Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Geno Smith traded, Darnold to Seattle????

Episode Date: March 8, 2025

Matthew Coller reacts to the news that Geno Smith was traded and every NFL Insider is pointing to Darnold and Seattle is a pairing. Plus an update on Byron Murphy Jr.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey everybody, welcome to an emergency podcast. Matthew Coller here and we have a major trade in the national football league that appears very, very likely to have implications on the Vikings future quarterback situation. So Gino Smith is being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third round draft pick and to go along with all of the reporting on Gino Smith and the trade is wait a minute. What are the Seattle Seahawks going to do? And let me count the insiders that are rolling out the reports that Sam Darnold is going to be the top target now of the Seattle Seahawks. Now,

I'm sure that at the NFL combine, the Seattle Seahawks would have never talked to Darnold's agent about Donald because that would be tampering and that would be wrong. That's against the rules and no one would dare ever tamper. However, it is pretty darn interesting that Diana Rossini, Adam Schefter, Jordan Schultz, Tom Pellicero, and every other person who is on the inside with teams and agents just so happens to connect Sam Darnold all at the same time two seconds after the Geno Smith trade what a world where they all came to that same conclusion not

that Seattle would have already had this in place coming out of the combine no way I'm sure that didn't happen at all. Just like the Atlanta Falcons definitely didn't have it set up with Kirk cousins at the combine that he was going to sign with them on day one of free agency. I mean, look, we should just stop ever talking about a tampering, but maybe this time the Vikings will get a draft pick out of it. It could not be more obvious now from this trade that Sam Darnold is going to be

a Seattle Seahawk. Let's break it down. I'm talking pretty definitively about it because every single report just shows up with Sam Darnold to Seattle. Now it seems like it is nothing short of just a, uh, sign the paperwork or legally tamper on Monday, sign the paperwork after that, that Sam Darnold is going to go to Seattle. And so for the rest of this show, for those purposes, and of course, if things change and we get a sudden turn, then we'll go back on it and have another emergency podcast.

But let's talk about it as if Sam Darnold's going to Seattle. The first part of the trade is Geno Smith to the Raiders. That's Pete Carroll. He won games with Geno Smith. He's the one that brought Geno Smith to Seattle. That connection makes a heck of a lot of sense. And for the Seahawks, there is no way with a contract or a quarterback under contract that they would just trade away a quality winning quarterback. Unless they had something else locked in, set up, ready to go. And then everyone says that that is Sam Darnold. So for the Raiders, okay, they get exactly what I thought they would get. Just a different guy. I thought that they were going to get someone like Sam Darnold,

but instead they have familiarity with Gino Smith. So bringing him in, knowing if you're Pete Carroll, that you can get to the playoffs with Gino Smith, that he's proven, that he's a quality quarterback. He's definitely not perfect, but he's in your top 15 type of quarterbacks and Chip Kelly's offense. They're going for, okay, that's all right. So it makes a lot of sense for them.

They needed to make a big splash at quarterback because they've been down bad for so long. So they go out and get Gino Smith. But now there are, I mean, of course this seems like it's locked in with Seattle, but there's so many options for Sam Darnold of teams that need him. That there's just, it doesn't seem like there's any way he would agree to come back with the Vikings and when this makes so much sense now, and when every single reporter is connecting Sam Darnold to Seattle, it feels like it is a virtual lock

almost set in stone now that Sam Darnold is going to go to Seattle, because there's just no way that they would make this trade unless they knew what they were getting, and who else would they be getting? Aaron Rodgers, that's not a good idea. Kirk Cousins, that's not a good idea. Russell Wilson's not going back to Seattle.

Who else are you getting if you're the Seahawks? And that team is always the type of team that's going to try to compete. They're not the type of team that's just gonna trade away Geno Smith and tank. No, it seems that they are going to try to chase Sam Darnold. And unfortunately, no, the tag in trade is off the table. There is a trade, a tag deadline that the Vikings would have had to have tagged him. The fact that they didn't now Sam Darnold appears ready to leave. Now, if he goes to the Seattle Seahawks, there is a connection there that makes this make

even more sense for Seattle and Sam Darnold, which is Clint Kubiak. The tangled webs we weave, but Clint Kubiak was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. So Clint Kubiak worked with the San Francisco 49ers last year, 2023, two years ago. And he worked with Sam Darnold. So he would have familiarity with Darnold in practice and then would have had a good sense because remember he beat out Trey Lance

for that backup quarterback job out there. So the 49ers liked Sam Darnold a lot when Clint Kubiak was with San Francisco and they went to the Superbowl and the times that Sam got in, he played very well. And he's built up now a bigger sample size to have a chance there to go out, you know, and prove to Seattle that he can be their starting guy, but he's built up a bigger sample size that I think people in the NFL would believe more that Sam Darnold can be a good quarterback. And not only that, but if you are their defensive minded head coach, what did

you see last year? Seattle played a really good game defensively and who beat them at the end with an incredible throw down the field. It was Sam Darnold in Seattle. So how about this? If Sam Darnold ends up with the Seattle Seahawks, think about the ripple effects of his 50 yard touchdown

to Justin Jefferson to win that game. Not only did the Vikings end up playing the Rams because of it essentially, and maybe not playing like the bucks, but they had to play their starters in week 18 because they went to Detroit. So it probably cost them. And then Sam Darnold doesn't play well in those two games out in Detroit and then out in LA or Arizona against LA. And so the Vikings go from almost set in stone that they're going to bring him back after the game against the Packers in week 17 to now, uh, you know, losing Sam Darnold or letting him go, I should say, because he played so poorly in those

final two games. And maybe, maybe if Donald didn't want to Play off game that they wouldn't have brought him back anyway, because this was always the plan But I don't think we can say that there's no way those last two games affected them and also the ripple effect of that Seattle game appears to be The Seahawks being impressed enough with Darnold to now go bring him in more likely than not at this

point to now bring him in to be their quarterback and they're the ones that are going to pry him away. Now I see some of you are asking that when it comes to the franchise tag and the Vikings not franchise tagging Sam Darnold. So the thing about that is when and this was explained really well on Twitter by an agent who's local here in Minnesota Blake Barrett's he tweeted about this that one of the reasons the Vikings couldn't make the tag and trade or at least that it would have been risky for them to do it.

