Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - The Packers trade for Micah Parsons (Part 2)

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

Matthew Coller breaks down the Packers trade for Micah Parsons and Dane Mizutani joins to talk about the Vikings' press conferences with Adam Thielen, Carson Wentz, KOC and Kwesi. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

And I do agree, Brian, that Parsons disrupts everything. No, he's, he's that good. He's that good. If you're down playing, you're kind of just, you're just kind of hoping. Okay, sounds like they're signing Kvon Wallace. Well, that's good. That one's not going to get an emergency podcast. But I will tell you guys that today there was, there was a lot.

going on at TCO Performance Center. So I'm going to transition into that. At TCO Performance Center, Kevin O'Connell talked, Quasi, Carson Wentz, Adam Thielen. It was a really interesting day out there. So Dane Mizatani and I had a long conversation. So I didn't plan on this big breaking news with Micah Parsons to the Packers. I thought that we were just going to, you know, have my discussion with Dane from earlier at TCO Performance Center and move on from there.

But instead, Roger Goodell's NFL, although I didn't finish this. Now, if I had finished this pot and then it came out, then it would have been extra frustrating. But if you guys want to take a deep breath, we're not going to talk about the Packers here. All Viking stuff. That is what is on the way here with myself and Dane Mizatani from TCO Performance Center earlier today. Following press conferences of Wentz, Thielan, Brosmer, K.O.C. and Quasi Daufermensa. So here is that conversation. Hey, everybody. Welcome into TCO Performance Center, Matthew Coller, and Dane Mizatani of

the Pioneer Press. And we have had a busy little day here, folks. We talked with Carson Wence, Max Brosmer, Adam Thielen, Kweziadaflmenza, and Kevin O'Connell. And guess what? You'll be shocked. We got a lot of takeaways from all of those. So here's where I want to start. We're just going to go one by one for our day. So we come here. We park, we come in the building, we go through, we go into the little practice facility. And there is a giant mammoth human being by the name of Carson Wentz. Got to say in person, Carson, wow, looks like he should actually be playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is an enormous person.

But that's not the point. What was interesting to hear from Carson Wentz today was just about his approach, Dane. I thought it was something that I was really wondering about is Carson Wentz. Like you're here, you used to be a starting quarterback, you're okay with being a backup now. Are you kind of bitter? Do you think that you should be QB1 or what's the story here? And Carson came across as someone who really understands where he is in his career as a journeyman backup quarterback. And he talked a lot about having a willingness to help in any way possible.

And it really stood out to me when he told a little story about getting here and talking with J.J. McCarthy. saying this guy's never even prepared for a game before. So they were having a conversation about how Carson Wentz prepared for his many almost 100 starts in the NFL. And I walked away from that press conference thinking, Dane, that they've got somebody who can be legitimately helpful to J.J. McCarthy, not just someone who can help if they lose J.J. McCarthy and can come in and play, but that can actually take on that mentor role. I really took that away from him that he felt like he was taking that on. and that was important to him as he arrives here with the Minnesota Vikings. Yeah, and I think J.J. McCarthy is the centerpiece in all of this. How can the Minnesota Vikings help J.J. McCarthy along,

make sure J.J. McCarthy is in the best position to succeed moving forward. And frankly, independent of what Sam Howell did on the field during training camp, Sam Howell probably wasn't that guy. Sam Howell is 24 years old. Sam Howell started one year in the NFL and it didn't go well. Carson Wentz is 32 years old, going on a decade in the NFL, a ton of experience, a ton of life experience, a ton of professional experience, all of that where J.J. McCarthy can go to Carson Wentz, ask questions, and get meaningful answers. I think that is an important part of the equation for a backup quarterback. Can Carson Wentz win two games if J.J. McCarthy is out for four games? Yeah, he probably can do that too. He's proven across his 94 starts in the NFL that he is capable. Now, I, I, I did walk in here thinking, how is he going to take to this role? He was the franchise guy with the Eagles.

He was a starter with the cults. He was a starter with the commanders. But it does seem like the past few years, three, four, five, he's really started to grasp his reality, where he is at in his career. And he has transitioned to being a backup and being okay with being a backup. So I think the Vikings have someone now who can help Jason McCarthy along who can win a game in a pinch but can bring kind of that holistic approach to the position that is really important like now I hope we're not talking about Carson

Wentz too much this year because then something terrible happened but overall I think when you look at what the quarterback room looked like a week a week and a half ago to what it looks like right now the Vikings are better in the aggregate I think they're a lot better off in not just the chances that they need to use their backup quarterback because after the way Sam Howell practiced throughout the summer, I felt like they would lose every single game if he had to play. Because for whatever reason, maybe he connected with the Washington offense a little better at times than he did with this offense, but he never really seemed to have it

click for him. And Wentz has been in a bunch of different offenses, but one of them was the 2023 Los Angeles Rams, which we know that Sean McVeigh's office. offense is extremely influential and similar to what Kevin O'Connell runs. So I'm sure some of the terminology won't be that hard. He also has familiarity with Josh McCown, who was his backup quarterback in 2019. And he said, you know, it is kind of funny, like having them work together as players. And then now he's still playing. And McCown is his coach. But that communication seems to be open right away. And I just felt like Wentz was very good at expressing himself and talking

about his journey and about how he's been through just about everything the NFL has to offer. He was in JJ McCarthy's position once upon a time with a team that expected to win and they said Carson Yard quarterback and by his second year he's leading a team toward the Super Bowl but then gets hurt

comes back. The team's not quite the same kind of battles through some 500 seasons. Has the team move him ultimately and goes to another team where he's the guy and it doesn't quite work out in the last week of the season. I mean, this guy has fought through every single battle that you can fight through as a quarterback he's seen every

single defense. I think that that experience is so valuable. And even just when J.J. McCarthy in the middle of a game goes through something difficult and comes over to the sideline, there's a guy on the sideline with him who can see the game extremely well, who can be looking at the iPad, who knows defenses that he's faced, and can also have the experience of what he's gone through over his almost 100 games in the NFL. I did wonder, what is Carson Wentz's approach? Because we've heard sometimes quarterbacks who are backups,

not necessarily that Kevin O'Connell has wanted to pick or Sean Mannion before, like all those guys have been the helpful backup quarterback, Nick Mullins, of course. But even sometimes around the league, you'll hear like, hey, you know, I'm just competing with the rest of the guys or something like that. And I think if I

had picked up on that from Wentz, I would have been a little concerned about how that fit was going to go, but walked out pretty confident in Carson Wentz's fit. now after we were done chatting with him we wandered over and spoke with max brosmer who makes the minnesota vikings team and he just said that in typical max brosmer type fashion he said that as soon as he found out he was making the 53 he got on a phone call with his parents and his girlfriend and his dogs and they had a great discussion and then he said all right guys

i got to go back to you know doing everything i possibly can and what stands out about max to me is the mature approach. He does not come across like a guy who just left college not too long ago. And Kevin O'Connell said that he had picked up on their offense and the things they wanted to do, the techniques that they use as fast as anybody that he's been around.

And that was really our experience watching Max Brosmer here is I think what's above the shoulders is so impressive with Max, whether it's his mentality from a day-to-day basis. He talked about when they're running the practice reps he stands back behind and runs the mental rep on air he does the drop back like this is this is who max brosmer is and i just feel like him and kevin o'connell and j j mccarthy are birds of a feather and that long term this is going to be a very good fit for max here in minnesota and then he also gets to see how carson wents as a

veteran backup handles himself i really like where max brosmer sits with this franchise right now yeah i mean he couldn't be a better fit for Kevin O'Connell in the way they think the game. I think that was pretty clear. Just listening to Max Brosmer talk back in the spring when he was here in rookie minicamp, it was like this guy has a different element to him in the way he's able to think about and talk about the game. I thought what he said today was interesting and someone asked him, like, was there a moment that you knew like you belonged?

And he said it was kind of gradual. And I think that's a perfect way to describe it. Was there a moment I knew Max Rosemar was going to make the 53? And there were a couple of super good throws in the Titans game, and he looked great in the Patriots game. But there wasn't really a moment that I can point back to in training camp and say, like, yeah, that guy has it. It was gradual. And I think it was gradual because over the course of time, you get to see how someone,

acclimates to the offense, how they get the play call in the huddle, take it to the line of scrimmage and how it all runs. You can't like notice that right away. You have to see repetition of that happening time and time and time again. And he's doing it without getting a ton of reps. I think his mental capacity is his superpower. And he mentioned even today like it's had to be his superpower because he hasn't been the most talented quarterback over the course of his lifetime playing football. There have been better prospects. He was a guy who had to go to FCC New Hampshire because nobody wanted him when he was a kid in Roswell, Georgia. He was a kid who, after dominating at the FCF's level, only the gophers in Wake Forest show

interest in him. So he goes to Minnesota. Then he was a kid who, after being one of the best quarterbacks, the gophers have had in the past decade, nobody wants him in the NFL draft. So he goes in signs as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings. But he was a guy all along who I think thought the game different and understood that the way he was going to exceed and be a guy who stood out against his peers was just being able to think the game different. He might not have the biggest arm. He might not be the most accurate. He can do all of those things at a high capable NFL level, but it was always his brain that made him stood out and that's always on display, whether he's on the field or even just talking to him. He carries himself

like a franchise quarterback. He is a third string quarterback right now. Eventually, I think he will be a backup quarterback to J. Jim McCarthy. And I would not be shocked if he is a starting quarterback at some point in his NFL career. I think so too. I think when you see the field as well as he does, and I think that comes from just preparation, that it was surprising to me some of the throws he was able to make as an undrafted quarterback, even from mini-camp.

