The purple rumor mill spins again for October 26th — the Sunday Week 8 edition loaded with fresh Minnesota Vikings chatter.
The Minnesota Vikings rumor mill zeroes in on comp pick chaos, a potential trade with the Patriots, and offensive lineman Michael Jurgens.
The Vikings are aiming for a 4-4 reset next week at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions. But first, here’s what’s swirling around the latest rumor cycle.
Vikings Rumors for October 26th, 2025
A peek at the second batch of rumors for the week.
Rumor: Minnesota’s compensatory pick plan is dying.
Nick Korte, OverTheCap.com‘s wizard of the compensatory formula, took to the X app this week to re-crunch Minnesota’s outlook — and the results weren’t fun.
Korte tweeted, “Blake Cashman’s return took snaps away not from Eric Wilson, but Ivan Pace Jr. That combined with Trent Sherfield only getting 11% of the offensive snaps for the Broncos inches the Vikings closer to their worst case 2026 compensatory pick scenario.”
The headline issue? Linebacker Eric Wilson. He’s quietly turned from backup to full-fledged starter, replacing Blake Cashman in Week 1 and holding down the role so well that Brian Flores benched Ivan Pace Jr. when Cashman returned. If Wilson keeps piling up starter snaps, he’ll nuke the Vikings’ comp pick tied to Daniel Jones’ free-agent departure.
It’s the definition of bittersweet — Wilson thriving is great for the defense, terrible for the draft math.
Then there’s Trent Sherfield, now in Denver. The former Viking would need to double his snap count to tilt the formula in Minnesota’s favor, but at his current pace, he’s more spoiler than savior in the comp pick equation.
Luckily — just like the Kirk Cousins-to-Atlanta situation a year ago — the 3rd-Round compensatory pick tied to Sam Darnold is all but locked in. As long as Darnold stays upright and keeps his job in Seattle, Minnesota can go ahead and count on that 3rd-Rounder showing up next spring as a nice little parting gift for his free-agent exit.
But the sole 3rd-Rounder may be it for 2026 comp picks.
Rumor: Minnesota could trade for Patriots safety Kyle Dugger.
Minnesota could absolutely make a move or two before the November 4th deadline, but almost nobody pegs safety as part of the equation.
Still, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler kicked the door open this week, writing about Kyle Dugger as a trade possibility: “The buzz: The belief in league circles is that Dugger would have been dealt before Week 1 but for his cost-prohibitive $9.75 million salary. There was interest then and could be again. Now that New England is sitting at 5-2, perhaps it will revisit a potential deal.”
“However, Dugger has played a combined 102 defensive snaps over the past two weeks due to an injury to starter Jaylinn Hawkins, which might change things. Dugger would be a quality third-safety insurance for a team in contention. Predicted chance of getting traded: 25%. Team fits: New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders.”
Then ESPN’s Matt Bowen chimed in to reinforce the buzz: “The tape: Yeah, Dugger can help a team looking for a No. 3 safety. He can play from depth in split-safety coverages, while his 6-foot-1, 216-pound frame helps create more opportunities as a dime/sub-package defender in a multiple scheme.”
And just like that, with two analysts tossing logs on the fire, a small rumor starts to simmer.
At 3-4, however, Minnesota may not be much of a buyer before the deadline.
Rumor: Michael Jurgens is an option to start at center.
Leading up to Thursday Night Football, VikingsTerritory‘s Sean Borman tweeted Tuesday, “Sounds like both Michael Jurgens and Blake Brandel will take reps at center this week, with O’Connell saying they’ll choose the best lineup for Thursday.”
Brandel ultimately started and played decently.
The fact remains, Jurgens is a center by trade, whereas Brandel is a converted tackle-guard-center. With Ryan Kelly on injured reserve — his season and career could be over because of too many concussions — the Vikings need a center solution. Brandel and Jurgens are the best options at the moment, assuming general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulls off no trades.
Before too long, “Brandel or Jurgens?” at center could be a weekly talking point.