And I always thought that they could, but the reason that they more than likely were not able to pull that off was not because of a lack of interest in Sam Darnold. Clearly the number one quarterback on the market. Clearly if a team is trading for Gino Smith, that's the same type of caliber. But the reason is that the team acquiring Sam Darnold would have to take on a $40 million cap hit for this year that could not be altered, that could not be moved, could not be changed, unless he agreed to a contract extension with that team. So they would already have to have an idea that he was going to sign the extension and I don't think a lot of teams were willing to take that risk of

giving up draft capital and then potentially having to take on a 41 million dollar cap hit there. That's probably why they didn't do it and also I think that the rest of the league may have called the Vikings bluff. They may have just said, look, you guys are not going to go with Sam Darnold again, we know you drafted JJ McCarthy, so we are not going to give you draft capital. And I just think that the rest of the teams who would be chasing quarterbacks were thinking, we'll just sign him when he becomes a free agent.

We don't believe you and they would be rights because the way this is now trending is as if Sam Darnold is going to be a Seattle Seahawk. And this does take us back a little bit to the last couple of weeks because going into the NFL combine, I felt pretty unsure about where this thing was going. And I thought that there was a realistic possibility that Darnold could be back if they weren't really confident in where JJ McCarthy stood. And then I went to the combine and my takeaway there was, okay, it sounds like what everybody's talking about is it sounds like JJ McCarthy's good to go.

Kevin O'Connell said it at the podium. We heard it off the podium. He's up over 200 pounds. They feel great about where JJ McCarthy is in his recovery. So then I moved the slider to 90 10. I was like, okay, this is, this is over. Sam Darnold's gone. And then I get back from the combine and all these reports are that the Vikings want him back and say, what? And I think that what we have to do from now on, and it's not over till it's over. I understand that. And we may be dealing with another shocking twist later at some point.

And I I'm keeping the Adam Schefter, uh, updates here close to me as we continue to talk, but so we, you never know when there's some sort of other twists or turn that could happen. But the way that everything is trending hard now is toward him leaving for the Seattle Seahawks. Uh, and I also felt like at the combine, the thing was why would Sam Darnold come back if JJ McCarthy is healthy and they feel good about his recovery? Then why would Sam Darnold and his side be totally fine?

With coming back and having to compete and there was even last night Ian Rappaport on TV was saying well You know if any team can work this out. It's the Vikings with those two guys competing I'm like, huh, he could not compete with anyone in like five or six different teams. Why would he stay here and fight it out with McCarthy? And the only thing I could think of was, well, maybe, maybe they're not telling us the truth about the recovery, but I still, I still don't get it, right? Because the plan seemed all along that they were going to move on to McCarthy. And as long as KOC thought McCarthy was ready, then off we go gas pedal down

fast than the furious, the kid is in and, and here we go spend, spend, spend in the free agency. So I was confused at why there would be so many insider reports, but now I think we've got it figured out why so many NFL insiders were telling everybody, Hey, the Vikings want him back. They're working on it. They're trying to work out a deal with them. There's interest from their side because the Vikings tell everybody about every player that they want them back. And I started going through the list. That was some of the things I did today.

I, uh, I built a piece of furniture that I bought. And I also went through old reports from insiders about Vikings free agent. That was my big day today. And what I found was a very long list of guys that allegedly the Vikings wanted to work it out with. Danielle Hunter, Delvin cook, Kirk cousins. These guys got anything in familiar. They didn't come back or, uh, you know, with each other, got anything,

uh, similar to each other. They didn't come back. The Vikings liked to Neil Hunter. They loved to Neil Hunter, but anything similar to each other. They didn't come back. The Vikings liked Daniel Hunter. They loved Daniel Hunter, but the price didn't match. So they let him go. And Delvin Cook had a great career as a Minnesota Viking, but it was time to move on from Delvin Cook. And yet even all the way up to the time

they let Delvin Cook go, remember how long that went? We forget stuff so easily. Remember how long that went? We forget stuff so easily. Remember how long that went on? We were like, what is going on with this Delvin Cook thing? They were trying to find a trade suitor. They continued to tell people on the outside, oh, we like Delvin Cook, maybe we'll work something out. There was a report that they were gonna do right by him,

whatever that meant and all this stuff. And they just ended up cutting him. So even Delvin Tomlinson, they, they sold that big time. Oh man, we love, we love Delvin Tomlinson. He's our guy. He's our favorite defensive tackle of all time. He got a better offer and he left. The point is that all the time when going forward, we hear that the Vikings want to

work it out with somebody that it doesn't make Vikings want to work it out with somebody that it doesn't make any sense to work it out with we should ignore that that doesn't mean anything and in this circumstance there always had to be a better suitor we just couldn't figure out who it was and it was like well okay maybe the franchises are bad, right? That might want Sam Darnold. He's not going back to MetLife stadium or whatever they call it now. He's not going back to New York.

It's not going to do that. Okay. The Raiders maybe, but their franchise is still got to prove it. Even with Pete Carroll. All right. The Browns that's not happening. Maybe, maybe Pittsburgh, maybe Pittsburgh. All right. So that was all we could really come up with, right.

