The Green Bay Packers instantly became the favorite in the NFC North last week when they traded with Dallas for All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons and gifted him a $186 million contract worth an average of $46 million a year over four seasons.
Wonder whether the Minnesota Vikings at least made a phone call to the Cowboys about Parsons? It’s doubtful. That’s because the Vikings’ payroll this season is the highest in the NFL at $341 million. And the Vikings already have two pass rushers in Jonathan Greenard ($19 million this season) and Andrew Van Ginkel ($18 million this season).
It’s not that the Vikings wouldn’t have loved to have Parsons, but they simply wouldn’t have been able to fit him into their payroll.
The Vikings, though, did trade with Carolina for Adam Thielen. They needed a wide receiver because of Jordan Addison’s suspension for the first three games.
It’s likely the reason the Vikings traded defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (the Vikings will pay half of his $7.5 million salary this season) to the Jets for draft picks was to off-set the payroll for getting Thielen, who took a $2 million reduction from his $6.5 million salary.
No doubt the Vikings figured whatever they had to pay for Thielen, they would have to subtract with Phillips. It basically was a dollar for dollar deal.
Thielen is 35 years old, has sustained numerous ankle and hamstring injuries the last four seasons, doesn’t have the speed he once had and probably is playing his final year in the NFL. He’s smart and runs great routes and will be a third-down type receiver used primarily inside as a slot guy. In that regard, he’ll be good for still untested QB J.J. McCarthy.
Acquiring Thielen was a good trade for the Vikings. Upon Addison’s return, barring injuries, Justin Jefferson will be the No. 1 wideout, Addison No. 2, Thielen No. 3 and Jalen Nailor No. 4.
Once Nailor injured a hand in practice last month, Thielen and his agent saw a chance to get out of Carolina, which is not a playoff team, and return to Minnesota, projected to win at least 10 games. The reason Thielen left for the Panthers two years ago, though, was for money — a $25 million, three-year deal. During a 12-year NFL career, the undrafted Detroit Lakes native will have earned nearly $90 million.
As part of the Thielen trade, in 2006 draft swaps, Carolina gets the Vikings’ fifth-round pick. As of now, the Vikings will get the Panthers’ seventh-round pick. But if Thielen plays in fewer than 10 games this season, the pick becomes a sixth-rounder.
>> There’s little doubt the Vikings quietly had told Carlson Wentz that if Sam Howell didn’t impress in training camp, which he didn’t, they would like to sign him. Wentz isn’t a great alternative to Howell as the No. 2 QB, but he’s better than Howell (traded to the Eagles), and he’ll play for just $1.255 million, which is just $155,000 more than Howell’s deal.Wentz, 6-5, 237 pounds, has a strong arm, which coach Kevin O’Connell values for a deep, vertical passing game.
>> The Vikings’ hope for ex-Gopher Max Brosmer is that they can develop him to become a serviceable backup NFL QB. So far, so good.
>> Signing seven undrafted free agents who made the opening roster is almost unheard of for the Vikings. Reasons: The team had only a five-pick draft class this year, and the sixth-rounder, tight end Gavin Bartholomew, wound up getting hurt and is out indefinitely. Also, the next two years, after spending nearly $300 million in free agency this year, the Vikings will be salary cap challenged, requiring cheap backups ($840,000 rookie minimums) this year.
>> Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Laura Rutledge and Lisa Salters will make the call on KSTP-TV (Ch. 5) for Monday night’s Vikings-Bears game.
>> CNBC’s Mike Ozazian, whose NFL franchise values are considered the most accurate, values the Vikings at $6.8 billion, which is more than 11 times what the Wilf family paid for the franchise in 2005.
>> Ex-Viking Jared Allen receives his personalized 14K gold and diamond Pro Football Hall of Fame ring on Sept. 14 at the game against the Falcons in Minneapolis.
>> The National Football Foundation will do on-campus salutes for College Hall of Famers Blake Elliott at alma mater St. John’s on Saturday against Minnesota-Morris and Greg Eslinger at Minnesota against Nebraska on Oct. 17. Ex-Viking Jim Kleinsasser will be honored at North Dakota against North Dakota State on Nov. 8.
>> Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam speaks at a Dunkers breakfast on Monday at Interlachen Country Club. A Sorenstam restaurant opened the other day at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo.
