Just after 7 PM, news broke that cornerback Mekhi Blackmon has been traded to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2026 6th round draft pick.

The #Vikings have agreed to terms on a trade that will send CB Mekhi Blackmon to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick. pic.twitter.com/nTqNid3WQh

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 26, 2025

Blackmon, who the Vikings selected in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL draft, played in 15 games as a rookie, even getting the start in three. He finished his first NFL season with 41 tackles, 1 interception and 8 passes defended.

Why did the Minnesota Vikings trade Mekhi Blackmon?

Heading into 2024, hopes were very high for the second-year cornerback out of USC and Colorado. He looked good during summer workouts and early during training camp too. Then, he tore his ACL and sat out all of 2024.

When he returned for training camp 2025, the now 26-year-old version of Mekhi Blackmon just hasn’t been the same guy. Throughout camp, you could tell that Blackmon was in jeopardy of missing out on the final 53-man roster.

Related: Adam Thielen Wants to Come Home; Vikings Trying…

Newcomers in the secondary like Jeff Okudah and Isaiah Rodgers were getting all the first team reps in practice, over Mekhi. During preseason games, they were getting the starter treatment, while Blackmon was playing deep into the second half of exhibition games.

In all likelihood, Mekhi Blackmon was not going to make the Minnesota Vikings’ 53-man roster, which is why they probably feel elated that they got another late round draft pick, in return.

No doubt it caught the attention of one team, the Minnesota Vikings, who suddenly specialize in coaching and rehabilitating NFL quarterbacks lucky enough to come through TCO Performance Center and attend head coach Kevin O’Connell’s QB school, which seemingly rolls out new success stories with every NFL season that passes by.

Find someone that looks at you the same way Kevin O’Connell looks at his team and QB 🥹 pic.twitter.com/zYRPJrMGgD

— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) December 30, 2024

Once the Giants officially released Jones, the Vikings swooped in. They couldn’t offer more money than other teams, but they could offer the unique skill set of their head coach and his QB friendly staff.

After some thought, Jones signed with the MN Vikings practice squad on November 27, where he stayed for the remainder of the regular season, never once touching the active roster, until January 7, when he was finally elevated AFTER their last game against Detroit.

Daniel Jones’ short stint with Vikings brings additional benefits

That was an important move for Minnesota to make, since his activation to the 53-man made him eligible toward the Vikings’ 2026 comp pick formula as soon as he signed with the Indianapolis Colts in free agency this offseason.

The NFL comp pick formula is complicated, but according to OverTheCap.com, the Vikings were projected to receive a 5th round comp pick pretty much the moment he signed on the dotted line in Indy. That number has now changed, however

Over the course of Colts training camp, steam had been building recently behind Daniel Jones as the QB1 in Indianapolis, especially after head coach Shane Steichen spoke with reporters following the Colts’ last preseason game.

Then on Tuesday morning, Jones was officially named the Colts starting quarterback, over former No. 4 overall draft pick, Anthony Richardson, news that was first reported by Adam Schefter (ESPN).

A QB decision in Indy: Colts named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for their Sept. 7 regular-season opener vs. the Miami Dolphins, per @HolderStephen and me. pic.twitter.com/7PfrSu1m9I

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2025

Related: Vikings’ Free Agent WR Options May Be Dwindling

There was a time, between Daniel Jones signing with the Vikings and eventually moving onto Indianapolis, where the temporary KOC QB school pupil looked like the favorite to challenge JJ McCarthy in camp, before eventually accepting his place as a reliable QB2 before the regular season.

Jones saw that writing on the wall, in his short time working at TCO Performance Center, which played a large role in why he chose to take similar money for a camp competition with Anthony Richardson, instead.

Colts QB1 news likely to benefit Minnesota Vikings comp pick formula

Not only did the Colts’ QB1 announcement mark the second success story of Kevin O’Connell’s 2024 QB School graduation class — after Sam Darnold signed a $33.5 million per year contract to be Seattle’s starting quarterback over the offseason — but it also set the Minnesota Vikings up for a comp pick upgrade during the 2026 NFL Draft.

According to comp pick formula expert, Jones’ status as a starter means that 5th round comp pick is now more likely to be a 4th round comp pick, assuming the 28-year-old with 69 NFL starts under his belt can stay healthy and hold the job through most of the season.

