3 Vikings Rumors: Miles on the Odometer, Forgotten Schedule Detail, and The “Screw It” QB
As we enter the portion of the year when Vikings rumors still linger, we’ll 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 Vikings putting some miles on the odometer in the 2025 season, the forgotten schedule detail, and Max Brosmer having a great mentality to play QB.
Vikings Rumors: 05.21.2025
Rumor #1 — The Vikings Will Travel Quite a Bit
Since the news of Minnesota’s back-to-back international games dropped, there has been a bit of controversy.
Chris Tomasson was one of those who jumped into the debate, arguing, “With all due respect to the #Vikings, seems like quite the unfair advantage in the NFC North that they in 2025 will play eight home games, seven road games and two neutral-site games while the other three division teams will play eight home games and nine road games.”
Tomasson’s point is well taken, but something else to consider is that Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings are being asked to travel far more than the other teams in their division, as a shared post from Adam Schefter highlights. The Vikings sit in the upper half of the NFL due to needing to travel 19,319 miles to complete their schedule. The other NFC North teams are in the bottom half. The Packers and Bears are below 13,000 while the Lions are below 12,000.
Do the miles alone make the difference between a winning and losing season? No, far from it. There is, however, a simple reminder that travelling overseas is not without its disadvantages. The ultra competitive division is one where even small (dis)advantages can make a difference, so keep these small details in mind.
Rumor #2 — There’s a Forgotten Schedule Detail
Don’t forget those pesky preseason games, folks.
Ben Goessling was sure to highlight them in a recent social media post, writing that the Texans, Patriots, and Titans are the teams that will play against the Vikings (all AFC teams, for whatever that’s worth). The opening pair of games — Houston and New England — will take place in Minnesota while the Tennessee game is on the road.
Goessling didn’t stop there, though. He later clarified that Minnesota will be hosting the Patriots for some joint practices: “The #Vikings are all set for joint practices with the Patriots before their Week 2 preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium. They’ll welcome New England to the TCO Performance Center for the practices.”
Once upon a time, Kevin O’Connell was a Patriots draft pick. The 2008 team featured the younger version of O’Connell while also having Mike Vrabel, at that time a well-established veteran but who is now the Patriots’ head coach. So, too, does Brian Flores have a long history with New England. So, seeing the franchises partner for shared practices makes a lot of sense.
Rumor #3 — One of the Vikings’ New QBs Adopted a “Screw It” Mentality
At some point, a quarterback needs to let the ball fly (cue up the memories of Kirk Cousins throwing short of the sticks in the infamous Giants playoff game).
Max Brosmer is an undrafted free agent who is competing to sneak onto the 53-man roster as the QB3. Doing so will mean overcoming respected veteran Brett Rypien, someone who has been in town for close to a year. Working in Brosmer’s favor is youthful upside alongside a mentality that lends itself to taking a chance or two.
Already, he appears to be settling in nicely, getting involved in some friendly trash talk with fellow rookies. Another detail to emerge, though, is that he offered a great mentality when first tasked with throwing in front of NFL talent evaluators.
While chatting with the Minnesota media, Max Brosmer dug into his approach when first being tasked with throwing at a pro day. The initial one didn’t arrive in his draft year; instead, he was an arm that helped to facilitate the event for the pass catchers.
He spoke about having a “let it fly” mindset: “That was an interesting one because I had never thrown to those guys before. I got there and they were like, ‘Hey, we need an arm for pro day.’ And I’m like, ‘Count me in, I’m good.’ So I worked with them for like two days before and just let it fly. I was just like, ‘Screw it, I’m going to throw it and make sure these guys can catch the ball.'” Folks, that’s precisely the kind of approach that will endear Brosmer to coaches; see a challenge and be willing to rise to it, not shrink from it.
As a Gopher in 2024, Max Brosmer put together some tidy statistics. He completed 66.5% of his passes for 2,828 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Keep in mind, as well, that he ran for 5 touchdowns. Don’t be shocked if he impresses Kevin O’Connell, sneaking onto the roster in the process.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.