>> George Carroll, the esteemed former GM at Interlachen, and wife Linda, the distinguished former GM at White Bear Yacht Club, were invited to exclusive Cypress Point (Calif.) for this weekend’s Walker Cup matches.
>> St. Paul’s John “Hondo the Magician” Hughes performed two weeks ago at famed Pebble Beach, where football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was honored.
>> Jack Morris from St. Paul will host a Baseball Hall of Fame charity golf tournament at the picturesque Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Sept. 15.
>> Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who turns 80 on Oct. 1, will soon undergo knee replacement surgery.
>> Former Stillwater baseball star Drew Gilbert, 24, over four recent starts playing center-field for the San Francisco Giants, had 10 hits (six extra base hits), eight RBIs, seven runs with no strikeouts, Opta Stats points out. Only Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in 1965 achieved those numbers. For the season, the 5-foot-9 Gilbert, batting .125 after his first 24 at-bats, is hitting .264 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.
>> Tom Lehman recently bought a lake property in Alexandria on which to build a family summer home. Lehman, 66, who resides in Arizona in the winter, plans to play full-time on the PGA Champions Tour next year. Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer, who plays full-time of the senior tour, turned 68 the other day.
>> Joe Gallagher’s St. Paul Doodle Productions, which produced the highly successful 2016 Ryder Cup ceremonies at Hazeltine National, will consult for the Sept. 26-28 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. Gallagher, 61, will also work Ryder Cups at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027 and Hazeltine in 2029.
>> A Wisconsin events company is offering a handful of 2026 Masters Friday-only tournament badges at Augusta National for $3,750 apiece.
>> Ex-Gopher Daniel Oturu, 25, has signed a three-year contract with Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv in EuroLeague Basketball.
>> University of St. Thomas men’s basketball coach Johnny Tauer, a polished speaker, offered insightful views on the current state of collegiate athletics at a recent Capital Club breakfast at Mendakota Country Club. Tauer last week spoke at a national clinic in Alabama that included legendary Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban, Michigan basketball coach Dusty May and several NBA coaches.
>> It was a packed DeLaSalle High School last weekend for the memorial service of beloved football-basketball star Derreck Robinson, who died at 43 of pulmonary thromboembolism.
>> Gov. Tim Walz will proclaim Nov. 14 as Gerry Brown Day to honor the St. Thomas Academy football coaching legend and his 1975 state champions, who’ll celebrate their 50th anniversary at Digidio’s.
>> His ace in Dave Brooks’ Herbie’s golf tournament at White Eagle on Thursday was the second in two months for St. Paul insurance executive John Regal.
>> Local author Bob Showers has another beautifully designed coffee table book, The Minnesota Wild, commemorating the franchise’s 25th anniversary, for release Oct. 11 featuring anecdotes from everyone from Norm Coleman to Craig Leipold to Steve Aronson, the Minnetonka native who was the first player to sign a Wild contract.
>> That’s former Viking Gene Washington, 81, working out regularly at the Southdale YMCA.
>> Happy birthday: Ted Steichen, whose sporting goods store for decades supplied many of St. Paul’s best athletes, turned 91 the other day.
>> Ex-University of St. Thomas free safety Luke Glenna from Edina and former Bemidji State wide receiver star Brendan Beaulieu from Park-Cottage Grove are teammates for the Nordic Storm in Denmark in the European League of Football playoffs.
>> The Seattle Kraken American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Firebirds have signed ex-Gophers journeyman goalie Jack LaFontaine, 27, for the coming season.
>> Target Field is the 12th-best ballpark in the major leagues, per super fan Cameron Guzzo, who has visited each of the 30 stadiums. Wrigley Field is No. 1.
DON’T PRINT THAT
>> Some smart people are guessing that Wild star Kirill Kaprizov, 28, will end up settling soon on a $60 million, four-year contract extension, but owner Craig Leipold is insistent on at least seven years, and that could cost nearly $140 million. Leipold would like the maximum eight years, but that could cost another $20 million, which he seems willing to pay.
>> Pssst: The Wild’s new Grand Casino Arena sponsorship deal is worth nearly $140 million over 14 years.
>> New Bears coach Ben Johnson, who the Vikings face Monday night in Chicago, is the most unpredictable play-caller in the NFL. As offensive coordinator in Detroit, Johnson would go for more first downs on fourth downs and use more trick plays than any team in the league. He’s favored for NFL coach of the year, per BetOnline.ag.
