The Trades

The NFL trade deadline came and went yesterday. Historically, the NFL deadline hasn’t approached the activity and thrills of other sports. It isn’t an easy thing to insert new football players into new football schemes in the middle of a season. Whether by design or simple evolution the NFL trade activity as the deadline approaches has increased in recent years. The number of trades has steadily risen since a 2012 rule change shifted the deadline from just after Week 6 to the Tuesday after Week 8. This past offseason, the decision was made to move it to the Tuesday after Week 9. So, here we are. There have been 18 trades since the start of the season. Eight of those trades were completed yesterday as the trade deadline neared. 

The Trades

Jacksonville Jaguars traded DL Roy Robertson-Harris to Seattle Seahawks for 2026 6th-round pick

Las Vegas Raiders traded WR Davante Adams to New York Jets for conditional 2025 3rd-round pick

Cleveland Browns traded WR Amari Cooper and 2025 6th-round to Buffalo Bills for 2025 3rd-round pick and 2026 7th-round pick

Houston Texans traded RB Cam Akers and conditional 2026 7th-round pick to Minnesota Vikings for conditional 2026 6th-round pick

Tennessee Titans traded WR DeAndre Hopkins to Kansas City Chiefs for conditional 2025 5th-round pick

Seattle Seahawks traded LB Jerome Baker and 2025 4th-round pick to Tennessee Titans for LB Ernest Jones IV

New England Patriots traded LB Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs for 2026 6th-round pick

Carolina Panthers traded WR Diontae Johnson and 2025 6th-round pick Baltimore Ravens for 2025 5th-round pick

Jacksonville Jaguars traded OT Cam Robinson and conditional 7th-round pick to Minnesota Vikings for conditional 2025 5th-round pick

Denver Broncos traded LB Baron Browning to Arizona Cardinals for 2025 6th-round pick

Cleveland Browns traded DE Za’Darius Smith and 2026 7th-round pick to Detroit Lions for 2025 5th-round pick and 2026 6th-round pick

Chicago Bears traded RB Khalil Herbert to Cincinnati Bengals for 2025 7th-round pick

Carolina Panthers traded WR Jonathan Mingo and 2025 7th-round pick to Dallas Cowboys for 2025 4th-round pick

New Orleans Saints traded CB Marshon Lattimore and 2025 5th-round pick to Washington Commanders for 2025 3rd-round pick, 2025 4th-round pick, and 2025 6th-round pick

New York Jets traded WR Mike Williams to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2025 5th-round pick

Green Bay Packers traded LB Preston Smith to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2025 7th-round pick

Los Angeles Rams traded CB Tre’Davious White and 2027 7th-round pick to Baltimore Ravens for 2026 7th-round pick

Houston Texans traded DT Khalil Davis to San Francisco 49ers for 2026 7th-round pick

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A couple interesting nuggets to come out of this season’s edition of in-season trades:

The 2026 sixth-round pick that the Vikings are sending to the Texans for RB Cam Akers is the very same pick that they sent to the Rams last season for Akers. The conditions to last season’s trade weren’t met so the pick was returned to the Vikings. They were then able to use that pick to acquire Akers again in an in-season trade.

None of the 18 trades included a 1st-round pick. For the first time in a long time, all 32 teams will enter the offseason holding their own 1st-round pick. 

Minnesota Vikings Week 9 Superlatives

If not for a few mind-numbing, avoidable mistakes, the Minnesota Vikings would’ve rolled the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. With those few mind-numbing, avoidable mistakes, the Vikings controlled the game and came out of it with a decisive 21-13 win. Here are some of the players that made the win possible.

Offensive Player of the Game

Justin Jefferson, WR

It feels like a rare occurrence when Justin Jefferson isn’t the Vikings offensive player of the game. Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes. None went to Jefferson. It was about the only thing he didn’t do. 

