The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the September 25th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: A Guy from the Free Agent Market, Dallas Turner, the Vikings’ Naysayers
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Any free agents the Vikings should explore to ensure this sweet start continues?
Answer: We’re sticking with this one: center Mason Cole.
Cole resided on the Vikings’ roster in 2021 and is actually a dependable reservist center — or could be for Minnesota. He’s started 34 games in the last two seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Mike Tomlin and friends had other plans in 2024, drafting Zach Frazier in April.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should explore Cole’s free agency because Garrett Bradbury has encountered injury issues in the last two years. Cole is a better football player than Bradbury’s current backup, Dan Feeney.
What’s more, any veteran still on the open market would be affordable. Some team will sign Cole in the next month or so. He’s only 28.
Moreover, center Garrett Bradbury popped up on the injury report this week and did not practice on Wednesday. Go get Cole for depth. As recently as two years ago, he produced a 67.1 Pro Football Focus grade.
Q: Will Dallas Turner play this weekend at the Packers?
A: Yes, we believe so.
A source told VikingsTerritory earlier this week that holding Turner out of Week 3 was totally precautionary. He could’ve played if needed in a playoff situation, for example.
Turner also practiced on Wednesday, albeit as a limited participant.
Q: What do you say to the naysayers who claim Minnesota’s success is a mirage?
Answer: Well, for starters, we don’t really care what they think.
But the Vikings rank third leaguewide in offensive 3rd Down efficiency, third in point differential, sixth in turnover margin, and seventh in redzone efficiency. Those stats are not accidental.
The team is also deep — so much so that “it doesn’t matter” that T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison, Ivan Pace Jr., Dallas Turner, Mekhi Blackmon, and Dalton Risner have missed games. Their absences have not affected wins and losses, indicating a deeper Vikings roster than in years past.
Then, the current section of the schedule was supposed to be unconquerable — and Minnesota is 3-0.
On the whole, if one is a naysayer, we’d invite them to re-watch the last three games. The team is not squeaking by; they’re dominant. That’s the mark of a good football team.
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.
