Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - VIKINGS ANNOUNCE 53-MAN ROSTER (Part 2)

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

Matthew Coller breaks down the Vikings initial 53-man roster including surprising cuts and players who made the squad, plus the moves that still need to be made. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

more concerned about db depth than wide receiver um yeah i think that's probably right because at wide receiver you have the best wide receiver in the world so that's that does mitigate some of these problems as we're going off about all these different options and everything else that does mitigate some of the issues is that if you do throw to just to jefferson 15 times is not ridiculous. And if you throw to T.J. Hawkinson 15 times, not ridiculous. And you have Jones and you have Oliver.

And it's not like if Naylor's healthy that he's never done this before. The DB depth that I would say is concerning because you're one injury away from being in a really, really tough spot there. And you're asking Jeff Okuda to be cornerback number two if someone were to get banged up. where they are starter-wise is fine right now. And that's another thing to keep in mind as we, you know, it's cut down day. So, of course, this is what we're talking about. And we're talking about all those storylines.

At starter, they're good. Isaiah Rogers and Byron Murphy, Rogers, I thought, had a very good camp. Byron Murphy, I think, is a very good player. Josh Mattelis plays Nickel Corner a lot of times. They've played three safeties a ton in the past. I think Theo Jackson had a good camp. And we know that he can make play. we'll see about Harrison Smith, I assume he's going to be back from the illness where he missed

some time there. But the starters are fine. But one level down, that's where you would start to get concerned. I agree. Vegas Pro, Odell Beckham, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar. You know, I'm talking about the guys with, guys with concerning recent histories, right? Michael Gallup, DJ Shark, Donovan People's Jones. Like, these are just names, man. I mean, the The O'Dell Beckham thing is kind of interesting because, you know, as we're talking about, you know, Adam Phelan, can you just catch the ball? Can you just get to the right spot and catch the ball? I mean, O'Dell Beckham, but does he come along with something more? Does he come along with a bit of a circus there of O'Dell Beckham? Does he still think that he is a superstar? Or like last year, he ended up playing in a handful of games. He had, nine catches on 18 targets and average six yards a catch. That's pretty, pretty bad for last year. In Baltimore in 2023, he was decent.

He had 35 receptions, 16 yards a catch in 2023. But we know this. I call it the Marcus Davenport fallacy. The, hey, two years ago, this guy was pretty good. I don't like to go down that road too often. That's usually, that's usually, unless it was an injury like a Jvon Hargrave or something. But even then, that came along with some risk. But, you know, two years ago, he was useful.

He would be on a team right now if anybody thought that that was a good idea. But it's an idea. And they are not in a position to turn down too many ideas at this moment. I think for me, it would probably be KJ. Osborne would be the clear, obvious one. Osborne would be the one that you know, knows the offense. I'm sure at least some of it still with some tweaks in there, you know can come in and what he's going to be in your locker room, how he's going to get along with your staff. Keenan McArdle and KJ. Osborne, that was a great combination for them.

Keena McCartle was really behind KJ. Osborne's development when he was here. So, you know, that was something that would matter to this evaluation as well, is that I think Keenan was always very high on KJ. Osborne. Trey Palmer, if he gets through waivers, would be a pick. I mean, if you, if you grab those two guys and you have Palmer as your punt returner slash wide receiver, whatever, five, KJ Osborne, wide receiver four. Osborne can move up to wide receiver two if Naylor has to miss a week. Like, you're not feeling horrible at that moment, despite Osborne's recent issues.

And you would feel like you at least got somebody with some potential. I noticed, what's his name, Corley, is it Melchai Corley, got cut from the Jets. That was another guy where, you know, really fast, former third rounder, just didn't do anything. At least Trey Palmer had some history, though. Corley only had three catches for the Jets. I mean, none of these ideas are super exciting. But if they did the Beckham thing, like, okay, that's going to be maybe a lot of attention for a guy that you hope can still run any routes and catch any passes, I think that someone like him catching that few in a place like Miami where they throw

the ball a lot, that's, that's concerning. But with Osborne, it looks like he just hasn't fit with the teams that he's gone to. But I can't say Washington had a ton of talent at that wide receiver position. In terms of the Fandul question of the day, the over under four points in week one, if they have to play Tim Jones as wide receiver two, 15, 24, expose goes with, Robert goes with 20, Brett with 13, 20 from Vikings fans, 13 to 10 is good from Matt, 19 and a half from Sizzleman, 51 to zero, of course, of course, why not? So, yeah, you know, I think that in that scenario you would be talking about trying to run the football a lot more, trying to play ball control a lot more, and thinking about your defense,

getting seven sacks in the first game and proving that Ben Johnson can't change anything about Caleb Williams. I wouldn't count out the idea that they could still score. They did score a lot of points in two games last year, but it took great defensive performances for the Vikings to score the way they did and a 97-yard touchdown. So what they should do is they should use the 97-yard touchdown play against the bears. That's what they, that's how they can rack up their points. Just throw the 97 yard touchdown one. Gus Ferrat used it with Bernard Berry and once upon a time.