7 catches

137 yards

He nearly got a touchdown on a 41-yard play. He was tackled at the Colts 1-yard line. Half of his catches were of the 20+-yard variety. When targeted, every play was a mismatch. Jefferson also added a 22-yard toss to Aaron Jones. 

Defensive Player of the Game

Harrison Smith, S

The offense scored the three touchdowns to win this game on the scoreboard. In reality, the defense won this game. It was very much a team defense that won this game. The Colts never took an offensive snap in the red zone. While there wasn’t a singular player that led the defense, I’m going with Harrison Smith for a couple clutch plays that denied receptions and clutch first downs in the second half and a fumble recovery in the first half. Perhaps we’re talking about a disappointing loss if not for those clutch defensive plays.

Special Teams Player of the Game

Justin Jefferson, WR

If not for some sort of leg injury, this would’ve gone to kicker Will Reichard. Again. He clearly wasn’t feeling right as he was limping after nearly every kick. He missed two field goals and made three extra points. The two missed field goals were his first misses of the season. Hopefully, the injury isn’t a long-time thing. 

With Reichard’s injury keeping him from doing what he does, I’m going with Justin Jefferson for Special Teams Player of the game. In addition to his strong play on offense, he recovered the onside kick attempt that sealed the Vikings win. 

Vikings - Colts

After a two-game slide, the Minnesota Vikings got back to their winning ways on Sunday night. They defeated the Indianapolis Colts 21-13. Despite often making it hard on themselves, the Vikings mostly dominated the game. The Colts never took an offensive snap in the red zone. The Vikings often did. The way this game played, it could’ve been anywhere from a Vikings blowout to a narrow Colts victory. Fortunately, the Vikings did enough things right to win the game. 

With a quick glance at the stats, one would think that Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold had a sparkling game.

28/34

290 yards

3 TDs

A deeper dig into his play reveals concerns.

2 interceptions

1 fumble 

4 sacks

The two interceptions were horrible decisions. At the end of a strong, long initial drive, Darnold forced the ball to tight end T.J. Hockenson in the end zone. Zaire Franklin made the easy interception. Hockenson was so well covered that it’s difficult to imagine what Darnold was thinking. The second interception was equally puzzling. The Vikings had started to roll in the second half. They’d scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the half and led 14-7. Byron Murphy Jr. had just intercepted Joe Flacco. The Vikings were about to take full control of the game. Instead, Darnold ignored, or just didn’t see, a wide open Jordan Addison and forced the ball into a well-covered Justin Jefferson. Nick Cross intercepted. I get the need to look Jefferson’s way. He’s an easy player to target even if he’s well covered. That pass has to go somewhere else. In this case, it has to go to Addison. It probably would’ve been a big play touchdown. Then there was the fumble. Colts corner Kenny Moore II scooped up the fumble and returned it for his team’s only touchdown of the game. Great. The real problem with this play isn’t actually that it happened. The problem is how it happened. It appears that the league’s officials have a serious problem observing what happens in a pocket that includes Sam Darnold. Against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8 there was the facemask grab that everyone but the officials saw. Against the Colts, defensive tackle Grover Stewart struck Darnold’s facemask. The fumble followed the blow. A flag was actually thrown on the play but was picked up with no explanation. In consecutive games, missed calls sealed a loss to the Rams and gifted a touchdown to the Colts. The officials miss calls in every game. It’s a difficult job but it’s beyond ridiculous that essentially the same missed call had a significant impact in consecutive games. Since the quarterback is strenuously protected, many officiating eyes are on the pocket. It’s so easy to see a sustained tug of a quarterback’s facemask. It’s so easy to see a significant blow to a quarterback’s facemask. I guess, without my knowing, the league has deemed Sam Darnold’s facemask a legal target area. 

