Vikings Rumors: A Weird Combine Meeting, Great Health Update, and NFL Trade Targets Aplenty

As we enter the portion of the year when Vikings rumors start heating up, 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 participating in a weird combine interview, Minnesota picking up a wonderful health update, and the NFL offering tons of trade candidates.

Vikings Rumors: 03.05.2025

Rumor #1 — The Vikings Jumped into an Unforeseen Interview at the Combine

Talk to NFL draft nerds and they’ll say that the clear-cut top pair of passers are Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Both should get scooped up very high, meaning the Vikings — a team that sits at No. 24 — has virtually no chance of landing one of them (which is to say nothing of already having last year’s No. 10 pick J.J. McCarthy).

Even still, there apparently was a meeting with Mr. Ward at the Combine. Dustin Baker from Vikings Territory responds to the news, gleaning the insight from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. So, what gives?

Baker offers an opinion that helps to illuminate what could be going on: “Think of it as scouting for down the road. In a few years, Ward could hit the open market or be available via trade, and O’Connell can recall in his memory bank the meeting with Ward.”

Make no mistake: Minnesota believes that it has its future QB1 in town. McCarthy, when healthy, is going to be given every opportunity to compete for the starting spot. There could be competition in the form of a veteran like Daniel Jones, but McCarthy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Ward insight is simply as Baker suggests, gleaning insight now due to the future possibility of joining forces.

Rumor #2 — The Vikings Recently Passed Along a Great Health Update

The Vikings are a different team when LT1 Christian Darrisaw is on the field.

Consider what Kevin O’Connell had to say at the NFL Scouting Combine about the injured star player: “When you go through the tape and you really watch CD’s impact, I think he was playing as well as anybody in football through those first six weeks […] He’s having a great offseason, the rehab process, he’s absolutely killing it every step of the way.”

Further: “Christian Darrisaw is doing really well in his rehab.”

Rick Spielman gave Minnesota’s new leadership regime a tremendous gift in Mr. Darrisaw.

The left tackle got scooped up at No. 23 back in the 2021 NFL Draft (Spielman’s final draft in charge). Since then, Darrisaw has left no doubt about his potential: when healthy, he’s a borderline elite left tackle. Therein lies the issue, though: the 6’5″, 315-pound tackle has battled injury in his NFL career.

Mr. Darrisaw is signed to a major extension, a deal that’s tipping the scales at $104 million across four years. He has earned the large deal but the hope all around is obviously for greater health moving forward. The O’Connell update is good news.

Rumor #3 — The NFL is Bursting at the Seams with Trade Targets

Lots of chatter on this front.

Already, a high-profile player has been moved. The Commanders snagged Deebo Samuel for a 5th, as reported by Ian Rapoport. Guard Jonah Jackson is heading to the Windy City for a 6th, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.

Samuel and Jackson, of course, aren’t alone. A separate tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter helped to summarize some of the options, tossing DT Jonathan Allen, outside linebacker Harold Landry, and receiver Cooper Kupp into the mix, as well. Rapoport has elsewhere passed along the news that corner Jaire Alexander in in the trade chatter, too.

Owning just four draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Vikings won’t be able to get too frisky on the trade market. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, though, does have a bit of a reputation. The GM isn’t shy about pulling off a trade.

One of the grand theories on PurplePTSD is that Browns corner Greg Newsome II could be a Minnesota target. Adofo-Mensah was in Cleveland’s front office when Newsome was drafted. The corner is young, was a 1st-Round selection, has good size, and some versatility. Ticks a lot of boxes.

In March of 2024, the NFL saw sixteen trades take place. The Vikings stayed on the sidelines for these moves. Does anything change in March of 2025?

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.

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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.