>> NBC Sports’ Jason Garrett on Micah Parsons, who the Cowboys traded to the Packers: “You absolutely cannot let that guy out of your building. He’s the best pass rusher in the league.”
>> This is the 21st season that the Wilf family has chased the Lombardi Trophy. Zygi and Mark Wilf have been committed to winning, unlike previous Vikings ownership groups whose objective was to keep payroll as low as possible. The Wilfs, in evaluating their team, this off-season decided they have the right coach in Kevin O’Connell for the next five years at about $13 million a year. The two most important things for an NFL franchise is to get the right coach and the right quarterback. Whether they got the quarterback right is to be determined.
>> How young-looking is 22-year-old Vikings’ QB J.J. McCarthy? He regularly gets asked for identification at restaurants, as he did at the Copperfield in Mendota Heights.
>> It looks like Byron Buxton, 31, will finish among the top 10 in American League MVP voting, which will be worth a $3 million bonus for the Twins center-fielder whose salary this season is $15 million.
>> Best trade return for a Twins player would be starter Pablo Lopez, 29, who is under contract for two more years at $22 million per season.
>> For the Twins in 93 games this season, Carlos Correa hit .267. In 32 games for the Astros, he’s hit .305.
>> For the Twins in 51 games this season, North St. Paul’s Louie Varland’s ERA was 2.02. Since his trade to Toronto, in 15 games, his ERA is 6.91.
>> Former basketball Gopher Willie Burton, 57, a Ph.D. in sports psychology who recently seriously considered running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, told the Pioneer Press after the death of a relative that he’s decided not to become a candidate.
>> Released Vikings QB Brett Rypien, 29, is the Bengals No. 3 QB.
>> Chances of the Gophers, which beat Northwestern State 66-0 on Saturday, making the 12-team College Football Playoffs this year: 6.67 percent, per BetOnline.ag.
>> The revenue sharing-name, image and likeness (NIL) cost for reigning national football champion Ohio State players this season reportedly is $35 million. Player payroll for the Gophers, who play at Ohio State on Oct. 4, is in the $15 million range.
>> Ex-Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson probably could have gone to work as a Phoenix Suns assistant. Instead, this year enjoy a $2.92 million Gophers buyout.
> Twins jerseys were on blowout sale at the State Fair for $50. Signed jerseys for sale at the Fair: Randy Moss, $450, Karill Kaprizov, $400; Kevin Garnett, $350, Justin Jefferson, $300; J.J. McCarthy, $300, Joe Mauer, $250; Pedro Lopez, $200; Fran Tarkenton, $200, and Naz Reid, $150.
>> Undrafted ex-Gopher Dawson Garcia’s deal with the Detroit Pistons is an Exhibit-10 category, meaning a non-guaranteed, one-year contract.
>> If the Gophers football team, which averages $80.2 million in revenue, were for sale as a pro sports franchise, it would be worth $562 million, according to analysis by The Athletic, which ranks Texas (average revenue $183 million) No. 1 at $2.38 billion. Wisconsin’s football program is valued at $801 million, Iowa’s $709 million.
>> Hopkins grad Paige Bueckers will be the WNBA’s rookie of the year despite her Dallas Wings team having lost 33 of 42 games.
>> First-round Lynx lower-level playoff tickets at Target Center range from $152 to $1,156 (courtside), per gotickets.com.
>> The University of St. Thomas is opening its men’s basketball season in its new 5,300-seat on-campus arena in November against Army, but a game against the Gophers could happen in November of 2026 at Target Center or Williams Arena. Meanwhile, this season the now-Division I men’s Tommies of the Summit League will host Division III St. John’s of the MIAC on Dec. 11.
>> It might be a good idea to take down posters of Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, traded in July to the Phillies and Rays, respectively, that remain outside Target Field.
>> A St. Paul country club the other day featured a men’s invitational golf tournament Calcutta (gambling format) of $113,000.
>> The Dodgers, with a $341 million payroll, are 78-63. The Brewers, with a $113 million payroll, are 87-55. The Twins, with a $126 million payroll, are 62-79.
Overheard
>> Viking Justin Jefferson on being reunited with fellow wide receiver Adam Thielen: “It was like it was meant to happen.”
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