While there was some disappointing plays and some questionable decisions, this was a win. It was a win the Vikings needed. There was also a lot of good things in this game. The defense returned to the dominance they showed in the first five games. It’s not like they flailed about in the past two games against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. Those potent offenses did gash the Vikings defense on a few occasions. The Colts offense isn’t on the same level as those teams but they have some playmakers. Jonathan Taylor is one of the best backs in the league. Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce are impactful pass-catchers. Even at 39, Joe Flacco has shown repeatedly that he can get defenses on their heels. The Vikings defense never let the Colts offense get comfortable. Every gain was contested. Every threat was ended. The closest the Colts offense ventured toward the Vikings end zone was the 23-yard line. The Colts offense scored only two field goals. The last was in desperation-mode to make it a one-score game. The Vikings defense held the Colts offense to 227 yards (159 passing, 68 rushing). The Colts gained only 13 first downs. If there was a disappointing/frustrating side to the Vikings defense it was the lack of sacks. The Vikings didn’t collect any of their three sacks until the Colts final possession. That doesn’t mean that Flacco had all day to throw every time he dropped back. There was, however, one nauseating instance of that. The pass rushers just never closed that final step and got to him until that final drive. At least they got there when they most needed to get there. This was a strong defensive effort. Moving forward, the defense should be even better with the expected return of linebacker Blake Cashman. 

Two terrible interceptions and a fumble (allowed by a missed call) aren’t good things for an offense that’s treading in new territory. T.J. Hockenson made his first appearance of the season after returning from last year’s knee injury. Acquired just days ago, Cam Robinson replaced Christian Darrisaw (lost for the season against Rams with a knee injury) at left tackle. Those are significant changes. Darnold has never thrown to Hockenson in a game. Robinson has never played with any of his new teammates. It could take a while for this offense to get comfortable. Other than the turnovers, the offense moved the ball. In the second half, they scored three touchdowns. They had no three-and-outs. They did have a one-and-out when Darnold missed a wide-open Addison and threw an interception on the first play of a possession. The Vikings gained 415 yards (282 passing, 133 rushing). If not for the scattered miscues, this game is a one-sided affair. 

Perhaps it’s a purple-lensed view but this was a promising win. Just clean up what feel like singular mistakes. This Colts game was the start of a three-game tour against the AFC South. The Vikings travel to Jacksonville for a date with the Jaguars. A trip to Tennessee follows. At 6-2, there’s a strong chance the Vikings could be 8-2 at Thanksgiving. That’s a good place to be. They won’t be there if they don’t clean up some things. 

Flea Flicker Week 9 Predictions

It’s now November. The NFL is on to Week 9. Here are some guesses at the games.

Byes: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

Indianapolis Colts @ Minnesota Vikings

Pick Vikings

The Vikings end their two-game slide. 

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons

Pick: Cowboys

Kirk Cousins vs Mike Zimmer. The coach finds a way to slow his former quarterback.

Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills

Pick: Dolphins

The Dolphins surprise the surging Bills.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Cincinnati Bengals

Pick: Bengals

The Bengals roll.

Los Angeles Chargers @ Cleveland Browns

Pick: Chargers

The Chargers bring the Browns back to reality.

New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans

Pick: Patriots

This is a battle between two of the three worst teams in the league. 

Washington Commanders @ New York Giants

Pick: Commanders

The Commanders wouldn’t have needed a desperation throw last week if they’d scored touchdowns rather field goals earlier in the game.

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

Pick: Panthers 

The Panthers stun the Saints. 

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens

Pick: Ravens

The Ravens roll.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Philadelphia Eagles 

Pick: Eagles

The Eagles continue to roll.

Chicago Bears @ Arizona Cardinals

Pick: Cardinals

The Cardinals win this edition of the NFL’s oldest rivalry.

Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers

Pick: Lions

I wish that both teams could lose this one. 

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

Pick: Rams

The Rams are getting healthy at the right time.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Kansas City Chiefs

Pick: Buccaneers

The Chiefs keep finding ways to win games. They have to lose one of them. This feels like one of those. 