Cause and effect. What's wrong with going after Tyreek Hill and Jacoby Myers? A few things. I mean, Tyreek Hill, yikes. I don't think you want Tyree Kill on your football team because that is a ticking time bomb. But Tyree Kill also, how are you getting that done from a. salary cap perspective and when Addison comes back like does Tyree kill is he just your number two wide receiver and what are you doing there exactly is Tyree kill even on the trade block that's

I see his name come up every night in the chat I don't really understand that as far as Jacoby Myers that's a that's another one where your investment would have to be pretty big um if they didn't now it's totally different situation but both guys are free agents after this year if they didn't want to trade out for Adam Thielen, like, do they really want to give up a lot for Jacobi Myers? I think Jacobi Myers is a great wide receiver. I think he's a very solid. If you were ranking every number two in the league, T. Higgins is probably first. Jordan Addison somewhere in that ballpark. And I think Jacobi Myers is a number two receiver to Brock Bowers there, really. I know he's a tight end, but he's really their number two option is very good. A hundred type

of target guy there. He's gotten a thousand yards before, but are you making him your clear cut number two wide receiver? Are you giving him another contract? Are you paying out a second round draft pick for him? A third round draft pick for? I think a third would make the most sense because

the Raiders would probably want to get back at least what they're going to get for a comp pick. Are you, I mean, I guess in the position they're in right now, if they traded a third round pick for Jacobi Myers and gave him a contract extension, you'd be like, oh, how much do they believe in Jordan Addison going forward, right? Or you just have a great 3D, but you've also got Hawkinson to feed and so forth. So I don't know, that one's a hard logistically because you're talking about probably a lot of draft capital you have to give up and then money that you have to give up.

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See website for details and important safety information. Let's see. Denver is paying Sherfield $3.25 million. Too much for a guy that caught 10 balls all season. Yeah, I get three. is 3.25 million a lot of money? I'm not sure I agree with that. Sherfield was an elite punt gunner who could step in and play wide receiver when they

needed him to do a lot of things. Yeah, I know he only caught 10 balls last season, but he was quality receiver depth. He was able to step in if they needed him to. A lot of experience, you know, bitter Bruce says Jalen Armour Davis was released, a surprise released by the Ravens. I saw that. I don't know a lot about him, but the corners, that's the hard. part is figuring out there's a lot of corners who get released so who is going to be the one

that fits the best is really the question that's something i don't know uh african says darisaw is not on short-term i are is he playing week one i think so i think so based on what we saw in the scrimmage right before the end of training camp the last day of camp is a scrimmage and out of i think mccarthy was out there for 33 passes I want to say probably like 20 something Derisaw was there for ramping up, ramping up, ramping up. I think he will be ready by week one, but I'm only taking a guess at that. We'll see when the injury report comes out. But as far as his track to week one, when he got in, the fact that he was able to have a full day of practice against the New England Patriots, that was really positive for him.

In the joint practices, he didn't do the second day, but he did the first day. that was positive for him. And as you said, not going on short-term, I are. That's pretty good as well. Yeah, I see Corley's name coming up a couple of times here. He was a third round pick from last year who I get they, I saw some Jets people tweeting out video of Joe Douglas, like just desperate to get this guy.

And then he had three catches last year. So it, yeah, I mean, he's one of those guys that you would pick up if you're a team that's not really ready to win. and you're just taking swings. Oh, a third round pick, let me just grab them. But I think the Vikings need somebody who can help them win, not just kind of a swing like that. Let's see.

Ty Chandler with lots of question marks. Yeah, I'm not terribly surprised by Ty Chandler making the team. I'm not terribly surprised by that. I think I had that in my last 53. There was a bit of an overreaction from maybe everyone after Xavier Scott. had that big preseason game. Not an overreaction to Xavier Scott. Xavier Scott has been legit and he makes the 53 today.

Will he stay on it? I'm not sure. But he was good in this preseason, legitimately good. Caught the football, ran hard, had explosive plays, showed some bursts. Like he was a guy I think they wanted to keep and that they were very impressed by. But Chandler has history as a returner. Returners are going to get hurt too. Like this play, when you watch this play,

sometimes returners, it's like Wiley Coyote or something sometimes where it was like full speed and then smack into a wall. I think you want someone with some beef to them like a running back or, you know, that's why Miles Price kind of makes sense because he's got some muscle to him that can take some punishment. That's a little bit of my concern with Ty Felton returning all the kicks. It's like, I don't know, man. Sometimes those guys get really smacked, but that's one reason.

And also you go around the league and, hey, it could still be Cam Acres. He got released. But you go around the league. How many RB3s have any games like Ty Felton, I'm sorry, Ty Chandler had a couple years ago against Cincinnati or Detroit? Like, not many of them. Most of them are undrafted free agents or seventh round draft picks or something.

There's not a lot of great RB3s. So it's better to just keep someone who has been here before. Is the faithful, shocked by the Gabriel Murphy release? I think so shock, this became funny on the social medias today for me because there was, I was surprised, but I wasn't shocked. And another word that was used was baffled. Someone said they were baffled. I wasn't baffled.

Surprised is right. Surprised means, yeah, I thought that he would be on there 53. And I thought that he would maybe carve out a little bit of a role, a Jihad Ward role or a Patrick Jones where he mixes, in on some pass rushing downs. I thought that was possible based on what we had seen. He played every rep with the twos at outside linebacker. But shocked or baffled, no, I couldn't go there because he didn't play special teams.

That's a big deal for this year. And I mean, just for making 53s. And we're talking about OLB4. I mean, anytime, anytime you're not talking about one of the first three players on the depth chart at any position, it's not a shock. they had two years to evaluate him they probably got to the point where they said there was a hard knocks i remember i don't know if you watch hard knocks with the lions a couple years ago but there was a hard knocks scene with dan campbell talking about whether to cut a running back

and his thing was look we we don't need to learn anything more about this player we know exactly what we have here we know the limitations we know there's not another level to this guy so we should just move on. And I think that's where you get with Gabe Murphy is they, there's not another level to Gabe Murphy. It's what he is. And if he's a one dimensional player to where he can only pass rush and he cannot play special teams,

well, then you're going to go with Chas Chambliss, who might have more upside or at least turn into an Eric Wilson type who can play a couple positions, who can, you know, drop back in coverage. They want, they want guys who could drop back in coverage. Let's keep that in mind. Like, that is a coverage position. Those plays require Dallas Turner to drop back, Andrew Van Ginkle to drop back.

