Purple Headlines of the Week: Free Agent Frenzy, Za’Darius Smith Updates
Josh Frey
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Free agency officially got underway this week, and the Minnesota Vikings were as busy as anyone during the opening days of the new league year. In case you missed any of them, here are a few of the top purple headlines from the past week.
Vikings Get Younger in Free Agency
The Minnesota Vikings ran out a defensive unit in 2022 that was a veteran group, but their age proved to be part of their downfall in the end. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done a ton of work to change that over the past few days in free agency. The Vikings added EDGE Marcus Davenport as well as CB Byron Murphy during the negotiation period, and then, a couple days into the official free agency period, they signed DL Dean Lowry.
All three of these players are still in their 20s and could be direct replacements for players that will be in their 30s during the 2023 season. Making these moves along with last week’s releases of Eric Kendricks and Adam Thielen have set a clear tone that the Vikings want to get younger and faster across the board.
What Happens with Za’Darius Smith?
Friday came and passed with Za’Darius Smith remaining on the Minnesota Vikings roster. This is significant because that means $5 million of his money for 2023 became fully guaranteed, thus lessening the chance that the Vikings will release him as he requested earlier in the offseason.
This doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t part ways with the veteran pass rusher at some point this offseason, but it is far more likely that this comes via trade. This was probably closer to the plan all along, considering a trade still saves the Vikings the $12 million that they could have gotten by releasing him, and they could land a decent draft pick in return.
Aaron Rodgers Officially Requests Trade
After months and years of speculation on what would eventually happen with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers QB made it clear this week during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he wants to be traded.
His team of choice? The New York Jets. This was the speculated landing spot for Rodgers all along, and he officially chose them after he “came out of the darkness” of his isolation retreat, as the QB put it.
This officially means the Jordan Love era is on in Green Bay, and the 15-year nightmare filled with pain and suffering for Vikings fans is officially over.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.