And then when we saw him play in the games, there was a quick decision-making. The ball came out quickly, and I think that's all just because he knows what he's looking at. And that is something that once you see it, you know it, you say, like, okay, I don't know exactly what this is going to be, but it's something. And that's with Max Brosmer. And then the more you hear him talk, the more you really get it. Like, this guy carries himself like a pro quarterback, so a big day for him being on the 53. So after we spoke with Max Brosmer, then we go over to the other side of the practice facility and look who it is. Number 19, Adam Thielen. It feels like it was only yesterday that we were all covering Adam Thielen because it was actually a lot of our careers

spent covering Adam Thielen. So just, you know, nice to see him back and have a discussion with him. But the takeaway from him was that he really didn't know if this was going down or not. He said he was in a hot tub preparing for practice when he got the phone call that this was going on. He said, okay, I wasn't oblivious. I knew it was realistic. He said he's on social media, so he saw all your tweets and everything else wanting him back. But I think with Thielen, what we heard more from Kevin O'Connell was that his role, it's going to be big and it's going to be important. And even when Jordan Addison comes back, that there's going to be a lot there for Adam Thielen.

So I think that they view this as a really important addition for this team. But what did you take away from what Thelan? had to say. Yeah, I mean, everyone can point to the homecoming. Did you know he's from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota? Did you know he went undrafted out of Minnesota State Mancato? Like, obviously, we know all of that. We know that he made the team after coming here on a rookie tryout and turned himself into a face of a franchise kind of guy. So it's cool to see it come full circle. It's cool to see that video on social media of Adam Thielen celebrating with his family. It's cool to hear Adam Thielen talk about how excited he is to be back in Minnesota. We know

all that. But this wasn't a move, a team that's trying to win a Super Bowl this year, did not just make this move because it was a fun headline in August. They would not have made this move if they did not think Adam Thielen could contribute at a high level. And I think the biggest takeaway for me, talking to Adam Thielen, he still thinks he can contribute at a high level. And listening to Kevin O'Connell talk about the versatility that Adam Thielen has shown not only throughout his career, but in the past two years in Carolina, being asked to do a lot in that offense being asked to bring a young quarterback like Bryce Young along and help him and be a guy he can rely on. It does mirror what the Vikings are going to ask Adam Thieland to do

for J.J. McCarthy, especially in the early stages of the season when Jordan Addison is serving his suspension and Jalen Ehler is still working through his hand injury. So the takeaway is that it's a fun story. It's a cool like full circle moment, but it's so much bigger than that. Like they would not have done this just to have some good press and good PR, you know, right before week one. He's also a guy that's been here before, worked a year with Kevin O'Connell, probably across the league and the people that were available. If anybody can pick up an offense in a week and a half, two weeks, it's Adam Thielen. Like, everybody else who is out there, whether it's on the free agent market or on the trade market. Nobody's picking up this offense as quickly as Adam Thielen can because he's been

there. He's done that. So it's a cool moment for sure. But I think when we see him producing on the field, maybe week one at Soldier Field will say, okay, yeah, that makes sense. They did this because he can still play. So he also talked about his connection with J.J. McCarthy, where they have worked out in the last two summers together. And there's even a video of Thielen talking with Alk Osmus from KSTP after one of those workouts and saying, you know, this kid's got it, Vikings fans, you're in great hands or whatever it was that he said. And he said, at those moments, I never would have imagined that I would have been walking back into this building to play with J.J. McCarthy. But he actually gave some great specifics about what he learned about J.J. McCarthy that when they were going over different things, running routes, thrown on air, that he said that McCarthy had really strong specifics about what he was looking. for and why certain routes worked a certain way, that their brains were kind of on the same wavelength with that communication. I think another one of J.J. McCarthy's superpowers, by the way, is being able to communicate with his wide receivers. We saw it all through camp where after

reps, he's walking over to whoever it was, Lucky Jackson or Thayer Thomas or Jordan Addison. And I think that we saw him and Addison really get on the same page. And there was a mention of Kevin O'Connell that he thought Addison had the strongest or one of the strong camps of anybody on the entire team, which I would completely agree with. And I think when you can communicate well and Adam Thielen can communicate well, that is a bonus for those two getting on the same page that they've already been having those high level football-y type discussions about the offense. And that's not going to be something new for him or them when Adam Thielen actually arrives

and gets out on the practice field. It's not going to be, oh, nice to meet you. Let's talk about a route. They've already actually had a simulation of this. And when there's only how many days left until the Vikings play, every minute kind of counts with that that they have had banked up. But I think the other part with Adam Thielen is just he could not control how excited he was to be back with the team. I mean, the entire press conference, he was trying to say things that are very Adam Thelan-y,

like, you know, be where my feet are. And he was, you know, talked about how much Carolina meant to him and how that was hard to leave Carolina. and that that was a unique experience for him because he had always lived in Minnesota around his family and his lifelong friends and all that stuff. But you couldn't take the smile off his face when he was talking about being back in Minnesota.

So there was some folks who had questioned like Dota Steele and want to come back. Did they leave on bad terms or something? Well, clearly not. And Kevin O'Connell talked a lot about, that was my first question to O'Connell, about their relationship, about them staying in touch for this entire time,

just as people, as people in the league. And I think that that's important, too, that he knows O'Connell. He knows how O'Connell competes. He knows how he is as a play caller. He knows his confidence as a coach and how he communicates. So all of those things in a tight pinch, not that I don't think Kendrick Bourne could have come here and play as a veteran player, but it's got all these little kind of ancillary benefits to it beyond just,

oh, they got a receiver who's 35, who caught some passes last year. Yeah, there was a moment, like you talk about Adam Thieland not being able to contain his excitement. I think our friend Kevin Seferd asked, hey, were you given a choice at any point in this? Like, were you given a choice if you wanted to come here? And he said, I'm not going to get into the negotiations. I'm not going to get into, you know, what I did or didn't have a choice in the matter and tried to keep it cards close to the vest. And then a question later, our friend Alec Lewis asked, or how excited are you to work with Kevin O'Connell?

Adam Thielen said, well, I'm super excited. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't excited. So basically, yes, he had a choice to come here or not, and he did want to come here is what you can take away from that. He's super excited. I think it makes sense that everyone involved is excited about this move. We'll see how it works out. It did take me back to 2010 when I saw this news break yesterday. Because when I was a wee little boy, five, six, seven years old, I liked Randy Moss, was obsessed with him, had an 84 jersey. Well, I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I came here for college. They traded for Randy Moss in 2010. I called my mom. I said, send me my 84 jersey. And I got it wore it around school or around campus for about four weeks and then we all know how that ended. But I was thinking to myself, are there kids in college today thinking, wow, I grew up watching this guy and then here he is. I think those full circle moments across the state are going to be fun, but I cannot stress enough they did this because they think he can still play.

