Fans of the Minnesota Vikings are very familiar with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams and won his first Super Bowl, he was in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions facing the purple and gold twice a year.
The 37-year-old quarterback stated his intent to return for another season in the NFL but it isn't clear if that year will be spent with the Rams. Seeing how the Vikings had some success with Sam Darnold in 2024, bringing Stafford to Minnesota is an interesting idea.
J.J. McCarthy is the only quarterback on the roster for Minnesota at the moment and he is recovering from a knee injury that caused him to miss the entire 2024 NFL season. The Vikings could want a veteran to hold down the ship until he is ready to take the wheel.
Grade the Trade Proposal: Minnesota Vikings give top pick to Rams for Matthew Stafford
The Minnesota Vikings don't have a lot of draft picks this year after maneuvering to pick J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round last year. However, that doesn't mean they wouldn't work out a deal for a pick if the price is right.
Kristopher Knox at Bleacher Report recently assembled some trade packages that could tempt the Los Angeles Rams to trade Matthew Stafford and one of those proposed trades involved the Vikings making a big move.
Here is the proposed trade:
Minnesota Vikings get: Matthew Stafford, QB
Los Angeles Rams get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 24 overall)
If the Vikings deal their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, they would currently be waiting until the fifth round on Day 3 to make a selection with a lot of needs to fill at cornerback, running back, safety, and potentially in the trenches.
But the idea of having an established quarterback to ease into the J.J. McCarthy era in Minnesota is appealing, especially after the purple and gold surprised many people by having a 14-win season in 2024.
"Acquiring Stafford would give Minnesota another year or two to develop McCarthy before thrusting him onto the field. Theoretically, it would also give the Vikings a chance to improve on last year’s results. "Kristopher Knox via Bleacher Report
The only real way the Vikings could improve on last year is if they are able to win the NFC North and get a playoff victory. Otherwise, the bar is set quite high for Minnesota during the 2025 season and matching 14 wins will be a huge challenge.
It would also signal that the Vikings think they are close enough to a Super Bowl that they can forego their first round pick this year and attempt to run it back. This kind of thinking is what led to mediocre teams in recent Minnesota history and a need to reset a roster packed with overpriced veterans.
Not only is it a first-round pick that Minnesota would be spending to acquire Stafford, but the quarterback is also slated to have a salary cap hit of nearly $50 million in 2025. Although the Vikings have quite a bit of cap space available this offseason, they need to use it to fill roster holes and upgrade some positions this offseason.
If the Minnesota Vikings wanted an expensive veteran quarterback at the helm, they would have stuck with Kirk Cousins. If they had done that, they wouldn't have to burn a first-round pick to get Stafford.
While this is an interesting idea, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the current Vikings roster and definitely doesn't match the style that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been using to build the team.
This proposed trade earns a D grade.