And Pittsburgh is kind of crumbling a little bit themselves. Okay. So couldn't come up with a real great spot. Maybe the one thing we could have talked ourselves into was Sam Darnold likes to throw to Justin Jefferson. And so maybe he'll keep wanting to throw to Jefferson for another year. It's a year to year league and he might sign a short term deal just to do it and whatever it might be, right?

Trying to figure out, make the wheels turn. Why would that be? And then a good franchise presents itself in the Seattle Seahawks. We didn't know that Gino Smith was on the trade block. And I had heard a little bit throughout this year that maybe Gino could be moved just because while he's on the last year of his deal, it's an expensive deal. Gino Smith is a Kirk Cousins to where, and I say that is both

like a compliment and an insult. He's really good, but he's not good enough. He's really good to get your franchise back. If you're the Raiders, maybe to the playoffs, he's not good enough to take a team to the Super Bowl. So Seattle decides, well, he's got this big massive cap hit. We've kind of run our course with this decides, well, he's got this big, massive cap hit. We've kind of run our course with this guy and now it's time to go find someone else. But if they had no other option, I mean, look at the other options,

it has to be Darnold. It can't be anybody else. There's no other person that makes sense for them to say goodbye to a really good quarterback like Gino Smith and hello to anybody who wouldn't be an upgrade, especially with the connection of Clint Kubiak there. So if you're Darnold's agent too, you're looking for, all right, we got to go somewhere where he could be helped. Now the DK Metcalf thing might complicate stuff, although DK Metcalf may change his tune a little bit.

Now knowing how well Justin Jefferson played with Sam Darnold, that might actually help if Darnold indeed ends up with the Seahawks, them work something out with DK Metcalf. Sometimes those results in trades and sometimes they convince the guy to stay with a little more cheese. He is the perfect type of wide receiver for downfield Darnold to be throwing deep to.

So again, you have receivers, Jackson Smith, the Jigba potentially still DK mad calf, depending on the offers. If not, they're likely to draft another one. They have a defensive head coach who's building up that defense there. And they have a franchise that just in general has been run really well. They have a general manager who's one John Schneider. He's not a nutcase. They have great fans, great organization, great atmosphere, all the things that we

were just scratching our heads going, who could offer Sam Darnold a franchise to go play for that would actually be stable and would actually be good for him and it was so hard to come up with until today until now where we have the Seattle Seahawks presenting themselves so questions and comments open I think this is a very clear signal that it's over with Sam Darnold in Minnesota. The result is exactly what everybody thought it was going to be from the start. And from my takeaway at the combine. And then we got a little end around, we got a little misdirection over here. Oh, maybe he'll come back.

And then, nah, nah, nah, nah, exactly how it's playing out is how we thought it was going to go and what this very, very likely means and until it's over, we can't say everything about it yet until it's over. So let me just caveat with what it very likely means. What it seems to mean is that everything Kevin O'Connell said, and I've reported this repeatedly, everything that Kevin O'Connell said about JJ McCarthy was true, that he wasn't just saying it to make McCarthy feel better because he hurt his knee.

He was genuine in believing that McCarthy might've gone to Cleveland and competed with Sam Darnold. And you saw how well Darnold played this year and McCarthy was gaining on him in training camp and Darnold had a great camp, but McCarthy was making things very interesting, which was farther along than the Vikings ever believed. things very interesting, which was farther along than the Vikings ever believed. And then throughout this last year, the way that JJ McCarthy approached being injured, being in the quarterback room, rooting on Sam Darnold, learning on every week from KOC, sitting down with him, going

through all of the tape, the play calls, the offense, all those different things and learning as much as he could in his first year and making the most of a bad situation. His first year from everything I've heard it impressed the heck out of everyone. The only concern that I ever had was really about the physical nature of it because I knew he was going to work as hard as he was going to work. And I figured that he was going to be a good teammate based on what we saw from him in training camp and the work ethic was going to be there and the connection

with KOC was going to be there. I assumed all that stuff was going to happen and that he was going to get a taste of the NFL. We talk about this a lot on the show, how hard it is. It's what makes it so great. If the NFL was easy, what fun would it be? What, why would we be so impressed with quarterbacks if it was easy? And a lot of quarterbacks don't fully realize that when they get in the league, in fact, none do because they're rookies.

They don't realize how hard it's gonna be and Some that have success right away It doesn't keep up because it gets hard or not easier right like CJ Stroud it got harder for CJ Stroud so I Think what JJ McCarthy got to see up close and personal was how hard it is and even though Sam Darnold won 14 games Darnold played through injury Darnold played through injury. Darnold played through criticism. He played through a tough stretch where they lost a couple games and he played badly in a couple games and he saw the end result. He saw what happens when you're in the playoffs and the criticism and the hits you take and the speed

of the game. And he was down on the sideline to watch that front row which i think could be an enormous factor for jj mccarthy understanding how far he has to go this off season. So if they're ready to go to which it seems now with all the insiders connecting sam darnell to seattle. that we, that JJ McCarthy is going to be able to use all that banked experience of watching Sam Darnold. And this is why I think this fan base has been very much against bringing back Sam Darnold, but maybe not appreciative enough of Sam Darnold for last year, not just as fun as it was as a season. And they got to find out a lot of things about their team because they had competent quarterback play.