Right. I don't think they did this for the vibes. They definitely did it because he can fit into any role in this offense. We've seen him play the slot. He played the slot a lot in Carolina, but we saw him do it here outside, bunch formation, whatever you need to throw at him, he should be able to handle it. And they are going to need it to work out way better than Randy Moss's return to

Minnesota in order for this thing to work over the first three weeks. And then, you know, there was the question to Kevin O'Connell about how he fits in after. And O'Connell basically said, we have so many formations, so many combinations that, yeah, there's going to be a role there. There is no real one, two, three, three, even though we know who number one is. I guess we should say two, three, four after. But for me, his role after, I think should probably remain as wide receiver three as much as they can because I think is Jalen Naylor does provide a certain element. It's

only ever been that and his training camp did not give me a ton more confidence that there's any other ceiling. I think he can play in the league and I think he's a good deep threat from time to time but Thielen is a complete wide receiver still and he averaged you know nearly 13 yards of catch last season

which I think we wouldn't have expected after the underneath passes of 2023 from Bryce Young also just he was a very defensive about Bryce Young, even though that wasn't my question. Sorry, Adam, you'll have to review the tape on that one. I was just asking about, like, working with a young quarterback, and I mentioned Bryce, but he said that he was, like, thrilled the way that Bryce handled everything in Carolina and fought his way through some really difficult situation. So you could kind of even get that

little bit of, like, I'm going to defend my quarterback that we know Adam Thielen for. We talked to Kevin O'Connell and Quasi Adafo Mensa and Kevin O'Connell announced the captains, I will tell you them now. J.J. McCarthy. Wow, that is a shocker, the starting quarterback. If he hadn't been, then that would be the lead of the podcast. But Harrison Smith, Brian O'Neill, Josh Mattelis, let's see, Jonathan Grenard, Aaron Jones, and Justin Jefferson. Andrew DePaul is the last one. And Andrew DePaul. Gosh, there's eight of them. I wrote down AD and I was like, remember who A.D. is. Yes, Andrew DePala. Shout out to the long snapper and a tremendous leader on their special teams group the one that i would circle here so metellus was a captain

last year we know that brian o'neill's been the leader for a while but the guy that to me was a different person this offseason than last year was jonathan grenard and i think it shows right here that grenard kind of decided after last year like i am the captain now like i this is my franchise and i'm going to take us somewhere we felt that from him every time we spoke to him and it's clear that his teammates did as well yeah i think think Jonathan Grenard, of anybody at training camp, I agree that Jordan Addison might have had the most impressive training camp on the field with the connection he was able to develop with J.J. McCarthy, with Justin Jefferson on the sideline for most of it. But looking at the

big picture and all the pieces, Jonathan Granard had the most impressive training camp of anybody on the Vikings. He was dominant. He lived in the backfield. A big reason Sam Howell struggled to pick up the offense is because he always had to have Jonathan Grenard in his face. because Jonathan Grenard pretty much beats any left tackle he lines up against that isn't named Christian Derisaw and Christian Derisaw was working his way back through training camp. So Jonathan Granard was dominant on the field, but yes, he was laser focused off of it. Anytime we talked to him, it was clear, like last year wasn't good enough for him. Fourteen and three was great.

He had a breakout year by his standards and quarterback pressures and deserved to be an all-pro if you ask me. none of that matters to him because they lost in the first round of the playoffs and you can see like the gears in his mind turning every time you ask about what are your expectations for this year like he's the guy who is pushing this thing forward he is the guy on defense who is like an extension of brian flores an extension of kevin o'connell an extension of the front office he's the guy leading it right now and i think him being voted team captain totally makes sense i remember one of the press conferences we had with john Jonathan Gernard in training camp where you got to kind of see the laser focused as he was dead serious. He said, yeah, honestly, like, I don't care who's in the secondary because the front seven we're going to sack the quarterback every time or they want to have to worry about who's in the secondary. And it sounds preposterous because, yes, you do have to worry about who's in the secondary.

But that just shows kind of an insight into his mind. They're taking care of business up front. He is the one leading the charge in that. He's just been intense. I mean, really from day one, he's been intense. whether it's with his teammates out on the field with us every time we talk to him I'm always like are you going to sack one of us because we can't that we would be dead so no but I think that him after a superstar type season sometimes guys go one way or the other you know sometimes guys will be kind of entitled then I'm a big superstar and rework my contract or whatever else which honestly he's probably underpaid now after what he did last year and granard has gone the other way with it of like really feeling like I'm going to be the reason that and I'm going to drive everybody else to where this defense can go. And that is just reflective of him in the captaincy. On Harrison Smith, there was

a question to Kevin O'Connell about Harrison Smith and his health. And O'Connell said, well, there is a injury report that will be coming out next week. Fair enough, those are the rules. But we were both told that Harrison Smith has been dealing with a personal health issue that is going to have him be week to week. And that's really all the information that we have. So we're just going to have to wait and see on Harrison Smith and his recovery. But it does sound like week one may be in question for Harrison Smith. They're deep at that position of the safety spot. Theo Jackson had a good camp. We know how good Josh Mattelis is. But it could force them to shuffle a little bit in the secondary if Harrison Smith is not good to go week one. After he was out for such a long time with an illness,

we were wondering, and I'm sure everybody else was too, what's happening here, is everything okay? And our understanding is everything is okay, but there's a recovery process, and it's going to be week to week. So that's the information that we have right now on Harrison Smith. Another Harrison, Quasi Adafo Menza talked about, Harrison Phillips. And I'll tell you what I wrote down in my notes, because it was a long answer. There were a lot of words and a lot of respect shown for Harrison Phillips. But what I wrote down in my notes is, sounds like Phillips wasn't going to play much. That's what it sounded like to me,

because when Kevin O'Connell said, well, you know, once we talk to him, his opportunity is probably going to be better with the Jets. I think that Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen were so darn good. And I think Jalen Redmond was so darn good that Harrison Phillips was set to basically be a rotational type of player that was going to work in and out and maybe play 400 snaps. And in New York, he's going to play 800 snaps.

that sounded like the, like if we have a guy that we're not going to really use as much because he got beat out by somebody else. And Redmond, we agree. It was fantastic in training camp. They've been high on Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez. I should throw him out there as well. Those guys were just more impressive to them. And they felt like they had an asset that they could move.

So even as experienced and as much of a captain and a locker room guy and a community guy and all those things as Harrison Phillips was, this is the, this is the, this is the nature of the sport is that sometimes somebody else comes into training camp and proves themselves and then you get moved somewhere else. That was how I felt listening to the answer. Was that your takeaway as well, Dane? Yeah, especially listening to how Kwayce approached his answer. I, and I think everybody was surprised last week when Harrison Phillips got traded. I was. I thought he was just a guy who would maybe retire with the Vikings. He means a lot to the community. He was a pretty proven

player on the field. I think he had a pretty good year last year. So I was surprised on the surface when that trade goes down. But then you listened to them talk today. You talked about Kevin O'Connell, the conversation he had with Harrison Phillips shortly after he was traded. I thought it was interesting listening to Quasi Adolph-Menz to talk about it, though. He mentioned something along the lines of it's good for the organization and it's good for the player. So I think that good for the player taps into, yeah, he was probably going to see his role reduced to more of a rotational player on the defensive line, not a foundational player that he was signed to be back in 2022 or whenever he first signed with the team. But then in that same breath, like you hear

Quasi Dauvinza talk, good for the player and good for the team, well, you can't really pay a rotational defensive lineman what they were paying Harrison Phillips this year. So it did seem to kind of play itself out and when you really dig in and pay attention to what happened in training camp and think back to other players on the defensive line, how deep that room was, the surprising trade from last week does start to make a little bit more sense. I think it's a guy who means a lot to the franchise will always mean a lot to certain people in this community and certain people within these four walls, this building. But there are other people. players that are just better than him right now on the roster. I think Jonathan Allen, J. Von Hargrave

are at the top of that list, but yes, Jalen Redman, Levi-Drake Rodriguez, Elijah Williams. All of these guys are pushing for playing time. I think it's going to be more of a rotational front after Jonathan Allen, J. Von Hargrave, and I don't think Harrison Phillips had put himself into, we have a trio that starts up front. I think it was we have a duo that starts up front and we have a bunch of guys who rotate in. This was good for the team because the Vikings don't have to pay a rotational pass rusher in the trenches. It was good for the player because Harrison Phillips can go play damn near every down in New York.

And when it comes to a guy like Harrison Phillips in his role, it's something that there are more defensive tackles can do than what J. Von Hargrave can do. There are more guys who can stuff the middle, own gaps, get into the backfield, which I think Jalen Redmond is excellent at. versus the run, then there are guys who are Jonathan Allen and can put up 50 pressures in a season. And that's just never been Phillips. And it seems like this is a philosophical change as well from Brian Flores of making the focus, being able to rush with four. And maybe in part because the cornerback room remains a little bit suspect, that was something that was asked about as well.

When Quasi Adolfo Menza was asked about the cornerbacks, he said, well, we did pick up Fabian Morrow. So yesterday, I made the headline of the show. The Vikings pick up a veteran corner, and people were not happy that it was Fabian Marl. Sorry, it's a fact. He has been a starter in the league. He called Fabian an NFL caliber player. I would agree with that. I mean, he's been around for a long time in the league.

But that wasn't the big acquisition, the big trade for a corner, the big signing that I think a lot of fans were looking for after training camp where Mackay Blackman came so short of expectations. and that was something that we didn't see coming entering training camp. And if the only answer for that is Fabian Morrow, it does leave you feeling a little bit on rocky ground about the cornerback group outside of the starters. But that also goes for a lot of positions where, yeah, if you get to the fourth guy on the depth chart, then you are going to have some concerns.

