Where Minnesota Vikings fall in the NFC North

Where Minnesota Vikings fall in the NFC North

Purple Daily is daily Vikings entertainment. I just want the Vikings to win a Super Bowl before we die. I will ride with this group. Seriously, man. Please. And away we go. Darren Doogie Wolson from the five eyewitness news sports department here on Purple Daily. Uh we we have not caught up with you, I don’t think, since the Micah Parsons trade. We have we because that happened after your Thursday appearance. So, we got to talk about that with you here today and some other things. We’ll get to some injury updates, but Federated Mutual Insurance Company helping to power Purple Daily here. 365 days a year of Vikings discussion and takes and uh Federated’s been along for uh for the ride for multiple years here and we appreciate their help. It’s like having a great offensive line for your business. Frontline protection. As a business owner, you understand the value of your reputation, your workplace, your employees, your financial assets, protecting those things. And Federated is here specializing in working with small to medium-sized business owners all across not just the state of Minnesota, but America, all 50 states. You can find out more information about this company at federated insurance.com. That’s federated insurance.com. Doogie, Micah Parson, your thoughts? Absolutely. Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Before I get to my Micah Parsons analysis, let me credit you guys for an unreal run at the If Think about how great these last few weeks have been. Patrick Roy back on the Twitter machine. Oh man. To me, that’s the headline. It should be the kids back in school, which is an amen, but for me it’s Patrick back on the X machine. It’s game week. We finally get to think about six days from now. Now, it’s a long wait. Like spending time with Jonathan Allen last week, he’s like, “Why couldn’t we open on Thursday night or even play the Friday game hates waiting until the last game of the week, but here we are game week and it was a great great run for you guys at the State Fair. Thanks for including me a few days. I was out there with the family on Friday. It is unreal the pull you guys have. So, just kudos, kudos, kudos to what you guys have created. Had a young man named Austin come up to me at the dairy barn. He told me he’s from the Red Lake Reservation. Freaking loves what you guys do. Watches constantly. He says up on the Red Lake Reservation, so many Vikings fans, so many Score North fans. So, congratulations on a great state fair run, dude. Thank you, Dukes. Yeah, it was it was really fun just meeting. It’s the first time we’ve done that kind of a state fair run in 6 years when Score North was like weeks or months old when we when we did it back in 2019. So, just to see, it’s kind of crazy just how many Vikings fans there are around the country. But the people that came into the state of Minnesota just to hang out with Purple Daily and to be part of the state fair stuff, it was uh it was fun and it was great having you there, too. and uh and the last time we spoke, Micah Parsons then that that thing drops in and everyone’s lap. So, how much does that trade impact the Vikings, the NFC North as you digest it here over the weekend, Dukes? Well, first off, I was asked, hey, did the Vikings engage Dallas at all? Was there any Vikings trade interest in Micah Parsons? The answer is no. Probably not a surprise, but let me just get that out there. No, the Vikings were not engaged on Micah Parsons. I get it when I look at the betting odds for the NFC North. There has been a shift. The Green Bay Packers are now the betting favorite to win the division. I understand it. I am a huge Micah Parsons fan. Now, I get it. We can nitpick even more so, you know, more than nitpick some of his performances in Dallas’s biggest games the last few years. But at 26 years old, now we can say this about Justin Jefferson, but how many players in the league in the prime of their career can we say the path they are on, undoubtedly that player will be in Canton, will be in the Hall of Fame. Michael Parsons is a Hall of Famer with at least to me three to four more good years, if not great, if not above great years left in him, like defensive player of the year type years. So, I think it’s a phenomenal move. I still have question marks about Green Bay’s secondary, specifically its cornerbacks, but hey, why not elevate the pass rush? So, very much looking forward to November and December. The Vikings don’t collide with the Packers for a while. So, Christian Darasaw, you know, barring some sort of catastrophe from now until mid to late November. Christian Darasaw will be fully back like there won’t be any sort of adjustment. So, I like the idea of playing the Packers twice later in the season. But hey, credit to the Packers. It’s been a long time since they made this type of move, giving up ones. like we need to go back really really really long like 20 30 years something like that like we’re just we’re not used to Green Bay doing something like this but to me he is the real deal I also look at the landscape in the NFC now the Vikings can have the same thought process but Detroit now it might be my local bias with Frank Ragnau but like Frank Ragnau retiring impacts Detroit so much you lose both your coordinators. So you look at Detroit and saying, “Okay, are they going to repeat what they did last year?” Maybe not. Philadelphia loses five defensive starters plus a coordinator. Is Philadelphia going to be as good as last