You got to find out a lot about your coach. Sam Darnold allowed us to learn about Kevin O'Connell as a leader of this franchise, a leader of a quarterback, how he's going to work with a quarterback. That is totally different from what you would have been talking about with Kirk Cousins because cousins had been in the league for so long that a lot of people can coach Kirk Cousins, but with Sam Darnold helping him take his career to a different level than it ever been. We learned a lot because of that about Kevin O'Connell and what he's capable of doing. So now JJ McCarthy, who's already been developed

for a year, looks like he is in line to take over that starting spot and be ready to go. Having learned all of that from Sam Darnold, having seen how Kevin O'Connell coached Sam Darnold last year, having been coached by Kevin O'Connell for an entire year and off we go. I mean, that's really the way to put it here. It seems like to me off we go with the JJ McCarthy era. Again, not over till it's over. And there was a report. Some of you have mentioned from Tom Palacero that the Vikings did

make an offer for Sam Darnold, but remember they also made an offer for her cousins. Last year, they did put an offer on the table. And this is also another instance, assuming that it goes this way. And I'll just keep throwing that caveat out there. We got a big audience and new people join the show. So I'm not declaring it over until it's over everybody. But I think when we have this movement and so many people making the connection

that we can start to make the connection as well, that it is just too right there for Sam Darnold not to go to Seattle and JJ McCarthy to be the quarterback. for Sam Darnold not to go to Seattle and JJ McCarthy to be the quarterback. So if, if that plays out the way that that's going to play out, then the Vikings can carry on their plan with the way that they expected it to go. And there are going to be high expectations right out of the gate for McCarthy. It is going to be a harder schedule. There's going to be a learning curve. There's all these things that it means they're ready for JJ McCarthy to face.

And that's part of it too, is that there's really never a time where this is suddenly easy and you just say, okay, all right, well, it's, you got an easy schedule this year and just roll the ball out and everything will be fine. That's there's very hard times to find that in the NFL like it was last year. So, uh, but just going back to the point, what we've seen from the Vikings organization, the way they handle these negotiations with every player and Gazink ad says this line in the sand is quasi's middle names. Well, that's what they do is they have a price that they would do it for.

And then if someone else is willing to beat that price, and sometimes that price is so low that someone's going to be able to beat it. And it looks like that someone will be the Seattle Seahawks for Sam Darnold, a great place for him, an opportunity now for the Vikings to get going into free agency. And I'm sorry, the chat was going by quickly, but one of you asked about the backup situation. There has been enough buzz about Daniel Jones

getting a job somewhere else, whether it be Pittsburgh, or whether it be the Colts, which actually makes a lot of sense because Jones is a runner and could kind of do the same type of thing. And, uh, I think it's going to be hard to get Daniel Jones to agree to stay with the Vikings if he's got a chance to go compete with someone else, but maybe Kevin O'Connell could make the argument that once upon a time, uh, you know, you

saw Sam Darnold take a backup job and then he helped his stock significantly. Um, Caleb says that people are saying three years, one 20. Hey, that was, uh, was that, uh, was that not around my, my price three years, a hundred something, I think I had projected that earlier at some point. I mean, it makes a lot of sense. It would be very similar to Gino's deal, very similar to Baker. I mean, it makes a lot of sense. It would be very similar to Gino's deal, very similar to Baker, only what they would be doing is they would be getting younger at that position. Gino Smith's actually been around a long time and they would be getting someone who they can lock up and they can manipulate the salary cap, which maybe Gino Smith didn't want to do that. Or maybe they just thought it's a new coach there and he wasn't totally sold. So, but as far as the backup situation, uh, I think, uh, castle circle mentions keeping Nick Mullins. Yes, I would want Nick Mullins there in the building.

I think Nick Mullins is a guy that you keep on your team for as many years as he wants to be there. And then you add them to the coaching staff when he wants to get added to the coaching staff, but kind of a Sean Mannion, kind of a David Blow, same sort of thing, but you don't really want Nick Mullins in a position where he's got to play a lot and that's where you go out. Are you looking at a Mac Jones? Are you looking at some other veteran who's kind of been around a Marcus barriota could be another one that is a question that they are going to have to answer and a hunter says a question that a lot of you are going to have is could the Vikings have gotten something similar for Sam Darnold.

It's not really a similar situation that's the thing and I actually think the price tag tells you why the Vikings weren't able to do to do this so jeno smith is traded for a third but the thing about jeno smith is that. His contract and i believe they're gonna extend him now i've seen my thing popping up here. If if the raider i assume the raiders are gonna extend jenoo Smith immediately and that this has already been agreed upon because, oh, Minshew is another one because Pete Carroll and Geno Smith know each other. So I'm sure that this has already been agreed upon that Geno Smith is going to sign an extension there that is going to lower his cap hit, but he was only able to get a third with a more flexible situation with Sam Darnold.

If you trade him to another team and you don't work out an extension for him, then you're talking about $40 million of just this big old chunk on your cap hit. And you can't move it. You can't do anything with it. It's just there. It's one of the only situations in the NFL where you can't manipulate it. So that lowers the price right there. And there's a hard price on what the Vikings would take back.

So the Vikings had to take back a third or better because that's what they're going to get for a comp pick. So if anyone came in and said, well, we'll give you a fifth, then they, well, they can't do that. Right. And we see this all the time. Who was it? What receiver was just traded for a fifth?

That's a good receiver. Oh, Debo Samuel. Like why is Debo Samuel traded for a fifth when he's a good receiver? It's because of his contract. It's because of how much you have to take on in terms of cap hit that he only gets traded for a fifth. It would probably be the same thing with Sam Darnold. So that's one of the main reasons.