At least they've been able to develop Dwight McClothern for a couple years. At least Morrow has played in the league. They did keep Zemaya Vaughn. But it's still a unit that doesn't give us. you complete confidence in what they have at the cornerback spot. Did that sound to you like anything else is on the way, Dane? Because it kind of sounded to me like, yeah, we might be set there. That's what it sounded like to me. By the time we run this, there could be three new corners. Yeah, I got a little bit different of it, like a feeling in that moment because when he's

asked about, hey, you have four cornerbacks on the roster right now. And he mentions Fabian Morrow. No disrespect to Fabian Morrow, but that was like his first thing that he pointed to. And then he said, we play big nickel. You know, so safety is we look at our second area as kind of like a holistic thing and not just cornerbacks. It felt like, do you know the meme where it's like the guy who is angry behind a mask but is wearing a happy face? It felt like Quasi da Femento was like, we're good, I promise. And then behind the happy face mask, he's like, maybe. I don't know if it's imminent. I don't think they're on the phone with Stefan Gilmour's agent right now. Maybe they are. Maybe when this releases, they'll have signed him. But I do think when you read between the lines of who he mentioned as we're going to be fine, and then you hear him say, we're always looking to add and improve.

I think he's probably looking to add and improve at some point. But whoever they bring in, I don't think they're signing him to be. the number two corner. I think, yeah, Isaiah Rogers is the number two corner. I don't think they're even signing, if they bring Stefan Gilmore in, I don't know if they're signing him to be the number three corner. I think Jeff Okuda has earned the right to try to be the number three corner on this team going from training camp into the regular season.

So whoever they bring in probably just depth, I probably would be in favor of them signing a veteran for depth, because if my depth is Dwight McGleatherin at cornerback four, and then Fabian Morrow and Zemai Vaughn practice squad players at cornerbacks five and six, like I don't feel amazing about that. So no, I don't know if I walked away thinking they're going to get someone,

they're working the phones right now for it. But I think they are looking to improve that room. I mean, I think opportunities if they arise, but I don't know if there's all that draft capital from the day three, if they're out there shopping. Maybe they are. I mean, I think that they should be looking for one more guy. But I think what we probably underestimate with our skepticism of Jeff Okuda is how they feel about him and his fit in this defense, which seemed to be they were very high on how Jeff Okuda came in and handled himself during this training camp.

And it's risky. And I would agree that if anybody says that they don't buy that, I get it. Like the history is not great there. but they're also going to go on their coaches evaluations as well. And if those evaluations are high, then they might not make that move. I also think it's just hard to find like when we talk about receivers, there's always veteran receivers kind of bumping about like Hunter Renfro. If the Vikings hadn't gotten Thielen, it would have been Kendrick Bourne.

It would have been Hunter Renfro. There's always like guys. Corners, I think, is a little bit harder, although Shaq Griffin did get released. And I would be very much in favor of Shaq Griffin coming back. as part of the depth unit if they wanted him back here. So maybe it's just at this time of year, it's hard to find too many guys that are going to make you feel wildly confident

in the cornerback group. So I guess we'll see on that one. And the last hardcore footbally note here before I have a final question for you, Dane, is special teams sounded to me like Miles Price on week one, at least the way it sounded, is he is going to be back there standing waiting for that punt to fly through the air

and be the returner, which you talk about making you nervous when that punts in the air and you and I are looking up into the soldier field sky watching it come down into Miles Price's hands. There's going to be a lot of, oh boy, you know, is he going to catch it? Is he going to make the play? But I do agree with Kevin O'Connell that there's something there. The kid has a ton of confidence and he's got explosiveness.

He's got a natural playmaking mindset. I think they focused on that, at least again, at this moment. I might have to clip half the podcast if they make a bunch of changes later after we record this. But as of this moment, seems like Miles Price is the dude. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't get a sense that he was just saying something to be nice to the guy that they allowed a spot on the 53. And allowed's not even the right word because Miles Price took that spot on the 53.

There was every day in training camp, guys who would catch punts before and after practice and there was like eight of them they were trying to find somebody to do it and miles price was the guy that consistently stood out and then he translated that into games where he was dynamic at the position i think he brings a different element i think he's earned the right to be the guy and i get the sense that with the organization and the culture that they've tried to establish here of like if you earn the right, you get to be the guy that they're okay right now with giving Miles Price an opportunity to prove that he can be a guy in the league. We had this discussion countless times in training camp, though. Do I trust an undrafted rookie to catch a punt and soldier field

primetime Monday night football? No, but at a certain point, you need to just give a guy an opportunity to show you that he can be that guy. Do you remember when you were applying for jobs out of college and it'd be like you need five years of experience and you're a kid in like applying for an entry level job saying like I don't have five years of experience like how I needed I need you to give me an opportunity so I can get that five years of experience miles price is that right now he has proven that he can do it he just needs somebody to give him the opportunity to do it so I think the Vikings are going to do that for him I think he's earned the right to do that for them maybe in six hours they'll sign Miko Hardman. I don't know.

So I think right now, though, Miles Price has shown enough. Yeah, let him try. Let him earn the opportunity to show you that he can be trusted back there. If he has one job on this team and it is to catch the punt, then Miles Price, you better be out there on the practice field.

Morning, noon, and night, practicing just catching the damn punt because that's all you have to do. He's on the roster to catch the punt. Marcus Sherrill's made a career of being out of there and just catching the punt. So if you can make something happen after that, good. But just don't drop that thing on Monday night in Soldier Field. One more thing for you folks to be kept up at night by the Minnesota Vikings. All right, last question. Dane, earlier in this summer, you stopped by my abode and we sat there basically on the porch and went through every single game

and had you pick every single game. And if I'm not mistaken, you ended up with 12 wins for the Minnesota Vikings. You were very, very high on this team. at that point. That was before we had seen a single training camp practice. Now what we've seen, all of training camp, we have seen the completion more or less, unless they trade for Rod Woodson, Dion Sanders, Darrell Green. Pretty much this is your Minnesota Vikings, right? Maybe Dante Hall could still be out there to return a punter to. Percy Harvin wants to make a comeback. Devin Hester, unlikely. So I think more likely than not, this is your Minnesota Vikings, 95%, 99% finished. Will you stay with that? Will you stick with a 12-win prediction for the year 2025?

I'm not backing down. I'm not a coward. I'm not going to go to your house and pick 12 wins and get caught up in the moment. And I'll admit it. When I got to 12, I was like, wow. If they get to 12, It's really impressive, but look, I think they're a playoff team. I do. And I think there are a ton of outcomes out there for this particular football team. And starting a rookie quarterback, he's a second year quarterback, he's effectively a rookie. I get all that. I get that that can lead to a bunch of different outcomes.

But I believe in J.J. McCarthy. I believe in the infrastructure in place for him. And I think above all that, I think the team is even more talented than I thought when I was on your porch in the summer. I looked at their roster on paper at that time and said, like, I don't see a lot of weaknesses. But then I see guys like Jonathan Grenard barreling and off the edge and looking the part in training camp. And I can project out that guy's going to be better than he was last year. I see Dallas Turner, who put on muscle and then also was able to translate that into explosiveness. on the field. I didn't see a lot of Justin Jefferson, but I didn't need to. Like, I know what

I'm going to get out of Justin Jefferson. I see Jordan Addison going out there, bawling out with his opportunity. T.J. Hawkinson looking the part of a tight end one with a full off season to prepare. Christian Derisaw getting back to his full health, you know, the interior of the offensive line with Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, working in concert with Donovan Jackson and Brian O'Neill. I'm listing the whole roster because I think that I've seen how talented they can be if J.J. McCarthy is just good. If he's just honestly above average, I think they can get to 10. If he's good, I think they can get to 12. So no, I'm not going to back down from 12 wins because I might have got a little overzealous on the porch pot. I think they can win double-digit games, get to the playoffs. If they

are at 12, I will be doing victory laps every time I'm on the pod because that would be pretty impressive. But I think the biggest takeaway is this is a very talented football team that can do something special this year so long as the quarterback is who we think he is. It's a shade aggressive, but I think at this point in the season, this is the fewest number of major questions that I've had about the Minnesota Vikings since 2017. Just when we go position by position. What's this guy going to be? How's this guy going to perform? Is this going to work? There's questions, of course. There's questions on 32 teams. The Philadelphia Eagles have questions about certain guys that we were just talking about the punt returner for five minutes. But in terms of

what you can project if this team is healthy, what people have produced, all around J.J. McCarthy, we can project those things. We can project what J.J. McCarthy can be if everyone else is even the normal version of themselves. If Justin Jefferson and Jonathan Granard and Andrew Van Ginkle and Blake Cashman and Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, even Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, if these guys are the normal version of themselves, they should win double-digit football games. And I think that's where we should set the bar. It has been a super, super fun offseason with you, Dane, a very long off season.

We have done podcasts at the owners meetings, at the Combine, on my porch in this room after many a press conference and everything else. And the next time we do it will be inside Soldier Field following the Minnesota Vikings matchup on Monday night football. So I look forward to being there with you and doing that podcast the next time I see you. Thank you very much for your time. Look, guys, I am just about at the age where I'm starting to notice that hair line fading a little bit.

