Vikings Get Some Salt Poured in the Wound
The Vikings aren’t participating in the NFL’s final tournament, much to the chagrin of many Minnesota football fans. Be that as it may, there has still been some salt poured in the wound as Minnesota sorts through its offseason.
Four games took place over the weekend. In the NFC, the victorious Seahawks and Rams will be taking each other on within the conference championship. Over in the AFC, the Patriots will be battling the Broncos after each team won its own game. All of these successful teams offer up some Minnesota connections.
Vikings Get Some Salt Poured in the Wound
Most obvious is the Sam Darnold success as a Seahawk.
The former Minnesota passer agreed to a three-year contract during the offseason, coming in at a hair above $100 million across those three years. He helped to push his team to the conference’s top spot — earning the crucial bye week in the process — as the Seahawks defense got back to being dominant. Darnold then did his part within a decisive 41-6 win over the 49ers to get to being a win away from the Super Bowl.
Note: the Vikings had the option to hold onto Darnold with the franchise tag, keeping him off the market no matter what the individual player desired.
There’s then the LA Rams. Since Kevin O’Connell left to become the Vikings’ head coach in 2022, the Rams have conducted a reset (some may be inclined to call it an impressive competitive rebuild). Aaron Donald has retired and a pile of other veterans departed (corner Jalen Ramsey, offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, and so on). Dead money got burned up as the record sank down to 5-12 in the ’22 season.
But then there have been some stellar adds in the draft, some excellent coaching, and a quarterback — Matthew Stafford — playing at an elite level.
Most painful for Minnesota, there’s Jared Verse, the edge rusher chosen at No. 19 in 2024 when the decision in the Twin Cities was for Dallas Turner at No. 17. Currently, there’s no debate about who is better — Verse is a fantastic player — but the Rams edge rusher is a touch older.
One then thinks of the Broncos. Bo Nix, like Darnold in Seattle, is being supported by an awesome defense. He’s nevertheless a sophomore passer who went at No. 12 when Minnesota instead drafted J.J. McCarthy at No. 10. The simple fact that Sean Payton is the Broncos head coach (still not well liked in Minnesota) is the cherry on top for many Vikings fans.
Finally, there’s the Patriots, the franchise that allowed Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores to get their footing in the NFL.
Mike Vrabel is leading that squad, quickly bringing them back to relevance after a very poor debut season with Drake Maye leading things. Speaking of Maye, he was in the Vikings rumors leading into the 2024 NFL Draft. A common understanding is that he was a trade target for Minnesota but that New England said no. The young passer is now leading his team in a push toward yet another Lombardi.
Oh, and Maye’s top target is receiver Stefon Diggs. More broadly, the New England roster boasts other former Vikings, such as quarterback Josh Dobbs and center Garrett Bradbury.
Coming into the 2025 regular season, the Vikings had high expectations. McCarthy had a year to sit and learn. The roster added major reinforcements, largely due to the savings that flow from a rookie contract passer. Some combination of poor play and ongoing injury issues — alongside some befuddling coaching decisions, such as refusing to run consistently while McCarthy got tasked with adjusting his mechanics during the season — led to a 9-8 finish (and theories about the next passer).
Over the upcoming weekend, the NFL will see the AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship Game take place. On Sunday, January 25th at 2 p.m. CT, the Patriots visit the Broncos. There will then be a 5:30 p.m. CT game involving the Rams visiting the Seahawks.
The Vikings will be sitting and watching.