The second reason is that if you're Seattle, let's just say you're the Seattle Seahawks and let's just say, and this is purely hypothetical, you accidentally run into Sam Darnold agent at the combine. I mean, pure coincidence. One guy's what, you know, John Schneider, their GM he's walking this way. Darnold's agents walk in that and they go, Oh, Hey, great to see you. It's been a while. And let's, let's just say by accident, not tampering, but by accident, maybe

John Schneider mentions that they might have a quarterback opening, right? maybe John Schneider mentions that they might have a quarterback opening, right? So if Seattle knew already coming out of the combine that Sam Darnold will be interested in signing with them, why would they give the Vikings a draft pick? They would just wait and they would just sign them. So that's probably what happened. There's more moving parts. I'm certain that if the Vikings could have traded him for a pick they would have There was I don't think that there was anything they could do. I didn't factor for Seattle showing up and

Darnold seeming to have something worked out or Darnold's agent having something worked out already with the Seahawks which is just this is flashing with red lights of That's what's going to happen with Sam Darnold going to the Seattle Seahawks. So I think everybody comes out here. If this is the way it plays out, everybody else comes out. Well, uh, it comes out like that. Seattle gets a quarterback who's a veteran in his prime that can help. And if you're talking about the Raiders,

they get a quarterback for the first time that is actually decent. And the Vikings move on to their guy in JJ McCarthy and all's well that ends well. That's at least how this looks like it's going to play out within the next couple of days. So let me give you the fact that this show is sponsored real quick and the ad read and then there is some other Vikings news that we need to talk about that

is beyond this and questions comments of course I will take them but there is another piece of news that has some serious significance to what's going to happen on Monday. So, but first you notice I'm wearing the hat, always wearing the hat. If you're a hat guy too, well, that might be because you're trying to cover up the hair loss, but I got something that could help you. It is called HIMS. If you've lost your hair,

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That is hims.com slash purple insider. Results vary based on studies of topical oral and oral minoxidil and finasteride. Prescription products require an online consultation with a healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply, see website for details and safety information. So the other news is that Jordan Schultz of Fox reported that a

Byron Murphy is unlikely to work out a deal with the Vikings and we'll be hitting the free agent market. This is not shocking to me because the price tag and the lack of great, uh, cornerbacks on the market, the price stage is likely to be high. Where I have stood on the Byron Murphy issue was if they decide to pay him and they give them a little more than you would have thought, okay, not that big of a deal. Because paying a little bit more than you want to for continuity and somebody you know is healthy and has been good for you,

that's all worth money. And that's okay if they decided to do it. And that's probably why they continued to negotiate with him past his void date. That's why they past his void date. That's why they move the void date back because they like him. And everything I've heard about buyer Murphy jr. From the team. And it's so clear just from the way he interacts with his teammates is that they feel like he is a fit.

And with this team more than I think a lot of other teams who are, I mean, you're always hunting talent, but I think the Vikings have a very specific way of doing things inside their place and When you look at Jonathan Grenard and when you look at Andrew van Ginkle and Blake Cashman They are fits in the way of doing things. I don't want to call it the Viking way they got to win something for that, but their way of doing things, what types of players they like and buyer Murphy fits that and that's worth money. But is it worth how much more an extra five, 10, 15 million dollars in total over what they're willing to pay? There is a point where you get to, no, it's probably not. And once once again not that there would be any tampering in indy but i'm sure that byron murphy jr.

Heard what his prices might be on the open market and came back to the vikings and said. Is that where you're willing to go and it seems that there's a good chance the Vikings are not willing to go there. What that does do is, and every player has a style, every player has a profile. What are they good at? What are they not good at? One of the things that Byron Murphy, it's just not his thing,

is being that press man type of corner. It's just not really that guy. He is more of a cerebral playmaker plays in the zone really well can bump inside to bump outside. And those are good things but they don't have that guy who you're out there one on one and he's gonna shut you down on the third down. You don't wanna throw that way because he's over there. And there are some of those guys, more of that ilk in free agency. Carlton Davis is one of them. Sharvarius ward, DJ Reed, those guys all play and Paul Sinodibo, who is probably my favorite

name that I haven't mentioned enough, I think on the show over the last couple of weeks, Saints guy who we saw play in the, one of those Josh jobs games, but Paulson Adibo is a really good player and he's a playmaker on the football. But two years ago, he was banged up last year. Two years ago, he was in the top 15 in man coverage grade by PFF.

That's kind of what they're looking for when it comes to that cornerback position, wanting to play more man. And I think what Brian Flores goal is for this year and this off season, this free agency is to make himself less have to do it all less have to cook it up and go let him cook. Oh yeah, you want him to cook, but what if he just didn't have to? And that's what Philadelphia did. Like they didn't have to, uh, Vic Fangio didn't have to cook up

anything in terms of pass rush. He just said, all right, go get them. And the same thing with man coverage where it's like, well, if you got man corners, you know, go out and just man up and, and do your job. Right. Like you don't have to fool everybody all the time. And that's why I think defensive tackle and corner are such a big deal in this free agency and getting guys who play certain styles.

So defensive tackles who get after the quarterback and then corners who are more along the lines of lockdown players, there's opportunities there. And if we do indeed have our answer, which I'll be probably saying some of the similar things, if the moment it happens, we do the emergency podcasts and all that stuff, but when it, if it, if it does happen and it's onto JJ McCarthy, and important point about this off season and what they can do in free agency at the guard position, defensive tackle.