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts All - Time Team

The Minnesota Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow night. The Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts have a great and fun NFL history. Johnny Unitas, Jim Parker, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Dwight Freeney. So many great, fun players. So many great, fun teams. It would’ve been an even better history if the team hadn’t moved to Indianapolis. The Colts will always be more associated with Baltimore for me. On the eve of their big game with the Vikings, here’s a look at some of the best players in the great, fun history of the Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts. 

Offense

Quarterback

Johnny Unitas

Running Back

Lenny Moore

Fullback

Alan Ameche

Wide Receivers

Raymond Berry

Marvin Harrison

Tight End

John Mackey

Offensive Tackles

Jim Parker

Bob Vogel

Offensive Guards

Jim Parker

Quenton Nelson

                               

Center

Jeff Saturday

Defense

Defensive Ends

Gino Marchetti

Dwight Freeney

Defensive Tackles

Art Donovan

Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb

Linebackers

Shaquille Leonard

Mike Curtis

Bill Pellington

Cornerbacks

Bobby Boyd

Milt Davis

Safeties

Bob Sanders

Rick Volk

Special Teams

Kicker 

Adam Vinatieri

Punter

Pat McAfee

Kick Returner

Terrence Wilkins

Punt Returner

Clarence Verdin

Minnesota VIkings 53-man Roster

Every week of an NFL season brings roster tweaks. There are many reasons for this. A reason for those tweaks that no team wants is injuries. The Minnesota Vikings were forced to tweak their roster this week and their injury list got a little longer. Last Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams, left tackle Christian Darrisaw was lost for the season with torn ACL and MCL ligaments in his left knee. With each game, Darrisaw was emerging as the best left tackle in the league. His loss for the season leaves a huge hole in the Vikings offense. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was left the impossible task of filling that hole. He did as well as he possibly could in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Vikings traded a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick for Cam Robinson and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. He’s not Darrisaw but Robinson is a quality, starting left tackle. Those usually aren’t available in the middle of the season. The NFL doesn’t wait around for a team to deal with an injury. On about three practices, Robinson is expected to step into the starting lineup on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s a team that he’s seen often in his career and already seen this season. Christian Darrisaw was placed on injured reserve. Tight end T.J. Hockenson took his spot on the active roster. It was an unfortunate exchange of impact players. It’s a damn shame they couldn’t be on the active roster at the same time, for a long time. In advance of the Colts game, here’s a look at the current roster of the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings 53 - Man Roster

Offense (24)

Quarterbacks (3)

14 Sam Darnold

12 Nick Mullens

19 Brett Rypien

Running Backs (3)

33 Aaron Jones

32 Ty Chandler

27 Cam Akers

Fullback (1)

30 C.J. Ham

Receivers (5)

18 Justin Jefferson

  3 Jordan Addison

83 Jalen Nailor

  4 Brandon Powell

11 Trent Sherfield

Tight Ends (3)

87 T.J. Hockenson

84 Josh Oliver

86 Johnny Mundt

Offensive Linemen (9)

74 Cam Robinson

64 Blake Brandel

56 Garrett Bradbury

67 Ed Ingram

75 Brian O’Neill

76 David Quessenberry 

78 Walter Rouse

65 Michael Jurgens

69 Dan Feeney

Defense (26)

Defensive Linemen (5)

97 Harrison Phillips

90 Jonathan Bullard

99 Jerry Tillery

50 Levi Drake Rodriguez

94 Taki Taimani

Outside Linebackers (6)

58 Jonathan Greenard

43 Andrew Van Ginkel

15 Dallas Turner

91 Patrick Jones II

52 Jihad Ward

98 Bo Richter

Inside Linebackers (4)

  0 Ivan Pace Jr.

51 Blake Cashman

  6 Brian Asamoah

54 Kamu Grugier-Hill

Cornerbacks (6)

  2 Stephon Gilmore  

  7 Byron Murphy Jr.

  1 Shaq Griffin

21 Akayleb Evans

23 Fabian Moreau

29 Dwight McGlothern

Safeties (5)