Even Jonathan Granard sometimes, if he couldn't do that and he couldn't play special teams and they saw that stuff from Chas Chambl, so they're going to go with him. It's too undrafted free agents. Like, there's no, there's no shock. It's just that we just were a little surprised. I know that's that nitpicking a little bit. Completely, completely out on Deontay Johnson. one million percent out.

That guy can't stick with a team for five minutes. Is KJ Osborne or Tim Jones a better option for depth receiver? I mean, I think Osborne has a much more significant history as a number three wide receiver than Jones does. Jones has barely played wide receiver in his whole career, 17 receptions, whereas Osborne has three good seasons. So I would go with Osborne there. but Jones, at very least, does have special teams, but I would go with KJ Osborne there.

And, yeah, I agree with blowfishes. Osborne would, you know, he would not have a steep learning curve. He would be able to jump in there. Clark says, is there a wide receiver? We're not thinking about the Quacey could trade for, thinking he has a trick up his sleeve. Yeah, possibly. Possibly.

I mean, but after today, this is where it does get a little. little bit. There's only a couple days left before we play football, which is awesome. But that's not a lot of time to be negotiating more trades and having too many more discussions. If you're going to do it, you better do it. Like, you better get this done pretty darn soon if you're going to make a deal. Alec Pierce is the name that has kind of come up as maybe a surprise one. He made the Colts roster with no problem today. But, you know, maybe. Maybe there's somebody like that. I mean, that is all altogether possible. It is altogether possible that there's something in the works behind the scenes. And, you know, we have had over the years with the Minnesota

Vikings plenty of surprises. And, you know, there have been plenty of surprises even today where stuff doesn't necessarily get out into the public. And then you go, wow, Gabe Murphy, huh? I didn't see that coming. Oh, by the way, I did want to mention just to circle back to because we spend so much time on things that are on fire that, can we just quickly go through the great stories here today? Just, I mean, Elijah, what a story Elijah Williams is, right? This guy, Morgan State, very productive in college, shows up to the Vikings, what number would he have been on the roster overall as kind of the last guy in as a rookie tryout player.

Now, I remember going through when they signed him, there was a little bit of a, you know, we did a show and there was some focus on Elijah Williams. and we talked about him because he was intriguing. And when you looked at how he performed in that All-Star game, the Vikings have been good at identifying these guys. Levi Drake Rodriguez is another one that they identified in an All-Star game. And Elijah Williams has this great HBCU All-Star game. He gets like seven pressures or something crazy like that and then fights his way onto this roster.

That is a very cool story. And, you know, we could say what we want about the draft and most of it's right. I think some of it's too far, but it's right. They haven't drafted very successfully. But sometimes I think to myself, if they had just drafted these guys in the seventh round as opposed to undrafted free agents, we'd talk about how great they were at finding late round draft picks, right? I mean, Ivan Pace is one of them, but Joe Huber makes the roster today.

Elijah Williams makes the roster, Max Brosmer. They got the best undrafted free agent quarterback out there. That's for sure. If you watch the QB school on Brosmer, he was JTO Sullivan. and was loving what he saw from Brozmer. We liked it all offseason long. Brosmer was extremely impressive. They have been good at finding these guys.

And Elijah Williams, great story. Joe Huber, great story. Forcing them to keep an extra offensive lineman. It was pretty cool for him. So did just want to kind of like press the breaks a little bit on what are they going to do. What are they going to do? What are they going to do? As a reminder, I mean, even Miles Price.

I don't know if he's sticking or not. but that's a guy who kind of showed up and showed them something. Ben Urisack, I think, has some potential. The two draft picks from last year, Juergens and Rouse make the team. So there's two more late round guys, Levi Drake. Last year they found Jalen Redmond. So that's been the other part of the story of this team in their team building is that they have been able to rely on that over the last couple of years.

It's not a perfect way to do it. Even McLeathern had his downs during training camp, but he's one of the four cornerbacks remaining. so that is something that they've been able to make up some of the difference by finding those types of guys so let's see don and bethany says watching all the dumpster fires it's odd to me how much criticism the organization gets when they are building a pretty solid track record well you know i think that what that is is that is kind of the moment that we're in right now so just for example

at this moment when we watch a preseason game and we do a very real and intense post game show and everybody who cannot wait for this Viking season watches that preseason game and if Kobe King misses a tackle

it's oh my gosh they drafted another bust this guy is to look Kobe King's not going to make a difference in this season it's just not and the same thing for a lot of these a lot of these areas and a lot of these situations is if you get to the point where the fourth linebacker is out there needing to make a difference this year, you're in trouble. And they are a little bit in trouble at wide receiver, but let us not forget they have the best receiver on Earth and a Pro Bowl tight end. And those that, like, because this is the moment that we're in and these are the storylines of the day, I think it's easy to lose perspective on the bigger picture that the Minnesota Vikings have one of the best rosters in the NFL. but where it does become important is that the margins are not going to be very big for this

team. The NFC North is fantastic. Their schedule with the NFC East, I mean, even the Giants could cause some problems. Jackson Dart might be playing by them. He looked great in the preseason. Their D-line is a problem. Abdul Carter looks like a freak. You know what Dexter Lawrence can do. Dallas is still got a lot of talent, as much of a circus as that is. The Steelers, they can be a problem. So I think that that's where it's fair, but like, let's not lose the forest through the trees as we're talking about, you know, going out and getting K.J. Osborne or something. Let's not lose our minds with, hey, you know, this team is, you know, lost or screwed or

what I see some of that. Oh, we're completely screwed. Oh, hold on. I mean, hold on. I don't think they're completely. screwed because of the fact that their wide receiver situation is lighter than you'd like it to be for the first three games. Just like their fourth cornerback or, you know, they cut an undrafted lineman. Like, you know, I don't think that that's enough to be saying screwed. Probably

not. It's more along the lines of everything matters this year. In previous seasons, I didn't feel as much that way because I thought they were in transition. And at this time last year, I thought every single player that's young that makes the team, that's good for them. That's good for the Vikings. Find out what you have. You know, if your seventh rounders make the team, then that's great. Make sure you get those guys developed and see what they could be next year.