And now if Byron Murphy leaves, especially cornerback is they can set up those contracts, however they want to in the past, even last year, they had to set up contracts in a way that would work around a bunch of dead cap for Kirk cousins last year. That's how they got those guys. They kicked the money down the road. Cashman van ginkle, like all those, I mean, they had those guys, even Stefan Gilmore, like they had certain setups for their contracts. Aaron Jones had some dead void years and that's why they had to move back his void date, like

all those things. They had to manipulate the cap to get all those free agents. Now it was worth it. They had a great season. Some of those players are going to be here long term, but they won't have to do that now if JJ McCarthy is their guy and Sam Darnold is a Seattle Seahawk. Instead, they could set up those contracts potentially to have bigger year one and not

as big in the future as they've done so many times to potentially not have to do restructure after restructure just to squeeze out one more player in free agency. And I think the approach should be, there's a list of free agents that are at the top that I think also come with warning lights. And last year was a lot of fun when the day that cousins left, and then there was just a bunch of, uh, free agent signings, it was a flurry for the bike is a crazy day, crazy day for me. Really, a really fun, fun day when they sign all these people and there's a new quarterback. Whoa. I think this year they might want to take a little bit more of

a approach of not chasing necessarily the biggest names. And I think Granada fell into the category of biggest names. Uh, Van Ginkle may have slipped through the cracks a bit but Cashman even too they might want to take the approach of seeing how things play out a little bit first and Look for second-tier free agents and try to add a lot of them as opposed to maybe putting it all into One player or or two players and then trying to patchwork But I think one of the things they have going for them though, for whoever they wanted to try to bring in,

is that they scored so well in the NFLPA, and then now they have this situation where they can structure contracts however they want. I mean, if you're an agent, what are you thinking about for free agency? Of course, you're thinking the money first, and then about the location, and the Vikings can now set up the money however they need to if sam darnold indeed leaves for the seattle seahawks it is always possible that something could change the last moment and

wow we never saw coming and he's coming back what a shocker but now that we've reached this point and now that we see a clear team that is not. A trash fire Seattle. I'm sure they've their fans have their criticisms. I'm sure their media has their criticisms of their team, but they were a winning team last year. They were one play away from beating the Vikings and making the playoffs last year. Potentially they have a great stadium. They have good wide receivers. I don't know what their offensive line is like

to tell you the truth. I would have to look, but, and I know Gino holds out of the ball just like Darnold, so they'll probably draft there or whatever, but they're a very good franchise. And so now that that is presented itself, it makes so much more sense that that would be a place for Sam Darnold to go

where he could have success because the other franchises are mostly down so bad. And even with Pittsburgh, like it's a good franchise, but Arthur Smith, like, do you trust that run first and all that sort of stuff. But in this case, Clint Kubiak is going to go out there and he's going to play a similar offense to Gary Kubiak. Kyle Shanahan is where he came from. And even Derek Carr played well last year with Clint Kubiak and then got hurt as he so often does. But, you know, I think that Seattle now has a chance to compete out there. If Matthew Stafford drifts off, the 49ers aren't gonna be the same.

Maybe Arizona can't get over that hump. So you could see Sam Darnold potentially in the playoffs if he ends up with the Seahawks. But the big takeaway for Vikings fans is that it's JJ McCarthy time. This is what you planned on. And if it does work out that way, like just think about,

and I just, I don't wanna go so far down this road because if it happens, out that way, like just think about, and I just, I don't want to go so far down this road because if it happens, when it happens, I want to think about it more. Like this, this was one where all of a sudden this news drops and I just run into the studio and go live and just I'm trying to think of everything I can think of right now. But if you go back to the day that

Quasidaf-Mensa got here and we were trying to figure out, like, how are they going to get out of this? It was one thing that I really think about a lot is there was an NFL.com article when Kevin O'Connell was hired and I believe that completed all the coaching hirings and the article ranked the best situations for all 10 hires. And I think Kevin O'Connell under best situations was sixth. It was not thought of to be the best situation to come into a veteran quarterback who didn't win.

The salary cap was in trouble. The roster was older and all of us myself. I'm sure all of you guys were looking around and saying, how are they going to get out of this? Are they going to tank? But then the wills don't want to tank. So now what now? How are they going to get out of this? And Chicago's out there tanking and the Lions had already started tanking and like man, she should you just, should you just tear it down? Should you get rid of Kirk? And, and look, maybe we'd be talking about more draft picks if they had done that.

But to go from that point where it felt so far down to now the point where we're talking about, they don't even know what to do with all the money and free agency. And they're going to turn it over to their top 10 draft pick quarterback. This took a long time to get here. Possibly, but it's the place that was always where they needed to get. And for the leadership group of this team to get them there and now look at the roster and go, you've got star pillars who are in their prime. You've got free agent money to spend to stack up your roster and a young

quarterback, the only other thing that we're talking about, or we should be talking about going forward is them getting more younger players on rookie contracts, but if McCarthy works out that matters less, but you know, you about going forward is them getting more younger players on rookie contracts. But if McCarthy works out that matters less, but you still have to hit on draft picks, where Dallas Turner goes, where, it all goes from here with Jordan Addison. I assume that he's gonna continue to be a good player,

but we'll see on a suspension or whatever, but those players need to hit. They need to develop some guys. They need to have guys take next steps like Theo Jackson, development players, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Jaylen Redmond. You need these players to work out. Mackay Blackman is a huge player for this team. You need these guys to work out. There's no question.

But to be in a spot where you can hand the keys over to the guy that you want to be your franchise player and then support him with so many other things. I mean, we're a couple days away from this being made official, but if it's all but official at this moment, what, what a moment it is for the Vikings to get to this point and to have done it by not falling apart and having two of the three seasons going into the playoffs with either 13 or 14 wins is quite an accomplishment.

Now we don't crown people. Brian Flores said, you know, don't go crown in this guy. So, you know, I make sure that I'm not crowning people. So it's not a crown. It's not a ring. It's not, Hey, you're 14 when quarterback left. So give your team a ring. That's not a ring. It's not, Hey, you're 14 win quarterback left. So give your team a ring.

That's not how it works. Uh, they need to prove it and it will not be easy for them to prove it. But this is the model. This is the way that's worked. You could study it ever since the rookie wage scale started. This is the way. And as we get to this moment, that feels like the press, it feels like, like we're standing right outside the door and we're listening in and we're here.

