Purple Rumor Mill: Splashy Trade for Vikings, Bill Belichick’s Vikings Take, Sam Darnold Extension

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports.

VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s Vikings rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the October 5th edition.

Purple Rumor Mill: Splashy Trade for Vikings, Bill Belichick’s Vikings Take, Sam Darnold Extension

Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the purple team, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.

Here’s the first batch of the week. All past rumors can be read here.

Rumor: The Vikings should fire off a trade to the Buffalo Bills for cornerback Kaiir Elam.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images.

Bleacher Report sized up a trade each team should ponder before the deadline, and Elam got the nod for the Vikings.

“Byron Murphy Jr. hasn’t been playing well this season as he allowed 16 completions on 22 targets (72.7 percent) and a passer rating of 117.4 heading into this weekend, according to Pro Football Focus. Murphy is also in a contract year, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring in a young corner who can help right away and be a potential long-term solution,” BR’s collective staff explained.

Minnesota’s defense ranks first in the NFL per DVOA and first in EPA/Play. So, outwardly, it doesn’t need too much help on defense. However, more injuries will likely arise, especially at cornerback, as no starters have missed games through four weeks. CB injuries are generally unavoidable.

BR added, “The third-year pro may not be the proven commodity the organization is hoping for, but that’s primarily because he’s been stuck behind Christian Benford. The 2022 first-round pick has plenty of talent to potentially be an immediate contributor, though.”

The article did not list a price for Elam’s services via trade, but he can probably be obtained for a 6th-Rounder or so.

This trade would be pretty sweet, but Elam would serve as a backup corner in Brian Flores’ defense.

Rumor: Bill Belichick claims the Vikings must re-sign Sam Darnold if he takes them deep into the playoffs.

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports.

According to Bill Belichick, the winner of six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots, bringing Darnold back in 2025 and beyond is a no-brainer if Minnesota succeeds in the postseason.

Of course, the Vikings will have to reach the NFC Championship or Super Bowl first, but if so, Belichick sees no other alternative but to re-sign Darnold.

“Well, I think it would definitely change things if that were to happen. That’s what happened with Tom Brady. That’s what happened with Kurt Warner and Trent Green. When your quarterback takes you to a Super Bowl championship, what else do you want him to do?” the future Hall of Fame coach said on The Pat McAfee Show.

The Vikings have a long way to go before achieving NFC Championship or Super Bowl dreams, but Belichick is onto something — could the team’s front office really say goodbye to the man who quarterbacked them to the Promised Land or close to it? Get ready for the January and February debates, if applicable.

Rumor: Minnesota should extend Sam Darnold — like right now.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell takes the slime, a tradition for a player winning Nickelodeon’s NVP award for the week. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold won the award in Week 3 and slimed his coaches accordingly on September 25th, 2024.

SI.com’s Conor Orr wrote this week, “We’ve seen enough to warrant the risk that Darnold would not be worth the return if the Vikings were to offer him a deal that would make him both a perpetual mentor and competitor to the recovering J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings’ rookie and No. 10 pick who tore his meniscus this preseason.”

“Yes, the team has rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on the mend. But it would be smart to lock in a good player right now and worry about the rest later,” he added.

Any Darnold extension will occur after the season, and make no mistake, the debates about him or McCarthy will heat up in no time.

It’s worth noting that Darnold will earn a paycheck of $45-$55 million annually if he continues his current pace of 45+ passing touchdowns.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.