Just like Levi Drake Rodriguez. I didn't know they were going to win 14 games at the time, but that was my thought. If Levi Drake makes the team, that's great for them because they need that guy to developed to be something next year. Jalen Redmond, when he made the team last year, we're like, oh, okay, that's interesting. Maybe he's, there's something there. And there is. And so that mentality lived in a transition year type of spot. Whereas this year, when you have this much money invested, and you've spent so much on free agents, and you've built around J.J. McCarthy the way that they have, and you look around the NFC and you go,

well, could you be better than the Lions? Yeah, if you get the quarterback play. Could you be better than the Bears? Of course, usually you are. Could you be better in the Packers? Certainly you could. You have a better roster. Then every single detail starts to matter.

Every single detail becomes important. Like when we're talking about, you know, extra wide receivers or extra corners or, you know, which guy they pick for special teams because the kickoffs are going to be a huge deal this year. That's why it feels intense right now at this moment, I think. That's my theory. Charles says we have the money and the draft picks.

Why not trade for Jacobi Myers? Sure, we have to pay him, but he could even replace Addison in a year when he wants to get paid. Yeah, I don't know that that timing quite works out because he is significantly older than Jordan Addison. Jacobi Myers is sort of toward the end of his prime at 28-Garge. going on 29, I believe, whereas Jordan Addison, the reason he's so important, and Addison getting his life straightened out is so important, is that you can have a one

superstar and one very, very good number two wide receiver for a long time if Addison is in good shape. Because he's, what, 23 years old now? I mean, you're talking to Addison hasn't even hit his prime yet. So if you want to throw him overboard for a guy who by the time you sign him to an extension, and then you give him a three-year extension or something's going to be into his 30s. That doesn't quite work out the same when Addison is also a better receiver than Jacobi Myers as well. I think that the signing Myers part would be hard, except for there is a little bit of a loophole here. And here's what I'll give you is there is a little bit of a loophole here. And I would call it the Daniel Hunter or now Trey Hendrickson loophole to unhappy

players, which is, would you like some money out of my wallet? right now. Will that make you feel better? That's the loophole because let's, let's just go down this idea. Because I mean, I like it as far as the player goes. So let's go down this idea. Let's say the Vikings give up a third and two sixths for Jacobi Myers. Let's just say that the Raiders are willing to do it now that they have a Mari Cooper. All right. Third and two sixth or a fifth and a sixth. What the heck ever. Who cares, right? There's a couple of late round draft picks. They say, yeah, okay, great. Myers get. to the Vikings, and they redo his contract to put a lot more money into his wallet in whatever

way it takes. Void ears, I don't know. Whatever, however you do that, Rob Brzezinski, that I don't fully understand. So you get him 10 more million dollars right away to play for you this year. And then he leaves in free agency. And then he signs a pretty big contract. And then you get a fourth round pickback for comp. It's not a bad idea.

It's not a bad idea. I think it's a little on the hard to figure out how to do side. They do have some cap space. I mean, I don't dislike it. I don't dislike all of you who want Jacobi Myers. I don't dislike it. That might be the only way to go down that road. Will they take that, though?

Because if you're Jacobi Myers, I mean, like, I see why you want to leave and I see why you want to raise, but why are the Raiders doing it? Why would the Raiders, like, you've got to, you signed a contract, go play. Like, I don't know. The Raiders are trying to win. So I don't know why they would do it. Surly Viking says concerning is all the unhealthy veterans. Well, at the moment, they're healthy.

We'll see if that holds up. Ryan Kelly, I think, would be the most concerning just for his recent history. Fry's one bad luck injury, kind of the same with Hargrave. Alan came back at the end of last year and was fine. I don't think Isaiah Rogers has had issues. Let's see, Brian says regardless of who they bring in a wide receiver, the other team has to say Jets is going,

not going to beat us and take him away. Can the other guys be good enough to pull them away from Jets? Well, they never really have been. So that is one key part to remember. I mean, Addison, yes, but Addison never gets doubled. Addison has even mentioned this. I think Addison said at one point last year

that he's never been doubled in his entire career. he probably was when Jefferson was out in 2023 but like stay with him never when Jefferson is in has he ever been doubled so if it's Tim Jones he's going to get a single man on him the same way they're just always going to do that and that's something that they have to be ready for TLS thanks so much for the super chat really appreciate that so they're always going to double them no matter what happens honestly and they just have to figure out the rest but teams go into every game saying Jefferson's not going to beat when teams do their preparation that some have a different name for it like a red dot player or a star player or whatever whatever it is the designation he's the one they circle every single time every single game with the Vikings is Jefferson and he still gets 150 targets and they still the whole offense is designed to beat that stuff so they still can get him the football I don't think that that is the issue is whether they can get him the ball it's that if Jefferson catches eight

passes for 110 yards, you probably need to throw for 250. Like, who else is catching the football? Casey says, what a strange 53 roster? Um, let me think. Is there anything? Where would the strange areas be? I think 10 offensive linemen is a little bit surprising. Maybe one more running back than I expected. Um, four corners, but they've done that before. That's not that unusual. I don't think it's strange. I think it's just that we've spent so much time focusing. on all of these decisions that when we finally get them, there's some surprises. And that's why we do it. That's why we like sports.

Surprises. West Coast Yeti. That's a great name. Thoughts on MVS, Remfro, Corley, and cornerback Mike Hilton. Hilton just visited with the Colts. So I think that might happen. I like Hilton. He played well last year.