Oh, he's going and all it has to wait a couple of days until the door actually opens and then we walk through it into this spot. And that's why I said, like, I don't want to go too far down this road. And then I did anyway, but to get to this point, that is the proven method of building a roster around a young quarterback and then hoping that that guy hits and that he can take you to another level. This is the way and it's quite a success if they get there and are able to do it and then have a big off season. And again, they have to sign the right players.

They haven't done it yet. And until they do, we can't tell you what that's going to be like, how good they're going to be. But they're right there. They're standing right at that door and are about to walk through it potentially. So, you know, I think, uh, I think it's a, even though we're not like really there yet officially, it's a big day here to have this happen and now Sam Darnold seeming like he is almost locked in with the Seattle Seahawks but it is odd it's like finding out your Christmas present on December 22nd like oh man I really wanted a PS5 but I can't play it until it's like we can't play it until Monday which I, we can't play it until Monday, which I am considering. Maybe I should do this. Maybe I should just live stream all Monday from the minute that it starts. And just, I think I'm going to do that.

Just, I don't know, four hour live stream. I think it's probably got to happen. I'll see if I can get my friends to pop in and out, uh, throughout that time. Cause this is a really exciting moment for the Vikings. If this is what's going to happen and you know, Castle mentions, you know, the dominoes falling. That's exactly what I thought. I thought I better, I better go downstairs. My wife is on TV right now, by the way. So I'm not going to talk for a whole lot longer cause she's broadcasting on big

10 network, their tournament. So I want to watch, but I felt the same way. Like this feels like the dominoes have fallen and it's now a direction that we know where it's going. And I will, I saw some of you commenting on the rumors and the, well, is. You know, JJ McCarthy going to demand a trade if Arnold comes back. And I think I've been thinking about this a lot actually about how this went down and how a lot of things have gone down recently with the NFL insiders. There is a battle being waged with those folks with each other.

They fight each other in Starbucks. Like that, it just, there is a real fight for information between the Diana Rossini, the Jordan Schultz now, the Ian Rappaport, the Adam Schefter, where all of them, Albert Breer, you could throw in there, these reporters whose main job for their company is to get information and share it. And they can only work with as much information as anybody in the NFL wants to tell them sort of like trades.

You can't make somebody trade with you. You can't make KOC tell you the truth. And I think with KOC, his main thing is that he's always going to support players. He's always going to have their back. He's always going to say, hey, Sam Darnold earned it, earn the right to fit free agency. Hey, we want Sam Darnold back is what he's going to say behind

the scenes to these reporters. But that doesn't mean that it's going to be the case. What makes more sense is what we really hear, which is, okay, KOC is coming out and telling us that McCarthy is ready to start the off season program. That was the most important thing that came from the combine. If you go back and look at my conversation with Dane Mizutani, where we had just walked off of that podium and we're like, okay, we all agree that that's the biggest thing, right? Like that means that McCarthy is going to be ready to go and off we go. They're also always going to negotiate.

They're always going to have conversations. It's a very communication first type of leadership. So they're not just going to say, ah, say you're never gonna hear a story. You know how sometimes there's stories where a player will go on a podcast and he'll be like, yeah, you know, that team, like it just, they just didn't tell me anything. And then I found out I was totally in the dark. You're never going to have that with the Vikings. So they're always going to have communication, which means that from the agent side, they could say, we're having communication, right?

But I think what we need to do is sort of treat the insiders like infotainment. Right. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. It means they're talking about it and they're telling you what they're hearing, It means they're talking about it and they're telling you what they're hearing. But are they vetting that always in a way that factors in common sense? So another great example, and now there's a dozen examples here with the Vikings. Justin Jefferson trades. Oh, man, the game is close.

All right. I'm going to wrap it up. Thank you for the update. I mean, I got to see the fourth quarter. Thank you for watching my wife broadcasting on Big Ten Network But yeah, I do want to see the end of that so I'm gonna go soon but this is the last thing I want to say about it is just that

It's infotainment like they're going to give you what they're hearing and they're not necessarily going to say Hey, you know, this isn't really all that likely, right? And, uh, yeah, Taylor, I know the Schefter was on with PA and he said that he didn't think he was coming back. So obviously Schefter was a little bit ahead of that. And that's the other thing too. Sometimes, sometimes these people, they, they know, but they can't really say it yet because the information has kind of been given to them in a way of like, Hey, to this i'll tell you this but you can't say it yet that kind of thing.

So it's a game that's getting played between the insiders and the league and the insiders get you sometimes and sometimes like there's all these different things. We just can't take that word as that's exactly what's going on is gonna happen. It's their best interpretation of the information that they got. So not meaning to trash anyone or anything else if sam darnell leaves and there was never a real negotiations just that sometimes. Sometimes, and this goes for stats too, sometimes you're better off with no stats than bad stats. Sometimes you're better off with no information than bad information. And like Justin Jefferson negotiations kind of bad information ends up out there. How about the Jay Glazer thing with KOC and potential trades?