22 Harrison Smith

24 Camryn Bynum

44 Josh Metellus

26 Theo Jackson

20 Jay Ward

Special Teams (3)

Kickers (1)

16 Will Reichard

Punter (1)

17 Ryan Wright

Long Snapper (1)

42 Andrew DePoala

Practice Squad

37 Myles Gaskin, RB

36 Zavier Scott, RB

25 Nahshon Wright, CB

28 Bobby McCain, S

55 Andre Carter II, OLB

68 Henry Byrd, G

79 Tyrese Robinson, G

  8 Trishton Jackson, WR

81 Lucky Jackson, WR

82 Jeshaun Jones, WR

89 Thayer Thomas, WR

92 Jonah Williams, DL

61 Jalen Redmond, DL

72 Julian Pearl, T

48 Calvin Munson, LB

85 Robert Tonyan, TE

35 Sammis Reyes, TE

Injured Reserve

  5 Mekhi Blackmon, CB

  9 J.J. McCarthy, QB

71 Christian Darrisaw, T

36 NaJee Thompson, CB

63 Jeremy Flax, OL

45 Jordan Kunaszyk, LB

34 Nick Muse, TE

Injured Reserve/Designated To Return

59 Gabriel Murphy, OLB

66 Dalton Risner, G

RIP Lonnie Warwick

Minnesota Vikings legendary middle linebacker Lonnie Warwick passed away Monday night. He was 82. 

After earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors at Tennessee Tech in 1962 and 1963, Warwick left school to work on the railroad. It was a different time. The Minnesota Vikings signed him during the 1964 offseason and he spent that season on the team’s taxi squad. He made the active roster in 1965. The highlight of his rookie season was returning a blocked punt for a game-winning touchdown in a 38-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams. In 1966, Warwick earned the Vikings starting middle linebacker job that he’d hold for the next five seasons. He was in the middle of a defense that would emerge into one of the best the NFL has ever seen. The Purple People Eaters. That defense is best known for a front line of Jim Marshall, Alan Page, Gary Larsen, and Carl Eller. Page and Eller are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Marshall is in the middle of another run to join them in Canton. While the defensive line quartet were the headliners, this Vikings defense was great from front to back. Warwick and linebacker-mates Roy Winston and Wally Hilgenberg did their part in destroying the plans of offenses across the league. 

The Minnesota Vikings middle linebacker of my youth was Jeff Siemon. He was the team’s first-round pick out of Stanford in the 1972 NFL Draft. He was drafted to take over for Warwick. Despite Bud Grant’s reluctance to play rookies, Siemon replaced Warwick in the starting lineup about halfway through the 1972 season. Winston remained the starter on the left-side for another couple seasons. Hilgenberg was the starter on the right-side through the 1976 season. While the linebacking trio of Winston-Warwick-Hilgenberg was slightly before my time with the team, they have always been one of my favorites. Only the Chad Greenway-E.J. Henderson-Ben Leber trio really comes close. Perhaps it was the legendary status of those late-1960s and early-1970s defenses, Winston, Warwick, and Hilgenberg were special to me. Every linebacker group that followed were chasing them. It was a tough task. They were great on the field. They were very close off the field. They were hunting buddies. I love hearing and reading the tales of them always sitting or standing as they would on the field. Left to right or right to left, Warwick was always in the middle flanked by his friend and teammate. They were always together. They were always in the appropriate spot. Another favorite story was the postgame brawl between Warwick and quarterback Joe Kapp. Both were well into a stay at a local drinking establishment following a loss. Warwick felt the loss was due to the play of the defense. Kapp thought the loss was more due to the play of the offense. Each was demanding that their unit be blamed for the loss. Neither would budge. It turned into a fist-fight. The Vikings of those days were like that. They fought for each other on the field. They sometimes fought each other off the field. Lonnie Warwick was always in the middle of it. 

RIP Lonnie Warwick.