Purple Rumor Mill: Trade for Pro Bowl WR, Sam Darnold’s Next Team, Lewis Cine

Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the purple team, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.

Here’s the first batch of the week. All past rumors can be read here.

Rumor: The Vikings should kick the tires on a trade for Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Jameis Winston, right, welcomes quarterback Deshaun Watson (4), wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) and wide receiver A. Cooper (2) off the field during the first half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. © Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK.

An idea courtesy of Good Morning Football show host Akbar Gbajabiamila, Minnesota should pursue Cooper.

“How about the Minnesota Vikings? They have T.J. Hockenson coming back. You start thinking, ‘What could they do? They could add some depth’. Think about what the Kansas City Chiefs have done,” Gbajabiamila said when sizing up landing spots for Cooper.

“They continuously add depth. Someone gets hurt, they get someone else in there. How about going out and maybe looking for an Amari Cooper, who’s on a struggling Browns team? Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in Cleveland already, has familiarity with Amari Cooper. Now, all of a sudden, you have depth at the wide receiver position.”

Regrettably, the Vikings don’t have much trade capital to obtain Cooper’s services, as most of the 2025 picks were spent on the draft selection that landed pass rusher Dallas Turner six months ago. For now, Minnesota has a 1st-Rounder and two 5th-Round picks on the docket for next April. It will also gain a compensatory 3rd-Rounder in 2025, but that cannot be spent via trade this season.

Gbajabiamila added, “You’ve got Justin Jefferson, Addison, Amari Cooper, TJ Hockenson. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve got guys who can, when homefield advantage comes around, they’re making it deep, deep, deep and potentially winning a Super Bowl.”

Gbajabiamila’s idea is realistic, especially if Cooper can be obtained for a 5th- or 6th-Round pick. The Vikings offense might become indefensible if so.

Rumor: Sam Darnold will end up with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025 and beyond.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

According to Spotrac, Darnold will ultimately land with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, a team currently showcasing a one-two combo at quarterback of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Sizing up landing spots for free agents-to-be in 2025, managing editor of Spotrac Mike Ginnitti recently declared about Darnold’s next employer: “Four years, $160 million to the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s cap-adjusted Baker Mayfield.”

For Darnold and the Raiders, a long-term deal is certainly realistic. Las Vegas parted ways with Derek Carr a couple of years ago and has not used high-round draft capital on a replacement, instead settling on a sandwich of Minshew and 7th-Round selection from 2023, Aidan O’Connell. Should the Raiders finish with a Top 15 pick or so in the 2025 NFL Draft, they may explore the rookie candidacies of quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders, Carson Beck, or Quinn Ewers, to name a few.

But Darnold in Las Vegas next year checks some boxes.

Rumor: Lewis Cine’s career is heading in a new direction with the Buffalo Bills, switching to linebacker.

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

Cine is no longer a safety. He’s transitioned to linebacker with his new club, the Buffalo Bills, according to Niagara Gazette.

“Cine felt he needed a fresh start after two frustrating seasons with the Vikings. Little did he know, that would include a position change as the Bills have spent the last few weeks giving Cine a try at linebacker,” Niagara Gazette’s Nick Sabato wrote Tuesday.

The Vikings cut Cine at the end of summer, and he latched onto the Bills’ roster for his second act. Evidently, he’s a linebacker now.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.