Mike Boone just got cut by the Dolphins. Great guy, Mike Boone. It's bounced around. MVS is not very good, but neither is anybody else that you're going to get. Had a handful of deep catches, that's all he's ever going to be. Maybe that's what you need in a wide receiver for these first couple weeks. I like the Renfro idea and that I know is not based on recent statistical performance and is really just based on what I've seen reported from the Panthers media.

I've been paying a lot of attention to their reporters, and it just seems like he's had a very good camp, so that kind of interests me. Corley is much more of a project. I'm not really into that idea as much because I don't think they're in a spot right now where that's what they're looking for. Going back to the Fanduil question of the week, 17 points from Son of a Beaver, 17. That's what they, I think the over under you guys are putting it at if he,

if the number two wide receiver is Tim Jones would be 17 points. I might go with, I might go with 21 and a half. I think they would have to play a ball possession game, but I think they could still score. Chicago's defense is not special. Blowfish is any solid tight end three options? There was the guy from the Giants. Greg.

Greg. What's the last name? Starts with a D. Greg Dorch. Is that it? No, that's a receiver. Greg Dulich. Dulcich?

Yeah. So there you go. That's how solid he is. But I recognize the name. He had a couple. He had three. 33 catches from Denver in 2022. And he's kind of bounced around since then.

But that's kind of where we're at with tight end threes. I'm good with Ben Yurasek. I think Ben Yurasek had a good camp and that he should be there tight end three and go from there. And we'll see what happens long term with Bartholomew. They can compete next year. But, you know, I think that Yurasek as far as tight end threes is probably fine. Pavlov's frog says Aaron Jones is.

the third best receiver on the team. I do not disagree with that. I think that that is true. The folks that want him to play wide receiver, probably not. But he's, I think that he can, and Pavlov's frog says, can he move to the slot? No, he can't move to the slot. But he can certainly catch a lot of passes. That's one thing he can definitely do because he is one of the best past catching running backs in the entire NFL. So they can, it's not like they have nobody to throw to. Never played mad and says for Naylor, no injury designation. So maybe not as badly hurt as feared.

That is certainly possible. And you're right to point that out. We just don't know. And when O'Connell says they're assessing options, again, that's where you go, I'm not sure. If Naylor is in perfect shape and he's good to go week one, this conversation's a little bit different. but it gives you a lot more pause when he is banged up the way that he is.

Blowfish says Addison is better than Myers. Why trade for the latter when the former is better? Well, you'd want all three for this year. That's what would be nice is if you had all three. That would be good. If you trade for Myers to start the season, and like I said, let's just say you find a briefcase of money to leave in his locker for this year, but it's not into the future,

kind of like the DeNeil Hunter deal when they worked things out with him after his very short hold in or what just happened with Trey Hendrickson. So you get, so, okay, Jacobi Myers wants more money, here's more money, and you get to hit free agency.

Here's a third round pick along with a fifth and the sixth to the Raiders. Okay, they're happy. Then when Addison comes back, you just have three really good wide receivers for this year. And then Myers hits free agency.

You get a fourth round comp pick. Like, yeah, I mean, it's not the craziest thing I've ever heard. That would be how you would deal with that. You wouldn't be getting rid of Jordan Addison because you got Jacoby Myers. That really doesn't quite work out. Mike says what happens when CJ comes off of injury. I would assume that that will have another move that goes along with it. So that might be Xavier Scott going to the practice squad, getting cut, going to the practice

squad. That's possible. Kumar says if Gabriel Murphy plays. played special teams would he be on the team do players choose not to play special teams if so seems like a strange decision i have i actually have heard of that happening yeah where players now i'm not saying that gay murphy did this because i don't know that some guys are just not good at it like it's it's a skill in itself that we sort of take for granted until your team is terrible in special teams and then you're like oh yeah that's right there's there's there's

talent to that. But so there is a fit also. There's different positions just like offense, defense. We just don't focus on them a lot. But there's a lot of detail. Maybe I need to get Matt Daniels on the show to explain all the different positions that they have. They all have names. We just don't, we just don't dive into it because it's like it's kicked them all the back of the end zone, start the offense in the last few years. So maybe we're going to have to know all those positions and details by the end of this year. But the point just being that sometimes guys aren't good at it and some and a lot of times what happens is they really don't dedicate to it it's like all right fine i'll go out there whatever but are they really are they

really putting in 110 and the coaches are going to notice and if you have one guy who's an undrafted free agent with versatility and can cover and can play inside linebacker or outside linebacker and plays all those special teams reps and is really into it versus a guy who you've seen for two years and has looked good at times, but he's a one-dimensional edge rusher who can't go back in coverage, can't play multiple positions, can't play special teams. You're just going to go, you're just going to go with the guy who can do a lot more. Now, and also, Gaye Murphy, he might be on the team tomorrow. You know, when they announced the practice squad, he might end up being on the practice squad still if he gets through waivers. So we can't count that out that he doesn't

have to necessarily end his time as a Minnesota Viking because of this. I just think that That special teams thing, it's always hard to explain because we just don't look at it a lot. So it becomes hard to break down. Well, you know, when this guy was L4 on the outside or whatever the positions are called, I guess I'm going to have to ask Matt Daniels myself, when this guy is in this position and he defeats blocks and he gets off this block and he's got this. Like that's all stuff Matt Daniels knows and would take into account. And that's why Chambles played so many snaps there.

blowfish is what type of contract you think Myers wants right now he's wide receiver one with the raiders won't accept wide receiver two money elsewhere that's that's why i'm trying to like make something work there that isn't a long-term extension because if you're jacobi Myers and you're looking at contracts around the league and then looking at your production he should be in the 20 million range that's why can the vikings get him in the 20 million rage for this year if they could make that type of trade now that would be I think take a little bit of acrobatics from them, but they have some cap space.