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All right. Oh, I missed the last football that I said there. That was myself and Dane Mizatani breaking down all the conversations at TCO Performance Center today with our numerous press conferences. If we can get back to the Mike of Parsons conversation, I have 45 minutes until I have to go on WCCO radio with Henry Lake. So what do you guys want to talk about? I know that there's been a lot of back and forth in the chat about Micah Parsons everywhere from we're completely screwed to it doesn't matter. The Packers aren't that good anyway. And I think the truth is probably it's it leans more towards screwed, but I don't think the Vikings are screwed because the Packers got Micah Parsons, I think the track just got harder and the Packers just got more

serious. I had been relatively dismissive of the Packers. And I think that actually this trade proves that it was right to be dismissive of the Packers because even in their building, they clearly were not looking at their roster and saying, oh, this is good enough. We can compete with Minnesota. We can compete with Detroit. If Chicago gets better, the schedule that they have, have is pretty tough just like Minnesota. So it seems like what Green Bay got to the point was we've been doing things a certain way for a long time, which is not making huge moves like this. Josh Jacobs even was a relatively big move for them. And that was a running back. And it wasn't that expensive or crazy that they had pretty much been paying quarterbacks and a couple

receivers along the way and everything else was draft, develop, let guys go in free agency. And when they look around and they look at Detroit and they look at Minnesota, the rosters, and I'll throw out at least somewhat Chicago in this as well, the standard was just a heck of a lot higher for what you have to be in the NFC North. And then they make this move. And I think if you're going to be frustrated with anybody, if you're Vikings fans, it's why would Dallas do this for a team that they could face in the playoffs if they make the playoffs? Like I don't think now after this that Dallas has a great chance at that. their division is very good. But even then, why would you do it?

Why would you give another NFC team, not just a good player, but an absolutely awesome player in Micah Parsons, pretty baffling stuff? And I will throw this out there as well that I have thought for quite a long time that the one of the biggest advantages that the Minnesota Vikings have is the fact that their owners are not crazy. that having a crazy owner or a cheap owner in the NFL is such a massive disadvantage. And if you're watching the Cowboys over these last few years and they actually did hit on really hit on some draft picks, C.D. Lamb and Trayvon Diggs, I know is coming back from his injury,

but he had his moments. And then Micah Parsons, I mean, you had to feel like, okay, they finally got it figured out and they're going to be a competitive team. And they even got a lot out of Mike McCarthy as their coach, but remember even a year ago with, or well, this was, I guess, even six months ago with Mike McCarthy, they're going to not give him an extension, and then he's going to be the coach, and then he's not going to be the coach, and then they're going to go hire Brian Schottenheimer, who was probably the cheapest person that they could find, who I don't think is a bad coach, and he's got the resume to be an NFL head coach, but by no means any sort of splash higher and looked like just the only guy that would take it, the only guy they could

afford. It's kind of crazy how Jerry Jones has become, in his recent years, so cheap. And is that what this is? Or has it just been, there's no really pinning down Jerry Jones, that this became an ego fight with Micah Parsons. And he decided, you know what, I'm winning this ego fight. I'm going have the last word, go freeze in Green Bay, Michael Parsons. Maybe that was part of the intent as well. But just a crazy day in the National Football League for Parsons going to the Green Bay Packers. And now this division goes from super stacked to super duper ridiculously stacked with town. I mean, think about earlier this offseason, I had a conversation.

There was a Detroit newspaper, two guys that cover the lions who are friends of mine that we did a podcast. And they had me on to do an all NFC North draft position by position. And there's this division is just stars on stars on stars across the board. So I think that the Vikings are really going to have to be on point with their offensive line this year in general, but they're going to be tested. And for, you know, those who critique the front office and some of the draft misses or the money that they've handed out in free agency or whatever it might be. And I think that there are some fair criticisms there.

Or if you're saying, why aren't they adding another corner or whatever? All the details matter here. And with the cornerback position, we brought up Shaq Griffin yesterday. He did sign to the practice squad of the Seattle Seahawks. So he is staying out in Seattle. So that's a guy with some experience with the Vikings last year that is not going to be a Viking. And now the way I look at it is, if there's a big, one more big move to come for the Minnesota Vikings, it's probably going to be at the trade deadline. They have been very, very active

at the trade deadline in season trades is something that they have not been afraid of at any point over the Quasid Aflmenza and Kevin O'Connell era. So I would guess that depending on how it's going in the middle of the season, if you need that one extra player to try to put you over the top, that they will go out and make some sort of bold move if they need to.

But I don't see it happening. And maybe I'll hang up the podcast and then it will happen. But I think that for now, this is your roster of the Minnesota Vikings and they may add one more player. Kavon Wallace, they added as a safety to the,

I think to the practice squad, maybe in part for some Harrison Smith insurance. And I know I talked about a little bit with Dane there, but we don't have a lot of information on where Harrison Smith stands right now. It sounds like it is, or at least the way that it is, was phrased to me, was a personal health matter that is going to have him be week to week. And we're just going to have to wait and see what happens with Harrison Smith, not something that is thought to be incredibly serious, but it could keep him out. It's possible that it could keep him out so they might need an extra safety they might need to shuffle things around for week one

they do have the benefit of all the end of training camp including the joint practices they did not have harrison smith so they've been practicing without him where i'm really interested is will it be if he's out week one and we'll get more into this as be a closer but you know will it be j ward over there will it be someone else uh will it be josh metellis playing back or will he play at the line a scrimmage. So there's some questions to be answered there. And O'Connell was not very forthright in terms of the injuries. So we're all kind of waiting. I saw one of your questions about Jalen Naylor. We're all just going to have to wait and see on Jalen Naylor and whether he's going to be back or if he's going to be out week one as well. And then Adam Thielen has to move up into being, you know,

wide receiver two, which could be a little bit of a challenge for somebody who just got here, even with his familiarity, but it also, if Thieland does have to be wide receiver two, it certainly adds to his value in that trade, which I know was a bit of a debate of who won the trade and all that. And I mean, my take was that everybody should have gone home happy. And, you know, Quasi Dauvelmensa was talked about the negotiations. And he said, you know, going to keep it private. And he didn't say that there were challenges, but he said, you know, they had what they wanted. We had what I, what we wanted. And I just thought, everybody got what they, what they were looking for there.

The Vikings needed Thielen and the Panthers, I had the young receivers. So they were looking for draft capital. I actually had wondered if the Panthers were a team, like a quiet team as they were acquiring some extra capital, moving some cap space. Like, would they have been a Parsons team? But for the 47 million per year, they're going to pay Parsons. I don't know if there was many teams that wanted to do that. You know, I mean, when it comes to Parsons and his history, though. I don't think that there's a whole lot you can really say about Parsons that I would

buy into as far as criticisms. Uh, I mean, his, his, I mean, I even see the, the playoffs being brought up there in 2020. He had 16 pressures in the playoffs. I mean, he's, yeah, he's, uh, as, as good as it gets around the NFL. And it does reshape a little bit of this division and how we view the Green Bay Packers. So, you know, they, this is an interesting comment here from Mike. I guess Dallas is the new Washington football team. Maybe he'll hire a FedEx guy as an associate. No, you're absolutely right about that, that, you know, Dallas has always been a circus.

But as Jerry has gotten older, it's just gotten crazier and crazier. You can't decide whether you're going to have Mike McCarthy still be your coach after how many years. I mean, it was only in 2020. that McCarthy had them as a number one offense in the NFL. They did win a playoff game in 2022. I mean, I'm not saying McCarthy is an incredible coach, but he had gotten the franchise back on track, even despite Jerry and all of his madness.

And then they have one down year. They want to sign him to a contract. Then they don't offer him something reasonable. He walks away. Like, what in the world is going on there? I mean, can you imagine we have spent the last, And it's almost been a little weird for me, probably two or to three years, breaking down every single Minnesota Vikings move.

And most of the time over these last couple years, my takeaway has been like, yeah, okay, that makes sense. Here's the risks. Here's the rewards. Here's where it might fit like an Adam Thielen trade. And that makes sense. That's who they really needed. He was the best receiver available.

Is it ideal? Is it Adam Thielen, 2018? no, but it makes sense. You know, even going back when they got some of their bust moves, like Marcus Davenport, it made sense at the time because they were in kind of a transition. Why not roll the dice for a small price on a guy who had once been good? It totally blew up on them. But okay, like I get it, right?