This is good news for the Vikings so far. If Daniel Jones plays enough snaps this season, they are more likely to get a 4th rounder instead of a 5th rounder in a compensatory pick for Daniel Jones going to Indy.https://t.co/K8xYD1BELR

— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) August 19, 2025

Related: MN Vikings Quietly Dealing with Injury to Key Starter

If the formula plays out as expected (per OTC), Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would be awarded 3rd (Darnold), 4th (Jones) and 5th (Cam Robinson) round comp picks for the 2026 NFL Draft. And that’s AFTER the formula works itself out.

Other departures from the 2025 offseason (Pat Jones, Trent Sherfield, Cam Bynum) also count toward the comp pick formula. Those exits, however, are cancelled out by some of the MN Vikings’ own offseason signings (Will Ries, Ryan Kelly, Isaiah Rodgers).

Daniel Jones isn’t playing for the money anymore…

During his NFL career, Daniel Jones has thrown for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. After showing promise early in his career, the former Duke standout steadily declined under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Still, one impressive playoff performance in 2022 against the Minnesota Vikings landed him a huge $40 million per year contract extension. In total, Jones made $108 million with the Giants, who paid the remainder of his guaranteed money in order to push him out the door.

Even though he never played a snap for the Vikings, and did not stay to backup JJ McCarthy, his signing could go down as one of the sneaky best deals in franchise history, especially if he lands them a day two comp pick, by the time the dust settles.

Something was off with rookie kicker Will Reichard. First, he missed a 48-yard field goal, just wide right. Not ideal, but nobody expected him to remain perfect forever. But then, the next Vikings possession, he lined one up from 31 yards… and missed that one too.

Will Reichard with a DOINK. pic.twitter.com/3smBOZMqqJ

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 4, 2024

Minnesota Vikings rookie kicker dealing with quad injury

That’s when fans started to question if something was wrong with Reichard, or if our kicker curse was fighting back against Will’s smoking hot 14-for-14 start to the season. Then, videos and reports started flooding in showing the Vikings kicker with an obvious leg injury.

Related: Current and Former Minnesota Vikings Excelling with New Teams

On the sideline, he was using a heat pack to keep his thigh loose, was walking with a clear limp and he was in obvious discomfort during his kicking motion. Soon after those videos started surfacing, Reichard’s injury was reported as right quadricep strain, of some sort.

Will Reichard don’t look right… pic.twitter.com/KAduF9XXtm

— Leighton Glodek (@LGlodek) November 4, 2024

Sure, Reichard missed two kicks on Sunday night, and one of them was egregious. But once word came out that he was dealing with a leg injury, my respect for him only grew as the night went on. Obviously, the rookie kicker out of Alabama was in pain.

Related: Top Cornerback Could Still Become a Vikings Trade Candidate

Yet, he continued to go out, make extra points and kick touchbacks, even though it was causing major discomfort every time. Dude looked like Brett Favre at the end of his career. No matter how bad it got, you just knew he was coming in for the next one. Last night, Will Reichard proved that he is a football guy.

Will Reichard latest injury update:

After the game, Reichard confirmed the injury is something that he has been dealing with this week, but that something happened in the first half that made it worse. Last we heard prior to Monday afternoon, Reichard was going to have an MRI on his quad today.

Then, head coach Kevin O’Connell gave a somewhat grim update during his press conference this afternoon. While he didn’t give anything official, he did say they are still evaluating Reichard. That evaluation includes, according to KO, the possibility of bringing in kickers to possibly replace the rookie sharpshooter.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell insinuated that MIN will probably be bringing in kickers. Reichard did suffer a pretty serious quad injury in college at Alabama. https://t.co/7lMamfJX9M

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) November 4, 2024

Will Reichard was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the 6th round (No. 203 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s now 14 of 16 in his NFL career (plus 23-of-23 XP). But it now seems like the Vikings could lose their biggest weapon on special teams. Hopefully, it’s not that long.

They tried to replace him with a top-5 draft pick in Matt Kalil (2012), just to find out he was softer mentally than the poop in your backyard when the dog eats something it shouldn’t have. Riley Reiff was okay, but not a long-term answer.

But the last two seasons, Darrisaw has developed into one of the best offensive tackles in football, and a guy who the Minnesota Vikings expect to protect JJ McCarthy’s blindside for the next decade. How good is Christian
Darrisaw?

