NFL Combine buzz: Stafford rumors ramping up, defensive tackles in sight for the Vikings

Looking at the main storylines from Indianapolis on Wednesday

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By Matthew Coller

INDIANAPOLIS — Hello friends. On Wednesday, I spent the entire afternoon interviewing guests on radio row at the NFL Combine, which meant having a bunch of insightful conversations with folks who have been hearing a bunch of different things around Indy. So here’s the most discussed subjects and some of the highlights of what Purple Insider podcast guests had to say..

Does the Matthew Stafford domino need to fall before Sam Darnold gets moved?

There was a report from Jordan Schultz of FOX saying that Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady (Raiders owner, somehow) met at a ski resort in Montana. The meeting was framed as being a formal get-together to talk about Stafford going to the Vegas Raiders. For those who haven’t been scoring at home, the Rams gave Stafford permission to seek a trade.

Later on, Ian Rapoport said that the meeting was not official in any capacity and that Brady and Stafford both happen to go skiing in Montana. Later on, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero got a quote from Brady’s agent saying that the original report was inaccurate and attributed it to “the reporter’s haste.”

Stafford is on the market seeking a trade and just happens to take a vacation in the same exact spot on the globe as a part owner of a team that wants to acquire him. That is right out of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode. What a coincidence!

Even crazier is that lightning could strike twice. Stafford strangely ended up with the Rams because of a completely out-of-nowhere run-in with Sean McVay in Mexico after the 2020 season. Small world, man.

Later on, Schultz and Rapoport reportedly got into an altercation that involved security, per Pro Football Talk. I’m not kidding.

Anyway…

This walking happy accident of a quarterback ended up skiing in the same state as Brady doesn’t really matter but the fact that the Raiders might be into the idea of acquiring Stafford matters a lot to the Minnesota Vikings. The Raiders are the most reasonable team for the Vikings to tag and trade Sam Darnold. They are not only without a quarterback but they might not be drafting high enough to pick one, depending on the way the board falls.

The Raiders have enough cap space to fit Darnold onto their roster on the tag without sacrificing their efforts in free agency. With Brady and Pete Carroll involved, the Raiders aren’t going to take a long-term approach. They want to return to the playoffs in 2025 and they are well aware that only two QBs can do it. One of them apparently really loves skiing in Montana and the other is Sam Darnold.

The loser of the Stafford race could be the winner of the Darnold race. The other team strongly connected to Stafford is the New York Giants. On the Purple Insider podcast, CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso reported that he was told by multiple folks in the NFL that the Giants are willing to outbid other teams for Stafford because they desperately need to return the G-Men to relevance.

What about the timing of it all? If Stafford is negotiating while zipping down Mount Montana alongside The GOAT, maybe it will come together quickly and the Vikings will know by next week when the franchise tag deadline hits whether they are going to have an eager suitor for Darnold or if the entire operation will be on hold until Stafford finds a new home.

The Rams will also be a top location for Darnold if Stafford gets traded. Of course, the Vikings can’t trade Darnold there until Stafford is gone. They don’t want to get caught holding the bag with his franchise tag on the books while they are trying to negotiate contracts.

The Vikings could agree to terms with free agents and then make deals official later after Darnold is gone but it seems pretty risky to have $41 million sitting there from the franchise tag with no absolute guarantee that it’s going to be gone.

How much might the Raiders actually want Darnold? I asked Raider Nation Radio’s Q Myers that question on Wednesday:

“Is the situation ideal for Sam?” Myers asked. “That’s my big question. We’ve had a lot of people that call into the show and [say], ‘yeah give [Darnold] the four-year deal.’ But I don’t want them to make a decision where they go spend a lot of money and on a guy and then he reverts back to Sam Darnold before he went to Minnesota.”

What about trading for him on the franchise tag?

“I don’t think that’s out of the possibility,” Myers said. “The Raiders are in a position where they have to explore it….if you are telling me that it’s a true bridge type situation, you may interest me in that.”

Myers said he prefers the option of drafting Shedeur Sanders and a QB to start in 2025, similar to what the Vikings did with McCarthy and Darnold.

Defensive tackle should be among top Vikings targets

The Vikings met with Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon at the Combine. He is 6-foot-5 and graded by PFF as one of the best pass rushing defensive tackles in the nation. I’m told that the Vikings want to improve their ability to rush the passer with four down linemen next year. In previous seasons under Brian Flores, they have mostly focused on having run-stuffing interior linemen and done their damage with blitzes up the middle and edge rushers. But the Philadelphia Eagles clearly demonstrated the cheat code of creating pressure with only four rushers.