year? So, I’m just saying if you’re Green Bay, you can look at the landscape in the NFC, still look at it and say of the two conferences, it’s the more open one, there is an easier path to getting to February in the NFC compared to the AFC. Let’s go all in on this move. So, I credit Green Bay. I really like this move for the Packers. It’s interesting though that I thought the Parson’s back problem was a Dallas I don’t want to practice problem, but we now see the reports from Green Bay that there that he has an L4 L5 facet joint sprain in his back and might need an injection to play on Sunday. This is very interesting to me because I’ve I’m you know, nobody likes back problems with a football player and I don’t claim to to know a damn thing about the L4 and L5 facet joint, but um I mean he passed the physical clearly he got the contract, but if he is slowed by a back problem, that probably changes my impression of this trade quite a bit because those things can linger. Yeah. I mean, hey, Justin Jefferson’s hamstring could linger. Fine now, but one of those soft tissue type injuries where you pause a little bit and say, “Okay, is that something that rears its ugly head at some point during the season?” Again, I will say, watching Micah Parson’s move, the video I saw on Monday that the Green Bay ABC affiliate put on the national ABC feed that us at Channel 5 have access to. I’m sure you saw it on Sports Center or wherever social media. It looked to me like he was moving pretty darn well. But yeah, I don’t know about L4, L5. I do know, yeah, back. That’s one where you pause and say, “Okay, maybe okay in the moment. Okay, gets a shot. He’s okay to play Sunday against Detroit, but by mid to late September, how is the back feeling?” But I still understand why the betting line shifted. Like to me, I get it. I completely get it. Now, I remain bullish on JJ McCarthy. I can see the Vikings winning the division, but I just get it when you’re trying to get even money across the board and and collect on on the juice that you make Green Bay, not the Vikings or Detroit, the betting favorite in the North. But I hear you, Jud. That is a legit concern. I thought it was just some sort of shenanigans, right? that there really wasn’t anything to it when he’s sitting out all those practices to Holden in Dallas. But clearly based on the reporting on Monday on Labor Day, there is something to worry about there. Let’s uh let’s dive into the Adam Thielen move again here for just a moment. Uh we we reacted initially last Thursday, but so Jud and I were having a conversation on Purple Daily yesterday. We went through eight key big questions about the 2025 Vikings and one of them was offseason edition like free agent or trade that like the three of them that will have the biggest impact and we agreed on for sure like Ryan Kelly and and Hargrave and Allen. I I I might put the I did yesterday on that list of three because I think it’s like his age and uh and I guess the gas that he has left in the tank I think are being wildly overblown. I think people think he’s cooked because he’s 35 years old and he missed some games last year. If you really break it down, the 10 games he played last year, he had the most yards per catch and yards per game since like 2000, 2001 with the Vikings. His PFF grade was higher than it’s been since like 2000201. And I know that we’re usually in the NFL when you’re a skill position player and you get to be about 33, 34, 35, you are cooked. You’re Adrien Peterson looking for a boxing match to like put money in your bank account. I don’t think he’s cooked at all. I think the knowledge that he has of the system, the rapport that he’s been building in the offseason with JJ McCarthy, and the fact that he’s going to be the number two receiver, I just I think it’s going to be a hugely impactful move that people are potentially uh glossing over. What are your thoughts? Yeah, I’m with you. He is not cooked. Now, if I’m making a list of three, like to me, Jordan Mason is on that list. So yes on Kelly Fries, yes on Hargrave SL Allen. I’m putting Mason above the but I’m not diminishing the impact that Adam can have. I had a longtime season ticket holder come up to me at the Hopkins Dina game on Thursday night asking me. He’s like why? He’s cooked. He doesn’t have anything left. I provided some of the evidence. I didn’t have all the specific numbers you just laid out, but I have some of it. And just based on watching him move in July in Woodbury, I’m like, he could still play. Plus, I’m thinking about third down. I’m thinking about red zone. Heck, low red zone within the 10 yard line. Like, he’s not losing that skill to be able to find space when there’s little to be had. And I’m not envisioning him playing 60 snaps. Yeah, he may be wide receiver two next Monday. Now, Jaylen Naylor continues to progress. Like, there’s nothing for me to believe that Jaylen Naylor isn’t going to play. Like, Jaylen Naylor is progressing to play on Monday night. So, who is wide receiver two on Monday night? Is it Naylor or is it Thelen? But to me, he absolutely can still have an impact. It’s impressive, right? by far the oldest receiver in the league. Like there’s nobody even within the ballpark of 35 years old. But yeah, I’ve seen him move enough going back to July that I’m confident he can help this team. I think you nailed it on snap counts. Like if if you put him out there continually, which they won’t do, he’s going to look cooked. If you use him in the right situations, he’s going to contribute. Uh Harrison Smith, the odd, mysterious