All the moves I get. Can you imagine covering the Dallas Cowboys? The reporters there must show up to work every day being like, I have no idea what's going to happen today. They could do the craziest thing in the entire world. And now no one should ever feel bad for the Dallas Cowboys and their fans because, you know, you've had to, because they have so many fans sticking around the OGs from the 70s and then, you know, the 90s, millennials and then their kids and all that, they have the biggest fan base in the NFL. And it's obnoxious because that means they get all the national TV. That means they get all the discussion and all that sort of stuff.

so you never, never, never feel bad for them. But I'm saying as you walk around today after the Dallas Cowboys, because of their owners, psychosis and ego and narcissism just traded their version of Justin Jefferson. Imagine if that, imagine if, think about it this way. Like, we were talking about the Justin Jefferson trade idea. Hey, by the way, Justin Jefferson's contract looks really good now, doesn't it? It's $12 million.

dollars less than Micah Parsons. It's pretty good. You know whose deal looks really good today is Jonathan Grenard? That's some good dealing right there. After this season, I think Grenard is probably going to need a little bit of a tweak there to his dollar figure to get more on point with some of these other guys. But as of right now, that is one heck of a deal. But can you imagine going back two years ago where there's all this, should they trade Jefferson,

draft Malik neighbors, et cetera. If they had traded them away to another team in the conference, I don't know, another team that's good, the Rams or something. If they had traded them to the Rams for a couple of draft picks from a team that's going to win, so they're not even great draft picks. And I don't know, a random pretty good player who was good two years ago, but is older and is falling off,

you would have lost your minds. You would have gone absolutely insane. if that had happened. So I'm not saying I feel bad for all the Cowboys fans. Like they get what they deserve for hanging on with that team. And they know the realities because Jerry has been at the helm for a long time. But can you imagine? Can you put yourself in those shoes?

You just wake up one day as a Vikings fan and they trade Jefferson for a couple draft picks to a team that's going to win games. What? And then I'm not saying nothing back. Kenny Clark can still play. but he was not the same last year. I haven't gotten over how wild this is. Just the Super Bowl vices Jerry is saving for retirement.

Well, that's another thing. These draft picks, Jerry, when do you plan on using them? I mean, Jerry's like 85. I mean, these draft picks you're going to draft and develop? I don't know, man. I don't know how to say your name, Avey. Is that it? Says we could get KJ Osborne and make it five deep.

I have no issue if they want to get KJ Osborne on the practice squad. I think that would be a fine idea. Right now, their practice squad wide receivers are a little bit unproven. Dante Fleming, Lucky Jackson, one more that I'm thinking. Who is the other one? I mean, if they want to have a veteran on the practice squad, that's okay. Mito says not feeling good about this year. our division is crazy.

See, this is the two sides, the two sides of me, right? Of, like, I'm doing this breakdown of how it's going to look against the Vikings and what it means for the Vikings. There's no interpretation other than maybe if Parsons becomes kind of problematic for them or if he has an injury and then they're stuck with this huge contract or even if a few of their younger players don't become what they think they're going to. If they don't hit on Golden, if they don't hit on some of the other receivers that have sort of been mid, if Cooper doesn't take another step, if they've drafted

some other guys. And then they just get to a point where they're looking around going, we have these two great players, but what else do we have? And that's kind of what happened to Dallas last year. Now, Dak got hurt, but I think they were, he was two and five as a starter. Dallas got to a point where they had all stars, but they didn't have a complete team. And then that's probably one of the reasons that they wanted to trade Parsons other than just Jerry Jones being nuts. But, you know, aside from that, it's probably one of the reasons is they have stars, but they don't have a complete team. And if the Packers back themselves into a corner because of Love's contract and Parsons, if it doesn't work this year, then it becomes very challenging

for them going forward because the salary cap is a real. And I think even with Dallas, they were paying DAC so much, how do you get a contract like this? That would be the only part if you're you saying like, why is this not that bad for the Vikings? Well, into the future, it might not be that bad. As far as this year, there's the other part of me that is just the football enjoyer that's like, okay, let's play some ball. Let's see Vikings Packers.

Can we do it tomorrow? I mean, I know going to Soldier Field is a good place to start the season. But, you know, I kind of want to see the Vikings play against Micah Parsons in this defense because when you're talking about, you know, the division is going to kill us. Meadows says, I don't think that's an irrational response, by the way. I mean, if you're a Vikings fan and you just opened up Twitter or this show and you're like, they traded for Micah Parsons, like that's really bad. It is because he's that good.

But you built a team that's supposed to be able to face. teams like this. It's not the first great player in the division. It's not the first great defense you've seen in the division. That's why you build a running game the way it's supposed to be built. It's why you go add an extra wide receiver at the last second. It's why you pay Will Fries 17 mil. It's why you give Ryan Kelly all that money. It's why you hire KOC. Like the reason you got all these people, the reason you draft a quarterback in the first round is so you can face good teams that you know you're going to have to face good teams at some point. Not completely insane, says not phased by the Parson trade.

He's one player. He isn't Grenard Van Ginkle and Cashman. Well, the issue there is that they have multiple good players too. They have Rashon Gary. They have Edger and Cooper and he just adds to that, which is a lot. It's a lot. It makes their defense better. There's no question about it.

If they perform similarly to last year and get 10 sacks out of my Michael Parsons and even 60 pressures, which would be low for him. 60 pressures is almost borderline star level. That would be below his average. And 10 sacks is below his average. Where are they at as a defense? I would say they are a top five defense. So the Vikings offense just has to be that much better this year and that much deeper

and that much more effective when it comes to the running game. that's where I think you can really still take on Michael Parsons. Vincent's is not saying pressures don't matter, but in four playoff games, he had one sack. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, the Dallas Cowboys have had their issues in playoffs.

But I mean, if we're talking about the small samples there, I mean, if we're only going to focus on playoffs and 16 pressures is insane over what, was that two games of playoffs that he played in, in 20, So, yeah, he's been a, I mean, that to me is fine. Sacks kind of come and go.

But I mean, we can't do that, though. We just can't do that. Because if we just use playoffs as the only evaluator for anything, then 97 per, this is actually how TV trolls everyone, right? TV hosts is that 97% of the league is won nothing. And so you could just point at things and say they've won nothing. Well, KOC, bad coach, won nothing. Justin Herbert, bad quarterback, won nothing.

I mean, you could just do that until you're blue. in the face. We all know what Michael Parsons brings to the Packers. What it means is the Vikings are going to have to be that much better. And that's why they, that's why they invested where they did. Williams says Packers Management

made this trade for the fans. They've been jealous of the Vikings, that the Vikings made the worst trade in NFL history with the Cowboys. They want something to whine about. That's funny, William. You're right about that, that, you know, the Vikings did make the

worst trade, and now Dallas has, I think, done the opposite of that. So Dallas had the best trade in NFL history, and now I think Dallas has made the worst side of this trade, giving up Micah Parsons. The reason that the Herschel Walker trade is so bad is because it's not because the players worked out for Dallas. It's because they did it for a running back. I mean, Jimmy Johnson knew back then that a running back was not worth it and was not going to carry a team.

This is an edge rusher. This is the second most valuable position in the entire NFL, as per how much they get paid. They get paid more than receivers. So it's quarterbacks won and right on their heels is edge rushers. So getting the second most valuable position at 26 years old in his prime, that is a huge victory for the Packers. And I don't think that Dallas got a lot back. I mean, I think that they got a couple of picks that should be.

be okay. But even the Packers before this, I would have said they would have been drafting like 19th or something. So now what are they going to draft somewhere in the 20s? Those are not great draft picks. Let's see. D. Hens says people don't understand the defensive scheme may affect his numbers and possibly his effectiveness. Well, I think that you might be meaning that in a, like he could be worse. But if you look at the Packers from last year and their defensive coordinator, it's probably going to be better for him than it was last. year where I think Mike Zimmer was still playing his old 2017 stuff that everyone had resolved already. And they were taking advantage of it. His defense was not the same as it was. But

they also lost a lot of players on that defense. But Jeff Hathley, their defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, did an excellent job last year. And even Kevin, that's not just for me. That's coming from Kevin O'Connell. That's coming from Vikings players that their defense was more complicated. Steven says intrigued by the Packers, but not overly worried. It's why we spent so much on the O line. I think more than anything, I'm just, get down to Lambo and let's see this happen. You know, let's just see this, let's see these guys go at it, right?

Because it should be a really good matchup. You're right with the O line being revamped. The Vikings O line does have questions, though. Donovan Jackson, you know, is Derisaw? back to 100% as Will Fries back to 100%. So things like that. Vegas Patriot, thanks so much. Appreciate the compliment there.

