The rundown: Cooper Kupp and Myles Garrett trade options, ESPN's 50 free agents
The offseason buzz got a major boost on Monday
By Matthew Coller
Now that we have gotten past the portion of the offseason where we pick apart everything that happened to the Vikings in 2024 and lay out the likely next steps, the next thing on the Purple Insider agenda is to keep an eye out for news. Here’s a rundown of some big items from the NFL on Monday and other tidbits…
Cooper Kupp announces he’s going to be traded
On social media Monday night, the long-time Rams receiver posted that Los Angeles is going to trade him this offseason. Kupp noted that he doesn’t want to be traded but he’s going to work with them on a new location.
Before you tell me that Kupp is old, expensive and injured, hear me out: There are a couple things that could be attractive to the Vikings about trading for him. The first is that the Rams are dealing from such a poor position that the Vikings could look to get him for a low price or even potentially get something back in return for taking his entire contract. Kupp’s deal carries a cap hit of $19.8 million in 2024 after the bonuses that have already been paid by the Rams.
If the Rams were willing to tack on a draft pick or trade him and his full deal to the Vikings for one of their fifth-rounders (which is the same that Amari Cooper went for), then they could renegotiate his contract once he arrived in Minnesota to make it work with their cap.
Here’s a crazy-world proposal: Jordan Addison for Cooper Kupp and the Rams 2025 first-round pick.
The Rams would get a young receiver and the Vikings would land a hard-nosed veteran who is very familiar with Kevin O’Connell to play alongside Justin Jefferson and another first-rounder to build the next wave upon.
As far as the injuries, there’s no doubt that Kupp has not been the same player as he once was in 2021 but he does have a couple skills that have been lacking within the Vikings weapons. He is still an impact blocker in the run game and he’s a factor in the underneath passing game. Matthew Stafford had a 110.8 QB rating when targeting Kupp this year.
Of course, a lot of things would have to line up in order for this to make sense. The Vikings would have to be out on the idea of keeping Addison long term (he has two more seasons of his rookie contract). They would have to believe that Kupp could stay healthy (he hasn’t played over 800 snaps since 2021). They would have to convince the Rams to give them a first because otherwise it wouldn’t be worth the trade off. And Kupp would have to be willing to re-work his contract.
That’s why it was the crazy-world scenario. The most likely way that this plays out is Kupp landing with an AFC team that has cap space and a chance to win right away. The Chargers would be at the top of that list. Cincinnati and Denver would rank high on the list. Pittsburgh also fits the bill, depending on what they do at quarterback.
Myles Garrett requests a trade
If you were wondering, the answer is yes, one of the AI-programmed opinionists already had the JJ McCarthy for Myles Garrett trade idea.
Trading the 22-year-old quarterback who 1) the team was sold on last offseason in training camp 2) would easily be the best prospect in this year’s draft and 3) is on his rookie deal for the next three years doesn’t make much sense. Then they would need to fit a $40+ million per year Sam Darnold contract with Justin Jefferson’s deal, Christian Darrisaw’s deal, Jonathan Greenard’s deal and a new contract for Garrett.
It would actually make a lot more sense to tag and trade Darnold to Cleveland for Garrett and Watson’s contract and let the Browns extend Darnold to lower his 2025 cap hit. The Vikings are the only team that could actually offer Cleveland a proven quarterback.
I have no idea how the rest of the trade would work because it’s really hard to put a draft-capital figure on how screwed the Browns are going to be if they don’t do something drastic to clear up their books.
I keep seeing that the Browns want to trade DeShaun Watson’s contract along with Garrett but that’s a super complicated process. Watson would have to approve a deal and the league would have to sign off on it. There’s only a couple teams who could do it salary cap wise and… why help the Browns unless it comes with huge return? The Athletic’s Mike Sando wrote about the issues with trading Watson here.
The guy that I’ve been most intrigued by in terms of a trade with the Browns is Denzel Ward. He’s going to be 28, makes a ton of money and has allowed under an 80 QB rating on targets over his career. An elite corner with this defense would feel like the final piece.
Still waiting on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s contract extension
The Vikings extended Kevin O’Connell two weeks ago and there hasn’t any update on the GM’s deal yet. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported when O’Connell signed his deal that the team would be working toward a new contract with Adofo-Mensah but there hasn’t been any other news or suggestions from NFL Insiders that an extension is around the corner.
We haven’t reached the point yet where this could be considered curious yet. If the NFL Draft arrives and he doesn’t yet have a new contract that connects him with O’Connell long term, it will start to raise questions about whether it’s happening or not.
Bowen/Fowler top 50 free agents list
ESPN put out its yearly top-50 free agents list, which always has interesting nuggets about free agents’ prospective outlooks. Here’s a few notes that stood out:
— Fowler says the Raiders and Giants would be the most likely teams in on Sam Darnold. He floats a three-year contract, though it still seems more likely that the Vikings would tag and trade Darnold to one of those teams rather than let him sign a three-year deal in free agency.
— A surprising few sentences from Fowler about tackle Cam Robinson. He says that, “Robinson quite possibly played his way above the $20-million-per-year threshold” and that “a return to Minnesota isn’t off the table.” Eyebrows raised on both. It would be excellent in terms of a compensatory pick if he signed somewhere for $20 million or more but he did not play at that type of level. Robinson ranked 52nd of 58 tackles by PFF after the trade. Also, a return isn’t off the table? Huh? Only if the Vikings thought Christian Darrisaw’s career was in danger.
— The article cites sources saying Byron Murphy Jr. will be looking for a big pay raise. No question about that. Does it mean he’s going to price himself out of Minnesota? It seems likely that another team would be willing to go crazy for him.
— Fowler mentions Cam Bynum and the Vikings having talks about a return and says both sides are “open” to it. I’ve heard that Bynum is valued highly around the league, so he may have to take less to stay.
— The Broncos are mentioned as an Aaron Jones landing spot. Jones said that he wants to return to Minnesota but it feels like they got the best possible outcome in 2024 so they might let him walk.
— Fowler names the Bears as the top team to watch for guard Trey Smith. I’m not convinced that he’s going to leave Kansas City.
— Fowler suggests as many as 10 teams could be interested in cornerback DJ Reed. The Vikings should be at the top of that list.
— The list ranks DT Osa Odighizuwa and suggests Washington could be a team that chases after him due to the Dan Quinn connection.
— If the Vikings lose Cam Bynum, Vegas’s Tre’Von Moehrig could be a target. Fowler calls him the top free agent safety.
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