Purple Headlines of the Week: DC Interviews, QB Rumors, RB in the Draft?
The second week of the Minnesota Vikings offseason is wrapping up, and this one was much busier for Minnesota than the first. Because of that, in case you missed them, here is a recap of some of the biggest purple headlines of the week.
Defensive Coordinator Interviews Begin
The Minnesota Vikings have begun their process of interviewing defensive coordinator candidates for the 2023 season. So far, they’ve conducted interviews with four candidates, but there is no indication that they are on the verge of making a final decision. Here are the four coaches that the Vikings have interviewed so far:
- Sean Desai
- Brian Flores
- Ryan Nielsen
- Mike Pettine
Of these four, Nielsen is the only to have already accepted another position elsewhere. On Friday, the former Saints co-defensive coordinator accepted a defensive coordinator role with the Atlanta Falcons, staying in the NFC South. The other three remain without a landing spot so far this offseason.
All the QB Rumors
It’s not a week of the Vikings offseason without rumors surrounding the QB room. This week, there are two main candidates for these rumors: Tom Brady and Trey Lance.
These two players couldn’t be at more polar opposite ends of their NFL careers. Brady, entering free agency prior to his age-46 season, is on the search for a team that he can take on another Super Bowl run in 2023. Meanwhile, Lance is on the third year of his rookie contract without having proven what he can truly do at the NFL level.
For Brady, apparently, an anonymous NFL executive named the Vikings a “dark horse” to go after Brady in free agency. At this point, it remains entirely speculation, though. Even Brady doesn’t seem to know what he wants to do in 2023, so for now, it’s just a fun scenario to think about.
Lance, on the other hand, seems like a much more real possibility for Minnesota. The 49ers are on a miracle run with Brock Purdy right now, and they realistically have three options for their starting QB in 2023: Lance, Purdy, or Jimmy Garoppolo. There’s also a chance that they’ll be in the Brady sweepstakes.
Especially if the Niners are willing to part with Lance for a Day Two pick (multiple outlets are describing the price tag as a third-round pick), it wouldn’t necessarily be a difficult trade for the Vikings to swing.
Drafting a Running Back
The Vikings running back room might be the most uncertain position group out of them all for Minnesota this offseason. Do the Vikings try to re-sign Alexander Mattison? Do they cut Dalvin Cook and try Ty Chandler’s hand at RB1? Do they draft another RB?
Well, the latter of the options might not be completely out of the question. For starters, what if the Vikings try to set them up once and for all by simply taking the best player at the position, Bijan Robinson?
Granted, the Vikings have many other pressing needs other than the running back spot, but a consistent RB that can be a three-down back, on a rookie contract, is extremely enticing.
That being said, Robinson is far from the only running back that can be targeted in this draft. Tank Bigsby out of Auburn is another player that comes to mind that should be available in the middle rounds of the draft. Then, Deuce Vaughn out of Kansas State will almost certainly be around during the third day, and he can be the receiving threat out of the backfield that Minnesota simply doesn’t have right now.