It's not like they're out of cap space. Could you just get him some more money right away and then make him happy for right now and have him become a free agent after this year? Maybe. Maybe you could do something like that, just rework it for Jacoby. But as far as what he's looking for

if he wanted only a long-term contract, well, I just don't think the Vikings could do that. Then you're talking about way up over the 20s. we're going to have to find out who they bring to the practice squad. That would be tough to guess one at a time. As far as Thayer, YouTube's acclaimed board of algorithmic nonsense. That is one heck of a mouthful. Maybe you should just go by like Jim or something.

You think Thayer Thomas is being unfairly painted or as a one-trick pony. Seems like he caught everything his way. Yeah, I mean, I think with Thayer Thomas, he, was what they would call in baseball quad A guy. Same thing with Lucky Jackson. These guys are both really darn good football players. Really, really good. And I've seen Thayer have great practices,

and I've seen Lucky have great practices. And you get out in the game, and it's in preseason and you go, okay, well, that looks all right. But out in the regular season, out with the ones, it's just not the same. It's not the same.

I mean, because then you're talking about the freaks of the freaks, best of the best, the guys who are 99th percentile athletes who have dominated the league before and have been stars and everything else. And then it's just not the same level. It's like, can the guy in practice hit BP fastballs? Yes. Can he hit 97 mile an hour from Randy Johnson? Probably not. And I think that both of those guys just fall into that category. Very hardworking guys. You're right. Thayer catches everything. But there's not likely enough explosive. there to get open consistently in the NFL, which is why you go out and you look for other

people. Casey says, Chandler makes the team backup wide receiver. It is a disaster for wide receivers. So this is good luck in the NFL. Quasi isn't, of course, I should have known that like fire, fire Quasi for keeping four running backs take should have been included on my bingo board for today. I should have known that that was coming. I just had a national NFL reporter on the show yesterday, picking the Vikings to win the NFC North because he thinks they have the strongest roster in the NFC. But, you know, fire the GM. I, why wouldn't that be rational? That's a great point.

As far as Chandler making the team, I mean, why, why there are certain guys I just don't get why they make you folks so angry. Ty Chandler and Ryan Ryder, two of them. I get it. Like, the head coach of the team is taking jabs at Ty Chandler. He's the third running back. If he was number two, like last year, I would feel differently. Then I would also have my concerns like I did last year. But as far as, I mean, he's somebody who's had some success in the league who can help you as a kick returner.

And that's it. That's what you get for a number three running back. I don't know which teams that you guys follow that have these amazing third running backs, but this team has never had that as far as I've been, well, let me take it back. Let me take it back. 2017, they actually did have an amazing third running back. That was Jerich McKinnon. But other than that, that's the only year I can remember with third great running back on the team.

And backup wide receiver, I think it was Quasi who got suspended, right? Oh, no, it was actually Jordan Addison got suspended. Well, Quassey probably tackled Rondale Moore, didn't he? What was he thinking, tackling his own player and injuring him on the punt? No, that wasn't. That was somebody from another team. It was an accident. So I don't know.

Yeah. These things happen. And you got to work around him. So that's what they're in the process of doing. And there's a lot of options on the table. But I think they have to look at Trey Palmer first. If anyone claims him, I think someone will. 4-3 speed, punt return, history of catching the ball, probably is getting claimed.

And then they've got to look at other options. So I haven't seen too many, like trade for Alan Lazard, just not a big Alan Lazard guy here to tell you the truth. when Blowfish says Blackman, Mackay Blackman, who they traded yesterday, had a strong first season, was in line to be a starter, hasn't been the same since.

Yeah, no, I agree with that. I was a little surprised that they moved on from him yesterday, but it just tells you kind of how far that dropped. Robbie chosen, now I'm going to pass on that. Seven undrafted free agents made the team, yeah. Hear me out, Darius Slayton. Okay, if they're interested,

that's the level of player. So that is the level of player. Casey, Casey now giving credit to Quacy, I think for Elijah Williams and Levi-Drake Rodriguez. They've found a lot of depth in that defensive line room. That defensive line room is pretty remarkable because you have the two big paid free agents. But then it's UDFA, fifth rounder, seventh-rounder UDFA.

And yet all those guys had very good training camps. Love the QB school video. Highly recommend. Highly recommend. have to ask J.T. if I could play some of it on the show, get his permission because I think you guys would really like some of his breakdowns. I am aware that the NFC flag behind me is a little crooked. It's, look, arts and crafts. When I was in grade school, my mom did most of my arts and crafts. It's just not my thing. But, you know, they look great, though, I think overall. I got out of the

way of the Vikings one. That was a common complaint. When I had the mic over here, it was like in the way of the Vikings one. So I did that. We got the camera. We got, unfortunately, my my lit up sign over here in the corner isn't quite showing up, but I like it. It says Purple Insider. I'm working on a multi-cam setup so you can see it. So I'm working on this. And you guys have to tell me if that looks good or not, the multi-cam set up so you can see the Purple Insider Man. So I've been working on that, but I'm mostly answering your questions. So I end up forgetting to ever change the angle. The angle was supposed to be like this, so I would be looking at your questions over here, and it looks like I'm looking at you. That's kind of the angle.

But then when I flip back to the other screen, I can't tell if I'm looking at you or not. So I guess we'll have to figure that out. Can Mason catch the football? I think so. I was actually surprised by how well Jordan Mason did catch the football. I think that he has shown a little bit more than I ever would have expected, but he's not going to be going down the field. Jordan Mason's going to be catching a lot of swing passes, a lot of just, you know, checkdowns and stuff like that. And he can catch those and make something out of it.

Willowah says criticism isn't about having a solid roster. It's about exploiting a rare opportunity to win a Super Bowl. We're at 3% to do that. 3% of what? What's 3%? Where does 3% come from? 3% odds to do that? Well, who has high odds to do that?

Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore. Who else? maybe Detroit, maybe Philly, who in the NFC has super high, you're going to have to tell me that. Who has super high odds to win the Super Bowl? Also, do preseason odds tell you who's going to win the Super Bowl? That's another question I would have there. In the NFC, like where, where was, what was Philly's odds going into last year?

What was San Francisco's in 2023? What was San Francisco's in 2019? What was the Rams in 2018? I don't know if, if, I mean, Vegas can't predict the Super Bowl any better than you can. I'm not saying the Vikings are going to win it. It's just like, what does that mean? Like, that's proof that they haven't built a good enough roster. They have built a good enough roster from top to bottom to very reasonably compete in the NFC for a Super Bowl.

That's just a fact. I mean, if you're talking about, okay, the number three, four corner is concerning to you. All right. Well, Philly's got a corner or a guard or something. Like, every team, how about Detroit, their offensive line? like every team's got some position there's 32 of these like every team's got some position they're concerned about but i think when we go position by position and this isn't even just me you want to talk about outside objective measures like go go to mike clay and his rankings where he ranks

the vikings for position by position like this isn't just me like mike clay of ESPN ranks every single position and i went through those and added them up for outside of quarterback where did the Vikings rank in his rankings for all teams, all rosters, and it was in the top five. They've done an excellent job putting together a roster that has a little bit of maintenance to do on it. It's, I like house hunters, so I'll make a house hunters comparison. People go into a house. Actually, I kind of had this experience myself buying a house.

You really like everything about it, but you walk out back and there's a garage that's falling apart. You're like, all right, well, going to have. have to replace that garage if we buy the house that's that when we bought our house the garage had wires hanging down off of it and it was about to blow away you know so we had to replace it oh okay there's some investment there there's a move there you don't like it's still a very good house and i think that about this roster right now it is a very very good roster but they need addison playing and that's something what are you going to do that's a suspension and you need guys to

stay healthy of course every team needs everyone to stay healthy and then yeah there's some of these other depth positions that you don't feel solid about and they need they need to build a garage at backup corner they need to you know build a they need to build a garage at number three wide receiver uh will awes all this talk about a great roster but it's ninth to 12 by pff i mean do they factor in quarterback there because if they factor in quarterback to entirely when it comes to, okay, yeah, there you go. And Pavlov's frog says that, has no basis to rate J.J. McCarthy. Yeah, no, that's, that's right.

That's right. So if they didn't include the quarterback, where would that rank if they were ninth? You know, I just, I mean, it's pretty clear. It's pretty clear that this is a great roster and that they have a chance to compete this year, next year, probably the year after with a lot of the bones that they have. They've done an amazing job putting it together. The free agents that they've brought in have been fantastic. They've developed players.

They made a great trade to get Mason. They made the trade to get Hawkinson. Even the signings. We'll see about the left guard draft pick, but they've done a ton of great work here. And we're at the final part of the race with building this total roster. And there's a couple of things that haven't been resolved. But I haven't changed the 11 win prediction based on what we've seen. It's just that they need one or two more guys.

And I think that within the next day, they're going to be able to find some options here, some answers. We just don't know exactly what those answers are. Rogers had a broken hand. Well, I mean, see, when you guys talk about like players being injured, I mean, hurting your hand is not, like some, for a 27-year-old, is not something that's going to have, oh, my gosh, he's injury prone. Like, I can understand with Ryan Kelly.

He's missed over multiple years. Breaking your hand is just bad luck. How about a trade for Braxton Barrios? Did he make their team? I mean, I'm somewhat interested. Trading right now is just a little tough. Evan with the super chat says Keena McCartle's wide receiver two. It's just a little bit, it's just a little bit tough right now because,

everyone's made up their rosters and their rosters are all set so it's very hard then to go make trades after this usually the trades happened before this as you saw there was kind of a flurry of trades because teams are moving on from the guys that they are not going to keep uh chuck says do we think we could put the trade together with the colts for alec pierce it's a name that keeps coming up and yet i don't see i think it's a great idea alec pierce just like i think jacobie myers is a great idea, but can you actually do it? Pierce would be a downfield type of option for them that would be really good. Brandon Powell just haven't heard anything regarding Brandon Powell.

Maybe that's an option for them. Jake says MVS is a marginally worse nailer. Both have unreliable hands and mostly run clearing routes, but you have to respect them deep. Yeah, that's the thing. As soon as I made a crack about MVS, I got so many people who are like, no, no way, no way, no world's like, okay, come on now. uh pat says wish you'd leave twitter no i mostly have i just only only today i was looking at it for updates i very bad very much barely look at that website anymore uh but you know today

i'm waiting for who's going to get cut if the vikis are going to trade somebody you know whatever to do. So the other, the other teams in the list, I mean, this is, this is right. When you talk about 3%, I mean, first of all, that doesn't mean anything, but Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City, Philly. Yeah, I mean, those teams, 13%, 10%? Of course, yeah. Why wouldn't those teams? I mean, they have elite quarterbacks. They've been close to winning Super Bowls or have won the Super Bowl recently. Of course, they're going to have the best odds. But it's not like 3% odds.

because they, you know, have a quarterback who hasn't played yet. I mean, that is why, you know, that's why they have lower odds. I mean, that's why they have eight and a half win total is because they have a quarterback doesn't done anything yet. But if you think that these are greatly predictive measures, well, then the Vikings should have won six games last year, but instead they won 14. So I don't know. If we all knew what was going to happen, it would be a lot less fun.

a lot less fun. Conrad was, how was the foundation of the house? How old was the HVAC system? The HVAC was fine. The foundation, I think, has been okay so far when we bought it. Those are the important things. Yep, those are your Justin Jefferson and your J.J. McCarthy, I guess. But the garage had to go.

