The clock is ticking on 32 teams to decide if they're buyers, sellers or standing pat at the trade deadline.
Although many won't know for sure until completing Week 9 games, Tuesday's 3 p.m. (CT) cutoff to acquire or trade away a player (or players) is definitely at the forefront of minds in every NFL front office.
Including the Vikings. Minnesota has already exceeded their total 2024 regular-season loss tally with four in seven games in 2025 but the team is returning starting QB J.J. McCarthy to the lineup Sunday at Detroit after a five-game injury absence. The Vikings still believe they can recover ground in a cutthroat division and ultra-competitive conference.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN thinks Minnesota is in a peculiar spot and according to him is not in a position, currently, to justify adding talent to plug roster holes and should probably shop players for draft picks.
Barnwell reasoned the Vikings could be sellers at this year's deadline and make up for some of the aggressive moves they've made in the past in order to supplement draft capital for 2026 and beyond.
His best guestimation, however, could hinge on how McCarthy plays in his third career start and his first game since Sept. 14. If the 22-year-old team captain shows encouraging signs in the Lions den, Minnesota might be tempted to just stand pat or even add a complementary piece to the puzzle and take aim at a second-half swing that could launch a run to the playoffs similar to the Rams one year ago.
(Los Angeles started 1-4 in 2024 before winning nine of its final 12 regular-season games, beating the Vikings in the Wild Card Round and losing by six points to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Eagles.)
Barnwell placed Minnesota in the section of teams that he wrote "shouldn't be holding everything-must-go signs, but they might want to make a selective move or two to create an opportunity for a young player on their current roster or move on from a pending free agent and save some money."
Also in that group: Arizona (2-5), Cincinnati (3-5), Houston (3-4), the Giants (2-6) and Washington (3-5).
For what it's worth, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah kept busy around the deadline in his first three years on the job, eyeing an opportunity or multiple to strengthen the present-day Vikings and their future. In 2022, he traded for T.J. Hockenson; in 2023, after beginning 3-4 and notching win No. 4 but losing Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles, Minnesota landed Joshua Dobbs and traded Ezra Cleveland; and in 2024, the club added Cam Robinson to help offset Christian Darrisaw's season-ending knee injury.
In a separate ESPN article here, contributors chimed in on Minnesota's trade deadline prospects and listed several possibilities. Dan Graziano recommended standing pat. Aaron Schatz suggested edge rusher as a key position of need (because a neck injury has caused Andrew Van Ginkel to play 69 of 435 defensive snaps). And Kevin Seifert and Seth Walder noted one potential player addition and departure.
Midseason All-Pro Picks/Predictions
There's the best of the best right now, and the best of the best the rest of the way.
That sentence was hard to say. Here's the translation: just because certain players are outperforming others at the moment doesn't guarantee they'll wind up there at season's end and garner accolades.
OK, anyway. …
Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame tried this week to formulate a 2025 midseason All-Pro team.
While shades of purple are faint on his sheet through eight weeks, there's two Vikings players who've emerged as perennial All-Pro candidates. Verderame tabbed superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson a Second-Team selection and honored veteran long snapper Andrew DePaola with First-Team distinction.
Jefferson is accompanied on the second team by George Pickens and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Current first-teamers at wide receiver on Verderame's list are Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua and Ja'Marr Chase.
As phenomenal as Jefferson is weekly, it's hard to argue with his secondary placement because he has one touchdown so far (in the opener at Chicago). Despite instability and inconsistencies at quarterback and the offensive line, "Jets" has managed 602 receiving yards (5th in the NFL) and a pair of 120-plus yard games.
DePaola, the first long snapper elected to the Pro Bowl three seasons in a row (2022-24) and an All-Pro pick each of those years (1st Team in 2022 and 2024), got Verderame's nod over Tennessee's Morgan Cox.
As dependable as they come, DePaola has helped kicker Will Reichard convert 14 of 16 field-goal tries, including 5 of 7 from 50-plus yards and Ryan Wright post a career-best net punting average of 45.2 yards.
Minnesota has produced at least one All-Pro in each season of Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's tenure. Three players were recognized in 2024 (DePaola, Jefferson and Van Ginkel); DePaola was the lone 2023 recipient; and three were decorated in 2022 (DePaola, Jefferson and return specialist Kene Nwangwu).
Peep Verderame's breakdown of midseason All-Pro selections here.
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