The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0, but that record hasn’t erased the need at running back after Aaron Jones Sr. went down with an injury. The question now is whether they make a real run at a marquee name before the trade deadline, or settle for a smaller move and keep it moving.
For now, the buzz around Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor sounds more like wishful thinking than something close to reality. Tom Pelissero said Thursday that he doesn’t expect Minnesota to chase either of the big-ticket backs.
“I wouldn’t sit there and hold my breath for Saquon [or] Jonathan Taylor … those top end items,” Pelissero said.
That doesn’t mean the Vikings are done shopping. It just means the level of target may be different. Minnesota could still be in the market for backfield help, but landing either Barkley or Taylor looks like a long shot.
Barkley is the tougher fit on paper because of the injury concerns attached to him this season. The Philadelphia Eagles are sitting at 2-5, which opens the door for them to sell before the deadline, but Barkley’s health complicates everything.
Philadelphia brought him in before the 2024 season, and he was central to the team’s Super Bowl run. He also won Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for more than 2,000 yards.
His production dipped last season after that heavy workload during the championship push, and the Eagles’ offensive line wasn’t as dominant. This year, Barkley has dealt with a stinger and a hamstring injury. He sat out two games because of the hamstring issue, returned against the Dallas Cowboys last week, then aggravated it and also picked up a back injury.
That kind of profile makes a trade hard to justify, especially if Minnesota would have to part with a Day 2 draft pick for a player whose availability remains in question.
Taylor may be the cleaner football fit, but he could come with a price the Vikings don’t want to pay. Judd Zulgad of SKOR North said Minnesota should steer clear of dealing a first-round pick, and instead look at a second-rounder plus another asset. Whether that would be enough for Indianapolis is another matter.
The Colts have reason to ask for plenty. Taylor is still one of their best players, and if they do move him, they’ll want to get the most out of it. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, and Indianapolis has already shown a willingness to play hardball in trades, sending guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for third- and fifth-round picks and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a fourth-round selection.
So Minnesota is left at a familiar crossroads: keep hunting for help, or decide that the price on the top names is too steep. With the deadline getting closer, the Vikings have to figure out whether either move is worth making.
In Other News...
Eagles Suddenly Have A Backfield Problem They Can't Ignore
The Eagles backfield has gone from a luxury to a concern in a hurry, with injuries thinning the running back room to the point where Elijah Mitchell and Jaydon Blue are the only healthy options. Mitchell, who joined Philadelphia this summer, was briefly cut before being brought back, and he saw action in Week 7 as the team tried to patch together a workable rotation. Saquon Barkley is still the preferred answer when available, but the group around him has become increasingly fragile.
Mitchell is now in position to take on a much larger role in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders, with the Eagles needing someone steady enough to help keep the offense on schedule. Blue remains in the mix, but the bigger issue is whether Philadelphia can get enough stability from a unit that has been hit hard at the wrong time. For a team built to lean on balance, the next few days could determine how much flexibility the Eagles really have in the run game. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Look Thin In One Area Before Washington
The Eagles injury report is starting to look like a depth chart problem as much as a health update. With Week 8 against Washington approaching, six players were out of practice for a second straight day, leaving Philadelphia to sort through a growing list of absences while trying to keep its game plan intact.
Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith were among the names sidelined again, and their continued absence stands out because both are central to what Philadelphia wants to do on offense. Add in the other missed practices and the fact that 14 more players were limited or full participants, and the Eagles are suddenly managing a roster that looks thinner than usual at a key point in the week. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Rough Start Just Reignited The Jalen Hurts Future Debate
A rough stretch has a way of turning every Eagles conversation back to the quarterback position, and Jalen Hurts is once again at the center of it. Hurts is out for the season because of blood clots, though the expectation is that he will recover, and the teams current skid has only added more noise around what comes next for Philadelphia at the games most important spot.
Hurts is still under contract through 2028 and holds a no-trade clause, but the long view is where the uncertainty starts to creep in. With the Eagles future quarterback plans still very much in the speculative stage, the debate has shifted from whether they need to think ahead to how aggressively they might eventually do it. [Read more 🡒]