Wouldn't Blackman have been included in an attempt for Alec Pierce? Not necessarily. I just don't, it doesn't look like they're moving. Alec Pierce. I think he's a great idea. It just doesn't seem like there actually was something there. Jay Mulls wants Malachi Corley. I think that's okay. I think that's an all right idea as sort of a Rondale Moore type. I don't think it's exactly what you're looking for. If they're trying to trade for Thielen, I think what you're looking for is a more veteran type of wide receiver. Don't forget to answer the Fanduil question the day, by the way, which is just how many points would be your over, under for Vikings, if they have to start Tim Jones at wide receiver too.

And there's a lot of really low numbers, and I think that that's fair because I don't think they're going to be crazy, aggressive in a game where they only have Jefferson as their only wide receiver, if that's the case. But I still think that this offense can move the ball and score. and what I'm really most interested to see and once we get to a game week, we'll really dive into this like crazy, but just is what this running game can really do? And then is there anybody else who can rise up to the challenge?

We've seen it in the past. Remember, go back to 2016. When I arrived in Minnesota, I thought Adam Thielen was kind of a mascot. Like, oh, you guys got a Minnesota player that's so cute, you know, Buffalo had a Buffalo player. He was okay. You know, his name was Neiman Roosevelt.

Great guy, you know, went to University of Buffalo. thought, oh, it's just one of those guys. And then there's an injury to digs and feeling has to take over. And all of a sudden, man, this guy just breaks out like crazy against the Houston, Texas, never turns back, has a great career. So sometimes opportunity is just what somebody needs. And there will be opportunity when Justin Jefferson is on the field for other wide receivers to make plays. I don't think that they cannot win the first three games if they don't find another great wide receiver option, but I do think that you need to turn over every single rock and consider possibly even giving up a decent amount of draft capital

to get somebody else in. But for now, as we kind of put a bow on this conversation, didn't feel in return punts early in his career? Yeah, it didn't go well. I think it didn't go well. That's right. Yeah, AI predicted the Vikings. That's right. AI predicted the Vikings to be the number one pick. I think ESPN as well, had that, or maybe that was the AI ESPN model. Maybe that's what it was. Yeah, I think that's what it was. It was like some model predicted them to have the number one pick. And Kevin O'Connell referenced that, by the way. He saw it. Don't think he didn't see it. That's my point, though, right? It's like, don't miss, don't miss the big picture here that they've built the team that they sought out to build when they got here in 22,

around J.J. McCarthy. The people who will determine this season are J.J. McCarthy, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Christian Derisaw, Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Grinard, Andrew Van Ginkle, Blake Cashman, the stars of this team will determine whether they succeed or fail. It's not that likely that, I mean, if you get to the fourth wide receiver, you get to the fourth corner over any long period of time, it's not that likely things have gone well for you. That's just the reality of the NFL. But today, there is, I think, a lot of pressure on them to get a wide receiver in a corner.

So we can put those two things in two separate boxes, what they still need and the bigger picture of 2025. So let's wrap on this. Steve says, Brosmer is the likely Mr. Mancato. Here's my thing about Mr. Mancato. Mr. Mancato is whoever you want Mr. Mancato to be. There's not a vote. there's not a big presentation there isn't some sort of official oh this guy is officially that that kind of faded a long time ago i think early on there was maybe a trophy or something

but it's it's gone away it's more of a concept it's more of an idea of the guy we never see coming who captures our hearts who may not have anything to do with the success of the season or may someday become great, we don't know. It's a magical part of the season. And this day is a magical day for Mr. Mancato because when that guy makes the team, you go, wow. I think Elijah Williams, for me is Mr. Mancato because that is the most unlikely player.

I think I've ever seen make the team. The only other guy that I think is more unlikely that's ever made the team is Dan Chasena because he basically didn't play college football. At least this guy was good in college football. It was just at a university, not known for its NFL lineage too much. But that it's an ultimate underdog story. But, you know, if you want it to be Max Brosmer, that's perfectly fine.

Because Brosmer captured the hearts of Vikings fans as well as the gopher, the local guy. Because you kind of think same deal with feeling, oh, like they got the gopher quarterback. That's great. But no, like this dude can really play as gopher fans know. But yeah, I mean, like lots of undrafted free agents, like all those guys. You know, they kind of deserve their attention for making the team. It's a great day for those guys. Joe Huber making it as an offensive line, and that's really good.

So, yeah, it used to be like, yeah, right, a gift basket or something. Right. So, you know, I mean, it's whoever you'd like it to be. But for those guys, what a day to be undrafted free agents and make it. And what a day for our discussion. So here's what I'm going to do. I think we've covered every part of this that we can and all the options that we can. So I'm going to hang it up for right now. And if there is more to come, if there are more

developments, if they sign a former fifth round corner, probably we'll wait till tomorrow to talk about that. But if there's a shocking Adam Thieland trade, if there's a shocking big move that we didn't expect coming, then I will be back here tonight. I'll be staying fairly near the computer and I'll be ready if anything should come up. So we'll see. But if it's a late night pod, if there's a move at 10.30 at night, I'll be here for you to break it down.

And if not, then definitely we'll be back on the show as usual tomorrow. And we will go from there. And so, you know, Maggie usually joins on Tuesdays. We're planning to have her join tomorrow just because cut down day threw everything off. And those of you who have, you've begged for it, You've cried for it. You've screamed out for a Judd-Zolgat appearance on this show. It will happen.

Scheduled to figure that out probably tomorrow to have Jud on the show tomorrow night. So you can definitely look forward to that. And lots of other guests in the lead-up and there's moves on the way. I can almost guarantee that there are changes that will be made that we need to break down within the next day. But for today, the 53, the initial 53 is out. One last step before. we play some real football so thanks everybody for jumping on as always really enjoyed the discussion and conversation and we should get a lot of these answers pretty soon i would think

so take care everybody and we'll talk to you tomorrow or maybe later tonight we'll see either way football