in 2025? Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. Answer: If we had to guess — no. Sam Darnold will propel Minnesota to the postseason and convince some team to pay him $35-$50 million per season. We don’t think Minnesota can afford that. Always remember — if the Vikings’ front office can get rid of Kirk Cousins, it can let Sam Darnold walk. These 2025 destinations for Darnold make sense if Minnesota doesn’t re-up for his services: Cleveland Browns Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins (if QB1 retires) Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans His free-agent sweepstakes, if applicable, will be quite fun. Q: I saw the stat where the Vikings either miss the playoffs altogether or reach the NFC Championship after starting a season undefeated. Which is more likely for this team? RVR Photos-USA TODAY NETWORK. Answer: NFC Championship. This team is balanced — unlike the 2016 team (which started 5-0) and the 2023 club (which began 6-0). The 2016 group had offensive struggles — it couldn’t run the football — and defense + special teams propped up the enterprise. And the 2023 team ranked in the bottom 10 per defense. Plus, for the 2024 Vikings, the schedule becomes “easy” in about three weeks. The hard part is over. This iteration of Vikings won’t collapse like the 2016. It may not make the NFC Title Game, but it won’t finish some trashy 7-10 record. Not after this start. Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.