What are the Minnesota Vikings going to do on April 25? As that date draws closer, the reports and rumors are sure to heat up. And while it’s quiet on most fronts this morning, there is one insider report that dropped Monday from NFL insider, Bill Barnwell (ESPN), and he rouses up an idea that we haven’t seen for a few weeks.
Bill Barnwell wouldn’t be surprised if Minnesota Vikings have trade(s) lined up
What if the Vikings already have a handshake deal in place with a team slotted inside the top-5, more specifically, the New England Patriots (No. 3), Arizona Cardinals (No. 4) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 5). Or… maybe all three?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings have some semblance of a trade up the board already in place. It’s the only thing that makes sense after they acquired the No. 23 pick from the Texans without then immediately packaging that selection in a second deal to move into the top six. That deal might be dependent upon a scenario in which a player is (or is not) available. As an example, the Vikings might have a deal in place with the Chargers where they’ll move up to No. 5, as long as McCarthy is still available and Harrison is off the board. They might have tentative agreements with more than one team.
Bill Barnwell – ESPN+
Now, as many of you know, this isn’t the first time something like this has been floated. We saw a lot of theories just like this shortly after the Vikings struck a deal with the Houston Texans, for the No. 23 overall pick. And Barnwell touches on that same idea, as part of his logic.
But if you take out all the fluff in the middle of his paragraph, and just push the first and last sentences together, you get ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings have some semblance of a trade up the board already in place. They might have tentative agreements with more than one team.’
Now, it is worth noting that Houston reportedly initiated that trade with the Vikings, so it is possible that deal was not part of a bigger, more elaborate plan. But Bill texts with more NFL insiders and legitimate sources during his morning cup of coffee than you and I even know exist.
So when I read the first and last sentences, my antennas went up. Is Barnwell reporting anything? No, but to use Barnwell’s same vernacular, ‘I’d be surprised’ if this is just random hypothesizing. Bill is too plugged in to write something like this ‘just for funzies’.
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