How does the draft look for interior rushers? Darn good. The expectation heading into the Combine events is that a bunch of DTs will make some serious noise and catch the league’s attention. More on that later…

Do the Vikings want Jonathan Allen?

Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer said on the PI podcast that he was told the Washington defensive tackle, who has been given permission to seek a trade, is interested in coming to the Vikings. Are the Vikings interested in him?

That doesn’t seem particularly likely. In previous years, Allen was an elite pass rushing DT, totaling as many as 67 pressures in a single season. The problem is that those days may be behind him now. In 2023, he still got 49 pressures and managed a 77.7 pass-rushing grade from PFF (ranking 14th and 17th among DTs, respectively) but in 2024 he got injured and only had a 63.0 pass-rush grade when he was healthy.

Certainly a full-strength Allen would be a monster. At $22 million on the cap next year and needing a new contract, it’s a tough sell with all the options that the Vikings will have in the draft and free agency. It’s more likely that Washington will cut him, then possibly the Vikings could consider a short-term contract.

“Allen might not fit into the picture of what they are trying to do but they need that spot,” Krammer said. “They realize teams like Philly and Kansas City, teams that play late into January have to make a difference with [a four-man rush]…they need some new blood in there.”

Do the Vikings want other trade targets?

It’s en vogue this year for teams to announce (by leaking to insiders) that they are allowing players with bad contracts who they don’t want anymore to “seek trades.” The hope is that the salary cap going up might inspire some team to skip the line in free agency and trade something for these on-the-chopping-block players.

I’m not sure it’s going to work but it’s worth a try. The latest to add to the list that already includes Jonathan Allen and Cooper Kupp is Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander and guard Jonah Jackson (as reported by Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday).

Obviously the Packers aren’t going to trade Alexander to the Vikings — though that would be pretty spicy and classic — but Jackson might be somewhat intriguing. The guard options are limited outside of Trey Smith and Jackson brings a “play style” that the Vikings could be looking for. He’s been an above average run blocker in three of the last four years and average pass protector.

Two issues: Jackson was hurt last season and his cap number is $14 million and $23 million in 2026.

There is some intrigue to it. Jackson is only 28 years old and his deal can be restructured to save $8 million (per OverTheCap). He can be released with only a $5.6 million dead cap hit after 2025. That would give the Vikings the option to basically treat him as a one-year rental or sign him to an extension after 2025.

The injury issue is the most concerning because he hasn’t played over 1,000 snaps in three seasons. As a practical matter, it might not be smart to trade with the Rams. Trading with bad teams is better.

NFLPA survey day is a Vikings holiday every year

For the third year in a row, Vikings players have ranked their franchise as the cream of the crop in the NFL. The NFL Players Association has an anonymous survey in which players grade a number of different categories, from their coach to owner to different aspects of facilities to the treatment of their families. The Vikings got the second highest grade this year only trailing the Miami Dolphins. O’Connell, the Wilf ownership and treatment of families were all given A+ grades. Every other aspect graded out either an A, A- or B+.

When free agency opens, you can bet the Vikings will be touting this as a main selling point, as they should. Since O’Connell arrived, they have become the premier organization in football.

If you think players gave all their coaches and owners rave reviews, you would be very, very wrong. Surprises on the survey included the Bills and Ravens coaches only getting B grades and Pittsburgh’s ownership landing a D. Not so surprising was the Jets owners getting an F and the Cardinals an F- for their locker room.

Vikings best fits to watch during Combine drills

CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso dropped his list of players that he thinks Vikings fans should be watching during the latter part of the week because they could be good fits for Flores’s defense or the interior of the offensive line.

Here’s the names he mentioned:

DT — Oregon’s Derrick Harmon, South Carolina’s TJ Sanders, Toledo’s Darius Alexander, Kentucky’s Deone Walker, Tennessee’s Omar Norman-Lott, Indiana’s CJ West

CB — Michigan’s Will Johnson, Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison, East Carolina’s Shavon Revel, Florida State’s Azareye’h Thomas.

G — Alabama’s Tyler Booker, Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson, Texas’s Kelvin Banks, Missouri’s Armand Membou and North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel

RB — Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins, Kansas’s Devin Neal

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