And it's a funny compliment, never been so informed on the Vikings in decades because the reason I chuckle, it's a really nice compliment is because last night we broke down the practice squad one by one. And I thought to myself, what am I doing with myself? Breaking down the practice squad. And yet, and yet you guys were right there. you had takes on it too and I'm like this is so great this is so great I feel like we've we've all found each other right like we want to be as deep in the weeds with every salary cap hit every

practice squad player every decision and it's been a really really fun off season and I think I said that last night because I thought it's over right like this is really the last move when they get Adam Thielen and turns out it was not over that the NFL had one more thing one more thing for us this Micah Parsons trade. Ave says, look at the Coel-Mack when he got trade to the Bears from the Raiders. He only averaged five sacks with the Bears, but average 10 with the Raiders. Yeah, I think Kalil Mack worked out unbelievably well for the Chicago Bears. That 2018 defense was incredible, and his sack totals for Chicago were still, I mean, they

weren't quite as high, but his pressure totals were. just as good. His first year, he was double digits. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think that they had any regrets there for getting Khalil Mack. And I think that the, I'm, I'm pretty sure that the Packers are not going to regret getting Micah Parsons. So, uh, Mito says, uh, hope you all are right in the chat, but I don't think so. A jobless entrepreneur, best of luck with that. Says wasn't Grinard one behind him pressures last year. How much do we pay Grinard in comparison? No, actually Grinard had 10 more pressures, but in 200

more snaps. So Parsons was right around the same. Grinard's one of the best deals in the entire NFL. And I think when we compare those two, I don't think that Micah Parsons is worlds better than Jonathan Grenard was last year.

I mean, I think Parsons is in a slightly higher tier of pass rusher. So there's Miles Garrett and then Parsons, like they're right there as the premier, if you want to call them the generational past rushers, the once in a decade guys. And Granard is right there behind them. And he right for last year. The last two years isish, but mostly last year. I think he is the guy that is going to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. The left tackle position seems a little bit shaky in Green Bay. They should,

I mean, other teams have plenty to be concerned about the Vikings. And we've spent a lot of this offseason talking about that. This just happens to be a day where, you know, it just happens to be a day where Micah Parsons got traded to the Green Bay Packers. So stop acting like you love it. No, I do love it. Here's why I love it because I like storylines in the NFL. I like great matchups in the NFL.

I love when I get to go to Lambeau Field and watch Packers Vikings and cover that game. because it's always crazy, it's always violent, it's always dramatic, exciting, interesting. So to tell you the truth, this is pretty fun for me to talk about. I am not going to lie about that. I'm not handing, as you said, the Packers, the championship. As I said, you know, Jordan Love still has to be consistent and good. But the Packers are going to have a really good defense now, and it makes these matchups even more intense than they already were.

So I'm not going to act like I'm not really interested in this. I am. I am going to act like I'm really interested in this. Vincent says Donovan Jackson, but he better get chipped. Well, that is probably who they're going to attack to some extent. Parsons can do a lot of different things. He can rush from a lot of different places. And I mean, I see, you know, a lot of reaching when it comes to criticisms for Parsons.

I just don't think any of them are valid. I mean, he got a little banged up last year, played 700 snaps, was an elite player. He has been as good as it gets in the entire NFL. He is on a Hall of Fame track. There's no downplaying how good the guy is. I think the big question will be still for Green Bay, losing Jair Alexander, how's their coverage? And the big question trading Kenny Clark will be, how do they stop the run? And something that the Green Bay Packers have not had to deal.

deal with from the Minnesota Vikings in some time is an effective run game. And look, the last time they did, and it's a different team, it's a different group, it's a different D.C. But the last time the Vikings had a really good run game, they won some games in Green Bay because of it. Delvin Cook, I mean, he was their nightmare player. He was the one that crushed them all the time and that they talked about on their podcasts of being terrified.

Well, they've got to strike some of that fear into the Packers with. their run game because if there's one area where you can get Michael Parsons, where he's just okay by the numbers and not fantastic, is run defense. And when you don't have Kenny Clark just taking up two bodies in the middle of that D line, and you do have a Donovan Jackson and Will Fries that are physical run blockers who are really good run blocking in camp, then that might be an area that you have to lean on in those games. But I mean, the test for Darrisaw here, the test for O'Neill here, the test for the stunts and the twists and all those different things, I mean, they, they're going to be a problem and he's going to be a problem. So, uh, let's see.

Clancy says the Packers are now in a similar situation to the Lions. They have a year with the current group. It'll be dicey to build a similar roster after. I totally agree with that. Totally agree, Clancy. I think that's a good observation that this year, possibly next year, are going to be the windows for the Green Bay Packers unless they land some second round pick who turns into a megastar or something like that.

But reasonable projection, giving away two first round draft picks and putting $47 million. There's no hiding that, by the way. It's like, well, they could use some cap gymnastics. I mean, yeah, but there's no stuff in that money under the couch. cushion. Paying two guys quarterback salaries is not an easy thing to do. Normally when you have a guy who's this expensive, you pretty much have to have a quarterback on a rookie contract or you're not going to be good enough. I even look at San Francisco and I've heard, well, San Francisco's got an easy schedule this year. They should win, okay, all right, but they're paying Brock Purdy and

they're paying Nick Bosa and that's and they're paying Brandon Iyuk and that's going to be hard. paid all their stars, how are you going to have a complete team? And now San Francisco's out there signing Russell Gage and Marquez Veldez, Scantling. Like that could be the Packers in a year or two if some of these guys don't click for them or if some of these guys become expensive for them, that window is going to be difficult. But the thing is with a player like Parsons, I mean, four years is a long time. They probably got more than that if they are going to, you know, keep him or around long term if he's as good as it looks like he's going to be. This is a guy who can play

well into his 30s and be fantastic. There's going to be a lot of games with Micah Parsons against the Minnesota Vikings. Guys, you're both wrong. Pat, do I consider myself a Vikings fan? I do not. I consider myself a journalist and a guitar person. He's a Bill's fan. He is not a Bill's fan. He's not an anybody fan. I cover the Minnesota Vikings because in 2016, somebody at 1,500 ESPN radio in the Twin Cities hired me to cover the Minnesota Vikings. And then I just kept doing it. After the pandemic, when I lost my job, I built Purple Insider, but I've still done it the same way. So it's always going to be, it's always going to be objective analysis. It's always going to be based on the data, based on the information and where it takes

me. That's how I'm going to evaluate everything. And number one, ahead of everything else is always going to be football. So I'm not going to come on and say, well, actually Parsons stinks, guys, go, skull. Like, that's just not me. There's other shows that'll do that. I promise you they will. That's just not going to be me. I'm going to give you the data on it. I'm going to give you the cap situation on it. I'm going to give you the breakdown of matchups and things like that. That's what I do here. So I also really, really, uh, enjoy a great football game. And so I kind of can't wait in a great football matchup and great football players and, and all that. So that's why I'm excited by it. That's why I'm interested. And that's why I kind of can't wait to see how it goes.

Uh, let's see. Mito says, do we really think that's happening? Parsons staying there for life. Well, I mean, four years from now, who knows? He is a volatile guy. And that's part of the risk that Green Bay is taking is that he is a volatile guy it seems even some of this he probably could have just signed a contract and gone about his business and been very very rich uh but you know didn't want to do that and seem to be a little problematic along the way the the podcast thing that you can't really throw the podcasting thing in his face because i mean everybody's got a podcast now you know my wife broadcasts for the links by the way she's on tv tonight uh she broadcasts for the links two of their players got a podcast everybody's got a podcast but i think parsons does have a

little something to him that maybe he is volatile uh meito says so unbiased where would you rank the nfc north right now i mean that's a great question because yeah i still i still want to say detroit because of what they've done the last couple years i mean to win 15 games last year to be one step away from the super bowl one play really away from the super bowl I have major questions about Detroit, the offensive line, the offensive play caller, defensive coordinator, but I still think that they have the best overall roster, maybe best overall, even in the NFL. It's very close.

But I think that it's, I mean, I think we're talking about a one game separation. The way that I'm looking at it right now, many months away, is that when they play on Christmas, that game will decide the NFC North. I still don't think that the Packers are as good as the Vikings or the Lions in terms of their whole roster. But this helps them. And I think it's closer now. So I would have put, just for example, I would have said, and like, who knows, right?

Trying to predict the NFL. But if we're asking me to do it, I'll do it. 12 wins for the Lions, 11 wins for the Vikings. That's where I have them right now. And I think before I had the Packers, it maybe eight or nine. And I think that they can be in that conversation. I think that they now can be in the 11-win conversation if Michael Parsons is what he's been over the last couple of years.

How Parsons fits in Green Bay is the question. Khalil Mack didn't fit with Chicago. KFT, I don't know what Chicago games you were watching, man. The first year that Khalil Mack was there, he had a 90 PFF grade. They had the best defense in the NFL. they went to the playoffs, they double doinked. They got to the postseason with Mitch Trubisky as their quarterback. Like, I don't know, man.

