Vikings Rumors: Boom or Bust Defense, Fresh FAs for Kwesi, & The Trade Tally
K. Joudry
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Though we’re now into the portion of the year when Vikings rumors aren’t as abundant, we’ll still be highlighting some of the purple rumblings.
The “Vikings Rumor Wrangle” is a series that keeps readers informed on what’s being whispered about in Vikings Land. In this iteration, we discuss the Flores defense that both gives and takes away, the fresh free agent talent, and the trades taking place.
The Vikings Rumors – 08.30.2023
Rumor #1 — Brian Flores’ “Boom-or-Bust Defense” Will be an Improvement
Reasonable minds can disagree, but that’s the word from Ted Nguyen, one of the foremost football analysts at The Athletic.
In Nguyen’s mind, the Vikings are in a better position with Flores taking the reins. “Instead of sitting back and hoping the offense makes a mistake,” Nguyen explains, “they’ll be one of the league’s most aggressive teams under the leadership of defensive coordinator Brian Flores.”
He goes on to detail the risk/reward component of the scheme before offering these concluding thoughts: “This approach of dictating what the offense does and gambling from play to play could get Minnesota more stops than simply sitting back and getting picked apart. Additionally, it’s a unique system that offenses will have to spend extra time to prepare for.”
At the very least, the Vikings won’t be as boring and bland as last season. Many Vikings fans will gladly accept the downsides of the approach since it’ll lead to a defense that looks far more engaged.
Rumor #2 — Amidst All the Cuts, The Vikings May Look to Add
Yes, almost certainly.
A pile of talented players are getting cut. Maybe a team deems someone too expensive or perhaps there’s a rebuild taking place so the desire is to let a younger option get more snaps. Maybe a new leadership regime has taken over so they’re exiling players brought in by for the former crew. Regardless of the reason, the point remains: some strong NFL players are currently looking for work. That’s an ironclad fact.
How the Vikings respond is a different matter, one that’s worth monitoring.
One player who has garnered a lot of attention on PurplePTSD and VikingsTerritory is Desmond King, the veteran corner capable of thriving both along the inside and the outside. Take a peak at what Josh Frey had to say about the talented CB: “The cornerback largely played in the slot during the early portions of his career. However, in Houston, he became a reliably versatile player, splitting time between the slot and the boundary. King played 505 snaps on the boundary compared to 334 in the slot during 2022.”
Keep an eye on King. Previously, he has been a first-team All Pro at corner and he’s only 28.
Rumor #3 — The Trades are Flying Off the Shelf and Minnesota is Joining the Fun
Should we expect anything less?
The NFL calendar offers three times when trades are prominent: the draft, roster cut downs, and the trade deadline. So far, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hasn’t sat on the sidelines for any of these periods. Indeed, he has made at least one deal every time he has worked through these periods. There’s no indication that he’ll be changing his approach anytime soon.
The Vederian Lowe news caught many by surprise (including yours truly). For a 6th-round selection, Minnesota opted to kick Lowe over to New England. In a perfect world, the young offensive tackle has a shot at emerging for the Patriots as a long-time solution at one of the OT spots. Bill Belichick has a long history of working with high-end OL talent, so it appears to be a good spot for the young o-lineman.
The word is that teams are calling about acquiring Jalen Reagor who was originally brought to Minnesota … through a trade. Moreover, the Eagles are apparently open to dealing pass rusher Derek Barnett. Safe to say there will be options aplenty if the Vikings are looking to do another deal.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is up to 16 trades in his career as a GM.
2023 Vikings Roster Cuts Tracker