Minnesota Vikings will desperately miss Christian Darrisaw

We’ll talk PFF scores momentarily. But this one highlight, from a couple of weeks ago vs the Lions, tells you everything you need to know about how good Darrisaw really is. Watch him push the EDGE directly into Blake Brandel before spinning to his right where he met a shocked interior lineman who thought he had an open lane to Sam Darnold.

this stunt pickup from LT Christian Darrisaw is an OT in complete control of his game pic.twitter.com/dq3cr0DZGw

— Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) October 21, 2024

When Christian Darrisaw’s season ended, he had an 81.4 overall PFF grade. He excels in both run blocking and pass protection. There’s really nothing the 25-year-old out of Virginia Tech can’t do. Had he continued his dominance for the entire season, Darrisaw would have been in the running for 1st team All Pro.

Cam Robinson was a big get, especially since the Jacksonville Jaguars were so willing to get rid of the 29-year-old veteran that they paid the Vikings to take him. But nobody is going to mistake him for Christian Darrisaw, over the next 9 weeks of football.

Related: Current and Former Minnesota Vikings Excelling with New Teams

Instead, the Minnesota Vikings will play the rest of the 2024 season without their franchise left tackle. But they aren’t the only team playing on Sunday Night Football without their starter at that position. Like the Vikings, the Indianapolis Colts released their final injury report of week 9 on Friday afternoon, and their left tackle Bernhard Raimann was listed as “OUT”.

Indianapolis Colts down a starting left tackle, too…

Not all injuries are treated the same in the NFL, even if it’s the same position. But in the Colts vs Vikings’ case, the significance of both left tackle injuries are astronomical. Raimann is only 27-years-old, and his performance in 2024 has been VERY comparable to Darrisaw’s.

The Vikings left tackle’s aforementioned 81.4 overall PFF grade ranks 10th among all offensive tackles in the NFL. Raimann’s is just .5 better, at 81.9, which ranks one spot higher (9th). PFF doesn’t have him on the same level as a run blocker, as Darrisaw, but they grade him as a better pass blocker.

I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong, but without a doubt I feel better about the Minnesota Vikings’ chances on Sunday Night Football, knowing the Indianapolis Colts are also playing without one of the better left tackles in the NFL. Cam Robinson will fill in for Darrisaw. The Colts did not make any such trades.

Related: Ed Ingram’s Poor Play Pushed Vikings to Trade for Left Tackle?

The expected replacement at left tackle, for Indy, is Matt Goncalves, a 6’6″ 300 lb rookie who the Colts drafted in the 3rd round out of Pitt. He has been on the field for just 3 offensive snaps during his first NFL season.

On Sunday, he’ll be tasked with stopping Jonathan Greenard, who has proven himself as one of the best pass rushers in football this season, racking up 5 sacks while ranking 1st in QB hurries (33) and 3rd in total pressures (43). Which replacement left tackle, between Robinson and Goncalves, may be the difference in whether the Minnesota Vikings or Indianapolis Colts walk away Sunday night with a victory.

Minnesota Vikings vs Indianapolis Colts Flexed to Primetime – Sunday Night Football

Then, in week nine, they’ll be back to Sundays (November, 3). Their opponent will be the Indianapolis Colts. Today, however, we found out that they will no longer play at the originally scheduled noon timeslot. Instead, their contest has been flexed to primetime that same night. That’s right, Sunday Night Football, baby.

NEW YORK — Oct. 21, 2024 — The Week 9 Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings game will move to Sunday Night Football on NBC. The Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles game will be played at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.

NFL PR

The Jaguars and Eagles were supposed to be played on Sunday Night, in week nine. That contest will now take place at 3:05 CT. Obviously, the NFL loves to prop up the Eagles. But after the Minnesota Vikings’ red-hot start, we can expect more flexes to primetime, going forward, if they continue to win.

More Vikings flex opportunities coming up

The only other primetime game on the Vikings schedule is Monday Night Football (week 15) vs the Chicago Bears (Dec 16). Their season finale, in Detroit vs the Lions, is currently set as “TBD”. That could very well be another primetime matchup.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Seriously Considering a Move to Dalton Risner

One week prior, vs the Packers, is currently scheduled for noon. That is another game to keep an eye on, after Green Bay moved to 4-2, over the weekend. At the end of the day, what time the games are played doesn’t matter. Just win baby.

