I don’t understand it, either
We know that the quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings is the one that will dominate the offseason until we get some sort of resolution here in the next couple of weeks. However, there are some stories about it that are so absurd that they merit a mention simply for their level of absurdity.
The people who put together sports betting odds have put together their list of teams they feel could trade for Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford should he move on to a new destination, and for reasons that I’m not exactly sure of, the Vikings are at the top of the list.
Here are the top five teams on the list:
- Vikings +200
- Giants +300
- Raiders +400
- Colts +500
- Jets +700
Now, the Vikings have their own quarterback issue with Sam Darnold and whether or not the team will tag him or just let him walk in free agency. A potential trade for Stafford makes absolutely no sense from a number of perspectives.
First off, the asking price for Stafford is reported to be a first-round pick. Given that the Vikings only have four picks in this year’s draft (counting the projected third-rounder they should get for Kirk Cousins’ departure), it would make just about no sense for them to use the most valuable of those four picks on a quarterback when they have numerous other holes to fill.
Second, if the plan for the Vikings is to turn things over to J.J. McCarthy this coming season, why would the Vikings bring in a guy who is not going to want to play backup for a first-time starter? That doesn’t sound like a formula for success to me. If the Vikings wanted to do something like that, they could just as well stick with Darnold or even try to keep Daniel Jones in the fold to transition things to McCarthy.
In line with that, Stafford’s contract wouldn’t be cheap. The Rams would have to eat a lot of dead cap if they traded Stafford away, but he would still incur a significant cost to his new team. As we’ve talked about before, the Vikings have done a lot of work to clear off bad contracts and open up cap space for this coming season, and it would make just about no sense to get back on the veteran QB treadmill with someone like Stafford, even if it’s just for a season or two.
I’m not sure why the sportsbooks are of the impression that the Vikings would be a prime trade destination for Matthew Stafford, but those are the odds they’ve put forth as of today.