Harrison Smith. Uh he’s been absent. The Vikings basically said you’ll get an injury report next week, so hold your horses. Definitely not a football problem. What do we know about his recovery from whatever hils him and also his chances of playing on Monday night? All right, here is a text I received on Labor Day. Let me just read it verbatim so I don’t bleep it up. He’s doing well. Hopefully should be good. Okay, so that doesn’t tell me, okay, it’s 100% that he’s playing next Monday, but progressing much like Jaylen Naylor progressing, doing well. Now, I was not out there on Labor Day for the Anthony Bar retirement news conference. There were some teammates, former teammates of Anony’s. There was Harrison Smith there. Did I hear that properly? I don’t know if he was there. I don’t know. I mean, it could be as simple as just texting Chad Greenway, who was there, somebody else. There were a number of media. We did have a camera there, so maybe I can just reach out to who shot it for us, but I just wasn’t physically there, but somebody had told me that Harrison may have been there. I’ll need to check on that. Regardless whether he was there on Monday, I am told he’s absolutely doing well. And so, yes, we’ll know more on Wednesday. No doubt about that. So, I’m not taking the easy way out. But based on what I was sent, I would say it’s leaning in the direction of him being able to play next Monday. Yeah, the scuttlebutt is definitely, and this is the most important thing, the scuttlebutt is it’s definitely not something that is like life-threatening or like careerthreatening because like at first it just seemed ominous how it was framed. Like I was concerned. It sounds like it’s not not that, but I’ve got no clue about the Monday night game, which by the way is important because look at the safety room without him. Like, okay, Josh Mattelis is then certainly almost going to have to play a deep safety. Theo Jackson, who I’ve been a standup for a long time, but he’s still, you know, he’s still not a full-time starter previously. Jay Ward then is the third guy. So, like, yes, Harrison’s not a young man, but he is a very important part of what they do when the depth goes down pretty quickly if one of those guys or Harrison is out. Yeah. And I’m thinking, I mean, you know, we talk about the Vikings using two tight ends a good amount, especially early in the season. I imagine the Bears are going to use two tight ends a bunch. Cole Kit is still being, you know, paid really, really well. And then you draft one of JJ McCarthy’s best friends, Coloulston Loveland, in the first round. So, I imagine the Bears are going to play two tight ends a good amount next Monday. So, yes, you know, thinking about the Bears using 12 personnel. I definitely want Harrison Smith on the field compared to Jay Ward. Yeah. Uh, we’ll talk some more Vikings here with Doogie in just a moment. Shout out to Two Men in a Truck. If you’re a UDFA and you feel like you need a permanent home now that you made the team, but you need some movers to help you so you don’t throw out your back decks, who can they call? Yeah, call the experts at two-minute truck. They’re going to take care of that. You don’t you don’t have to worry about getting your friends to move, getting your other offensive lineman. I mean, that’s Jud’s worst disaster that another lineman’s asking another teammate to try to help him move. No, no, no. You let the experts at Two-Minute Truck handle that for you. In fact, they they will make this move as easy as possible by sending over just a simple spreadsheet. What do you need moved from your house uh old house into the new house? I’ve used them. Phil has used them. Uh what they quote is what you pay. There’s none of the hidden fees or weird service charges. 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Uh Dukes, as the week progresses here, everything’s kind of shifted back a day because it’s a Monday night game. What are some of the other biggest things you are looking at either injury-wise, depth chart, whatever it may be uh between now and Monday for this Bears Vikings game? Well, as far as I can tell, Phil, the Vikings, they escaped the weekend without getting into any trouble, right? That that’s always a talking point for Kevin Okonnell when he releases the team. They had an early release last Thursday. enough guys left town and so you just you wonder they didn’t have to be back until Monday morning so a lot of guys flew back into town Sunday night so you just you want to make sure guys do the right things well it’s a locker room full of a lot of good guys so I’m not surprised but everything from what I can gather the Vikings escaped the last few days just fine in that regard we have some uniform number changes led by Javon Hargrave So now with some numbers freeing up like he’s now number 97, no longer number 98. A few other guys changed numbers. Jeff Auda no longer number 21. He is now number eight. Otherwise it’s the injury situation. Is Christian Darasaw ready to go next Monday? A little bit more on Jaylen Naylor. So, he undergoes the procedure out in California a couple weeks ago, and hey, it’s progressing to the point where it’s looking like he’ll be able to play on Monday. That was the idea. That’s why you undergo a procedure to get back on the field sooner. And so, you know, that Jordan Addison is suspended for the first three games. There’s an opportunity there in a contract here. Blake Cashman, I’m told, is okay. Okay, so it’s been a while since the Vikings had a practice, but Jud, you remember one of the last times we watched them practice. It was a scrimmage, in fact. Blake Cashman sat out. Don’t know specifically what was bothering him that particular day, but he is good to go. CJ Ham will miss the first four games, but he’ll be ready, I’m told, by week five. Knee injury progressing well. He’ll be okay by that that fifth week, that game against the Browns overseas. How about Andrew Van Ginkle who was out for time. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don’t have enough. Yeah, I get the concern. Yeah. I mean, I think I might be a little bit more concerned about Harrison Smith. And hey, I mentioned that Harrison, it seems, is progressing enough. I don’t have a specific update on Van Ginkle, but have not heard anything that leads me to believe that it’s any sort of dire situation. So, Dukes, uh, Phil and I on PD on Monday discussed this. Do we think because I mean that quarterback room not only has questions, it is just thin as can be. Do we think that this is a they’re going to go into week one, they’re going to play the game, they’re going to hope for it the best, but this is a after if you send a guy after week one, his contract is not guaranteed for the remainder of the season. Could that be when they pull the Stefon Gilmore phone call or something? It just doesn’t feel like that room is set. And it feels like that they’re hoping to get by, but they’re definitely going to add one at some point. And it could be a guy that plays substantial time eventually. So, what’s your opinion there? Because that’s a question mark that I think is still a major one for me. Oh, it’s a valid question mark. Now, do I know if they’re adding a quarterback via free agency one week from today? I don’t necessarily know that. You’re right. It’s an astute observation about, hey, the contract isn’t fully guaranteed after week one. Yes, I foresee them making a move at some point, but could it be as simple as elevating Fabian Moro? Do they see enough from Moro can elevate him? He can play while on the practice squad. And then when that expires, you can only elevate so many times, what, a couple times. At that point, do they elevate him to the 53man roster? Do they then make a different quarterback move closer to the trade deadline? Like, yes. I think the quarterback room we see now won’t be the quarterback room come mid to late October. I just don’t know if it’ll be the same or slightly different one week from today or 8 n days from today heading into the week 2 game against Atlanta. But yes, absolutely they’re going to add a quarterback at some point. Somebody that’s not currently on the 53 will be on the 53. But I continue to think like week one like how many quarterbacks do you need against Chicago? So you might be okay at least for week one like when looking at your specific matchups. Okay, Atlanta week two. Although they have pits, they use Bejian out of the back field a lot in the passing game. Like, how soon do you need another corner? Maybe it’s Cincinnati week three, but I just don’t know if you need that guy for the first couple weeks. And I’m telling you, like the Bears are going to play two tight ends a lot. So, the Vikings feel comfortable playing three safeties. They played three safeties a lot last year anyway. So, they’ll continue. I foresee them continuing to do that. But yes, to answer your question, yes, I absolutely foresee them eventually adding a corner. I just don’t know specifically the date. Yeah. Uh it is it is pretty incredible how the viability of that room, the quarterback room hinges so much on Jeff Okuda, but you could say the same thing about the quarterback room a year ago with Sam Darnold. It’s like really are they so they’re really going to do this with Sam Darnold? and they very calmly said, “Yeah, we think he can play and he’s in the right system with the right coaches.” And it feels like they’re saying the same thing about Jeff Akuda. Yeah. I mean, there’s a belief in Auda, but how about just even Byron Murphy Jr.? Like, you’re banking on him being healthy throughout the year. What if there’s some sort of injury setback? Yeah. Then how dire does that room become? If Isaiah Rogers then elevates to cornerback one, Akuda cornerback two, Mcloth cornerback three, like then what do you think about that room? So yes, they are banking on Akuda and hey, he showed them early. Like to me, I thought it would be a battle. I thought we would have an interesting conversation heading into the joint practices against the Patriots that there would be a battle. Like at that point, by August 13th, it was way over. It wasn’t even close. Like Mai Blackman had not elevated to the point of having a crack at cornerback three. I thought he would. So I misread that situation, but Akuda won them over long before August 13th. Yeah. Darren Doogie Wolfson, some information, speculation about the Minnesota Vikings here on Purple Daily. Good stuff, Dukes. Yeah, it’s fun. It’s game week, right? Bring it on. Let’s go. We’ve sifted through seven, eight months of offseason and here we are. So, uh, Dukes, we’ll talk to you again on Thursday. For Jud, for Dex, I’m Phil. This is Purple Daily. See you guys tomorrow.

Where Minnesota Vikings fall in the NFC North with the Packers being the new favorites in the NFC North; Why Adam Thielen is a great addition for the Vikings; Injury updates for Vikings teammates Harrison Smith and Jalen Nailor; Plus, former Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr retires and more from Doogie on Purple Daily!

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