We're holding you to this. Yeah, man. Hey, there's probably gambling shows where you should keep their predictions. I try my best. But when it comes to predicting stuff, who knows? That is why you play the games. Hey, Sean, that's a good point about Detroit. Actually, if there's a team that should be more mad about Parsons coming to the NFC,

north it's actually detroit because their offensive line i don't think taylor decker was playing that great last year their interior is messed up or is at least revamped they are a different group now yeah uh chris says vikings will be the only nfc north team over 500 is uh overhyped by the easy schedule last year uh yeah no i don't i don't think it's overhyped to the point where yes i 15 and 14 wins is crazy that won't happen again i don't know when the next time that's ever going to happen again where a team in the same division wins 15 as another team wins 14 so that's why i've got more of 12 and 11 regression is definitely real because of the schedule but i don't think it's regression to the below 500 i think it's more of regression to

from 14 to like 11 that's where i've got it um meito says uh you might be right Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, really close. I mean, I could absolutely see the Vikings ending up third in the division and in the playoffs. It's almost who knows what's going to happen with injuries and with ups and downs and crazy stuff. I mean, Jordan Love went to freaking Brazil and got hurt last year. Who knows, right? But if we're just imagining how this should play out by the numbers, by what we know, you could have the Vikings win 10 games finish third in the division.

have a good second half of the season or something with J.J. McCarthy and go into the playoffs feeling really good as the third team in the division, but still feeling pretty darn good. That's how good this division is. KFTI, I know that his sack numbers dropped off for Mack, but his totals didn't. And sometimes it's just a scoring issue. One of the reasons I look at PFF for sack totals,

they're not the official NFL ones, but they've got Kaleel Mack is having nine sacks in, in 2019, still graded great. Yeah, that was a, that was a win for them. The reason that Chicago didn't work out is because Mitch Trubisky was terrible and Matt Nagy was terrible. That was a great trade for them. And if Micah Parsons is great and Jordan Love is terrible, this won't matter.

I think we all know that. We all know that. Marauder says love is 27. Why do we keep acting like he's going to turn a corner? Some folks do. I think that he is exactly who we think he is. which is a strong-armed, exciting quarterback at times who is not very consistent from week to week.

It's a different player based on whether he hits his deep shots or not. And that means he can crush you or you can crush him. And there's really not a lot in between, I think, with Jordan Love most of the time. It's hard for him to be kind of like a game manager when he wants to go deep all the time and he takes shots and he takes risks quite often. kind of reminds me of like a Joe Flacco where from early in his career where some weeks you just be like, this guy, they talk about him as an elite quarterback. Are you serious? Then other weeks he throws for 400 yards.

But I know what you're saying. He's 27 years old. The corner to turn is probably that they're talking about is probably based on the wide receivers that he hasn't had great wide receivers so far. But I think he is what he is, Jordan Love. What it depends on, though, is how he plays this year in the individual bubble of this year. Like not can he get better long term and suddenly become, you know, Joe Montana, Steve Young, some elite quarterback, Tom Brady. But with quarterbacks that are volatile, they always have the potential for a big year. If he has a big year, then it could be problematic with that

defense. If he's got another average year in him, then they're a team that could win 10 games and just be, you know, kind of okay, despite having Micah Parsons. Like I agree with all of you that say getting Micah Parsons does not turn the Green Bay Packers suddenly into this unstoppable force because there's only so much an edge rusher can do. But I think they have a lot of other stuff on that defense, including a good D.C. Meadow says like Green Bay did last year, went to the playoffs. The thing is, don't want to go find the Eagles out of this of this season on the first round. Yeah, I mean, there's just last year we would have thought the Eagles were just okay.

there were problems there it's we've just got so far to go a jobless entrepreneur says uh what's uh parsons run stopping stats they're just okay that's the one area where i think they're really going to have to take advantage is that his run numbers by pff are just okay one year in the 70s by grade the other years in the 60s he does mistackles sometimes i i think he is a guy that's playing much more for the pass rush. Just the Super Bowl vike. We'll see what the Vikings defensive line has to say about the Lions and Jared Gough. Well, that's why you get who you got on the interior of the D-line was so they don't have to blitz

Jared Gough all the time and they could play coverage. I think that's why they did what they did in the offseason was so they could deal with that. I think both of these teams have very complete defenses, the Vikings and the Packers, and that could hurt Detroit. in trying to deal with that. I appreciate that blow of fishes. There's something for everybody. I went to journalism school,

and I thought once upon a time that I would be a sports illustrated magazine feature writer. That's what I thought in college. Then it turned out magazines just disappeared and got into sports radio. And that's where this has taken me. And I've always loved reporting. I started off my reporting career in the American

and hockey league so this is this is like this is kind of how i've gone but you know there are other there are a lot of other content creators who do different type of angles than i do and you know that's that's good with me everybody who's making good content you know deserves the attention it's just it's just different you know that's that's kind of why i'm out there that's why i'm out at tCO performance center is you know because i'm in that in that crew of the newspaper writers and Kevin Seaford and those like that, that's kind of where I fit in. There are other people that fit in doing fan content and, you know, it's all good. As long as you make a good stuff, you know, it's all good.

Kevin says, I compare it to the Jared Allen trade. Yeah, I think that Jared Allen and Micah Parsons is a good comparison. I mean, why it makes you think of the Reggie White thing is the history of it, of that huge signing of Reggie White going to Green Bay. Obviously, he's not a similar player to Reggie White, who wasn't. by far the most dominant player at that position ever, but very similar to Jared Allen, which is a lightning, lightning quick guy. You can, you can win against them. It's not like Jared Allen made the Vikings undefeated for every year, but if they get a great season out of

their quarterback, it's going to help them a lot to have Micah Parsons. I agree, guitar person. The O'Connell's job just got harder. That's right. You got to spend the whole week trying to figure out Parsons. That's where it's the most different is that when you look at like the rest of that defense, who scares you? A little over here, a little over there. I like Xavier McKinney. Good player. Terrified of Xavier McKinney? No. Edron Cooper. Good player. Terrified? Now. Game planning all week for? Probably not. Roshan Gary? Probably not. Micah Parsons. Oh, yeah. That's one you go into and you Oh, yeah. You are a game planing every day that week. So you're right.

Just a Super Bowl vike. That screens are going to be huge for them. Jobless entrepreneur, Gernard is a better signing. Yeah, I think by the price, by the price, you just sign Gronard for 20-something million versus having to trade two first rounders in 40 million. Oh, yeah, it's a more savvy move. It's absolutely a savvy move.

Tom, are you changing your win total for the Vikings after this? I'm not. One player is not going to change that. No, I've still got them where I've got them. Two games against the Packers. What I've usually done historically when I pick the schedule is I always split with the Packers anyway. I would still split with the Packers. Parsons add some juice and he makes it harder, but I'd still split with the Packers.

Final game of the season, U.S. Bank Stadium. him. Meadow, Edger and Cooper is crazy good. Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. He is. I don't think that he's like a Micah Parsons. Compare Grenard stats with Parsons and then the contract.

Yeah, I mean, look, you're not going to get me to say anything bad about Jonathan Grenard. He's been absolutely phenomenal. And he's right. He's right in that ballpark. He has moved himself up into that upper echelon of past rushers. I think that Parsons is. still going to be a little higher on that list. I mean, a hundred pressures in his career is nuts.

Leading the entire NFL is nuts. And then having a dynamic element, it's nuts. But Grenard's not that far behind. He's not 25 million behind. No, I agree with that. Jory says, seems like the beats all got the Harrison Smith update at the same time and all reported it was per sources. How does that work on official team memo?

Well, that's one thing that I can't really talk about a whole lot because when it's per sources, then if I'm telling you how that works, then I have to tell you the sources of it. All I can say is that we have the information, I guess we all got the information about Harrison Smith, and we gave it to you. So there you go. That's, but I don't have all the information on Harrison Smith. we'll have to see as we get into the season where that goes week to week with a personal health issue is the best that I can really do but yeah like who told you who told you guys well that's you know we'll just we'll just keep that internal like the team does with some stuff um oh yeah clancy the update on on harrison smith is that he has a health issue that he is

recovering from, doesn't sound like it's threatening to him for the entire season, but week to week is the way that it was described to me. So, and apparently described to other people as well, according to that. Let's see, Marauder, now you're here with us four hours a night, getting neck rolls. Actually, about three more minutes because I got to go on CCO radio. So if you really want to hear me, keep talking with Henry Lake, I'm going to do that very shortly. but if I get more information on Harrison Smith, I will let you know for sure. And I do wish Harrison, of course, the best when it comes to a health issue.

I mean, anytime you've got something that's not just a broken finger or whatever, you know, it could be tough. So hopefully he's back on the field soon and we see him back in the locker room. But my understanding is that this is something that, I mean, week to week is a good description of it, but it doesn't sound like Harrison Smith's done or anything. thing like that. Mike says great content on the Vikings, love that you feature other outlets. Oh, thank you.

Yeah, me too. Well, Miss Journalism, if I could turn back the clock, would have loved to have gotten your shot. Oh, there's WCCO. So I got to call tonight. Thank you all for the kind comments and the great discussion and being pretty reasonable with a day that your team saw an opponent trade for Micah Parsons. but great stuff. Appreciate it, everybody, and got a run. And sorry for that, but catch me on CCO Radio.

See you guys later. And watch the links game. My wife's doing it. Football.