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Teams that eschew flashy moves at pro sports trade deadlines sometimes offer up some version of what Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday, a day before the NFL’s deadline for moves:
The Vikings, who played their best all-around game of the season in defeating Detroit on Sunday, were also as healthy as they have been in a while. Those returning players “finally getting the chance to get out there with their teammates and play with the original intent of kind of what we hoped,” as O’Connell said, was an infusion of talent equal to making deadline moves.
It’s a well-worn trope, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. O’Connell’s comments foreshadowed what turned out to be an extremely boring Tuesday when the Vikings made no moves.
That was a wise decision on multiple fronts, as I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Let’s examine a few reasons why I feel that way at the outset of today’s 10 things to know:
- The Vikings are the only .500 team in the NFL right now, a quirk I hadn’t noticed until reading a piece on the team’s website. Buyers at the trade deadline (teams adding players) tend to be in the midst of strong seasons, like this year’s Colts (who traded two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner) or the 2022 Vikings (who were off to a 6-1 start when they acquired T.J. Hockenson). Sellers tend to be underachieving or clearly rebuilding teams. The Vikings are neither of those things at this moment. Their record and their vibe suggests they are exactly in the middle between either ascending or descending. They aren’t good enough to go all-in, but they shouldn’t give up, either.
- O’Connell was right. Having two healthy stalwart offensive tackles, plus J.J. McCarthy and Andrew Van Ginkel back healthy, made a clear difference in their performance on Sunday. It felt more like Week 1 than Week 9, and there’s reason to think that finding consistency is far more important than further tinkering.
- Kirk Cousins was the subject of frequent but ultimately ridiculous trade rumblings connected to the Vikings as pundits wondered if Minnesota wanted a more established backup QB with Carson Wentz out for the season. But Cousins was an illogical fit who showed absolutely no juice filling in for the injured Michael Penix Jr. a couple of weeks ago. He would have offered system familiarity, but that’s about it.
- Ultimately, this year is about McCarthy’s final 10 games. He was uneven but promising in the first of those 10 in Detroit. He doesn’t need to be looking over his shoulder, only straight ahead with the vision the Vikings had at the start of the year finally coming to life.
- Randy Johnson was my guest on Wednesday’s podcast on the heels of another Gophers football comeback victory.
- Also on Wednesday’s show, I broke down Derek Shelton’s introductory news conference. La Velle E. Neal III and I will have plenty more to say about that on Thursday’s podcast.
- The Wild scored the game-winning goal Tuesday against Nashville without actually scoring. That sounds like former coach Jacques Lemaire’s dream game, but Sarah McLellan explains the reality of what happened.
- The Wolves have feasted on two lesser Eastern Conference teams recently. The task gets tougher tonight against the Knicks.
- The Gophers women’s basketball team showed its potential with a rout of North Dakota in Tuesday’s season opener.
- This ESPN deep dive into the Will Reichard wire kick controversy is from a week ago, but I forgot to share it and it still holds up.