And I know he didn't frame it like that, but like we all took it that way. And there's just been a lot of this. There's just been a lot of this recently. And I think that you have to look at it with extreme skepticism. Anytime there's an insider report, I like to talk about them. You like to talk about them. We begrudge absolutely none of those insiders because they're always stirring the pot and always making things interesting. But if Sam Darnold just walks out the door three days from now and signs with Seattle, and it was never really that close with the Vikings, we do have to go, all right, the next time this comes up, maybe we'll kind of look at it a little bit differently because we've had enough of these instances to know that we should really go with what

is right in front of us more so than, uh, necessarily what we're being told from the outsider type of people. So the other thing I did think of too is when is the next time that we're going to have this, when is the next time that we are going to have some big dramatic thing that plays out over a long period of time. I mean there is a really a big contract to be solved there is a quarterback situation there is a quarterback to be drafted there is a jefferson there is a ko see me maybe with a quasi da fulmen says contract we don't have to get into that but. Maybe there will be something there or maybe it'll just be taken care of soon and They're having to work that out. So we'll see but I think what this does

If he ends up in Seattle is it really settles the franchise It really settles the franchise Now everybody knows where they are. They everybody knows what the plan is. There's no big debates. There's no big contracts. There's no craziness. It's time to go. And, you know, I, I, I think that's a really good thing for them. It clarifies the situation extremely with, you know, who's the guy and how they're doing it. So yeah, three years, right? When McCarthy needs an extension, right? But if, see what you're aiming for there is that there is nothing to be clarified there,

that it's just gonna get done because he's good enough. Maybe, yeah, maybe Addison. I don't think Addison's a big enough star to have this happen, to be having all the insiders talking about all the time. Maybe he will be by then. Right now, I think that would kind of be more footnote-ish. They've been at the center stage with these negotiations now

for a couple years. And to get to this point would be very clarifying and very calming, I think, to everybody for this to happen. And that is maybe a major benefit of Sam Darnold not staying. And I think I've told you guys before that it was, I was making the argument for Sam Darnold at times, as in why would the team want to do it? And here is why.

But from my perspective, I didn't want to see that happen because you know how it can go. Like for the health of the organization, you didn't want to see a quarterback controversy all the time. You didn't want to see fans booing Sam Darnold at every three and out. You didn't, you didn't want to see this daily.

Hey, what's, you know, what's going on, uh, with this and should they bench him and who's having the better practice? And then we're tracking practice completed. We didn't, that's just not good for anybody. So, uh, and, uh, purple half says the quarterback discussion needs to end. Well, that's why we're here, my friend. I think it just did. I think it just did.

Like with Gino Smith being traded to the Raiders and all the reports being that Sam Darnold is the top target of the Seattle Seahawks, which more or less says that is going to happen. Uh, just for those asking, I'll take a look right now at the other options for the Vikings. I have not thought about, or for backup quarterback, usually, now I do have a policy normally. I haven't brought it out in a while. My policy in the past has been, I don't talk about the backup quarterback situation because of the starter goes down your screwed and we don't talk about screwed but.

I'll make an exception because. This backup quarterback would be important to jj mccarthy's development i will say though and i'll just lay it down there today i'm sure you'll hear me say it again. That. It's it's McCarthy time. Like it isn't, well, you know, there's going to be a camp competent. I don't want to hear any of that. Well, what if he's not right? I don't want to hear any of that. If he's not ready, then you should have convinced Sam Darnold to stay.

I guess he's, he's ready. It's time. Like once they're going to him, it's time. And that's the standard we need to hold. Because if he was close last year, which I believe he was, he's the guy. No one else should take a first team rep ever for this team. I don't want to see Daniel Jones taking first team reps. It's time to go. Let's see. Who else could they bring in?

And then I got to go watch basketball. That's not great. Uh, Jacoby percent kind of love that kind of love that for them as a veteran guy, like whoever they bring in, that guy's not playing. So that's the important part. Like he's not playing unless you're in trouble. I don't know how much Flacco likes that. And he was so bad last year.

I do like Marriott at Marriott. I think has a really good reputation as being that type of guy. Mason Rudolph has been a good backup in the past. Does Jimmy Garoppolo want to come here? Kind of knows the offense. Eh, this is not the best list I've ever seen in the world. Teddy Bridgewater. I don't think Teddy really wanted to play. I think he kind of wanted to latch on and get a ring and they allowed him to do it. Cause they like him. Mack Jones, not much to speak of. That's going to be something they'll have to work their way through.

It, if they had nothing, I'd like Zach Wilson, Minshew. I like Minshew. Minshew is a good idea. He's he's been this guy before he could be that guy again. I like that. So that's where we're at. What a day. What a day with this trade. I'm just sitting down, watch

some ball. And I kind of thought to myself, it's been quiet, but the Friday news dump, even in a 24 hour news cycle, it never fails us. So, Hey, thank you all for popping in an emergency podcast. I really appreciate that. And I guess if something else comes out later on in the evening, I'll do it again. But at least for now, what we know is Geno Smith is a raider. Every single reporter has Sam Darnold to the Seahawks.

It makes so much sense. No, I'm not criticizing the Vikings for having not franchise tagged him and traded him because they would have needed someone to do it. And if someone was gonna do it, they would have done it. And they got maybe a bad break there and it's just hard to do. But now it appears to be JJ McCarthy time. And the side note for today, which actually could have been a whole podcast

in itself is that Byron Murphy Jr. does not appear like he's coming back. There is no update yet on Aaron Jones. We could get that news very soon. And here's the thing about this channel. When news happens, I'm gonna be here. I have cleared the schedule. That makes it sound like I had ever have anything going on.

I've cleared the schedule. I'm ready to go at all times. I may go out for Taco Bell, but it's not far from my house. So I will be ready to talk football with you guys whenever anything happens with the Minnesota Vikings. This is the place to be, so make sure you subscribe, get the notifications so you can tell when I'm going live. And the other thing is too,

if you wanna support the channel, purpleinsider.football is where I'm doing all of my writing, which I'm gonna go upstairs and start writing now, my reaction to the Geno Smith trade, and you get that in your inbox at least five days a week, sometimes more. So, anyway, fun stuff, guys. We are right on the edge of this off season,

about to explode on Monday, and I will be here for it. So, thanks everybody, and I will talk to y'all soon. Football.