No team in NFL history had ever erased a 33-point deficit and gone on to win. And let’s be honest, a historic comeback was the last thing on anyone’s mind. The Vikings’ offense couldn’t gain a first down, let alone outscore a team by 33 points in one half. The defense was equally frustrating. Special teams was probably worse than both.

But then, what seemed impossible for nearly 35 minutes suddenly became possible. The Minnesota offense finally scored a touchdown. Then, they scored again. And again, and again and again and again…

33-7, 8:22 remaining in the 3rd quarter

The Vikings are FINALLY on the board as Kirk Cousins hits KJ Osborn for the TD ????pic.twitter.com/4AH2IQ6XTG

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 17, 2022

33-14, 1:13 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Second TD of the half for the @Vikings

36-14, Colts lead.

????: #INDvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/NLM9jA4M2R pic.twitter.com/6FfIc5j4ZG

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022

36-21, 12:53 remaining in 4th quarter

JUSTIN JEFFERSON SHEEEEESH ???????????? pic.twitter.com/qq31zdXcNV

— Bussin' With The Boys ???? (@BussinWTB) December 17, 2022

36-28, 5:33 remaining in 4th quarter

Cousins to Thielen! It's a one-possession game!

????: #INDvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/NLM9jA4M2R pic.twitter.com/Q0ES6tyWbg

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022

36-36, 2:10 remaining in 4th quarter

Came back @KirkCousins8 @dalvincook

????: @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/H7UX39X1BI

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 17, 2022

2-Point conversion is GOOD. It's tied 36-36!

????: #INDvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/NLM9jAlP4R pic.twitter.com/NHZK0Q9Eex

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022

After watching EVERYTHING go wrong for the first two quarters Saturday, it was almost shocking when the offense started clicking and the defense stopped allowing points. But the drama didn’t stop with the barrage of Vikings touchdowns in the 2nd half.

The Colts may have let things get away but the refs did their best to keep them ahead, three times blowing Indianapolis plays dead when they shouldn’t have.

Two of which should have ended in Chandon Sullivan scoop and scores. The most egregious was an obvious Colts fumble that Chandon Sullivan picked up and took to the house. It should have cut the lead to two.

Instead, the Vikings got the ball back (after a victorious challenge) on the other side of midfield. The drive ended in a turnover on downs, one of the only non-scoring drives in the half for the Minnesota offense.

Should this have been ruled a fumble in the Colts-Vikings game? pic.twitter.com/bPWquzTaMw

— Brian Y (@byysports) December 17, 2022

That's should be a fumble and touchdown, right? ????#NFL #Vikings #SKOLpic.twitter.com/YjNCkpHvTj

— TheColdWire.com (@thecoldwire) December 17, 2022

But, none of that mattered when the regulation clock reached 00:00. Because the Minnesota Vikings overcame all of that consternation, both self-inflicted and not, to force overtime.

Of course, nothing comes easy for this squad. Winning the coin toss and scoring a touchdown immediately would have saved too much stress. Instead, the Vikings waited until the final possession in the extra session to finally get into scoring range.

39-36, 00:00 remaining in OT

Greg Joseph needed to hit a walkoff to complete the win, something that gives football fans in this state hives. But he hit it, completing the largest comeback in NFL history and officially claiming the NFC North for the Minnesota Vikings.

Team. Of. Destiny.

THE @VIKINGS CAP OFF THE LARGEST COMEBACK IN NFL HISTORY.

FROM 33-0 DOWN TO 39-36. #INDvsMIN pic.twitter.com/p4vtjhuPY7

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Last March, the Minnesota Vikings shipped star WR Stefon Diggs and one of their four 2020 seventh-round picks to Buffalo for a 2020 first-rounder (No. 22 overall), a 2020 fifth-rounder, a 2020 sixth-rounder, AND a 2021 fourth-rounder. With arguably the biggest draft of the Spielman/Zimmer era on the horizon, it felt like a plentiful return for an unhappy Diggs… but the offseason didn’t go as planned.

Roster Turnover On Defense

The Vikings knew they were cutting ties with (CB) Xavier Rhodes. They very-well knew a split with (CB) Trae Waynes and (DT) Linval Joseph were likely. Maybe they tried to retain (CB) Mackensie Alexander, but that ultimately didn’t come to fruition either. He would go on to sign with Cincinnati.

Not only did the Vikings end up losing those four defensive staples, but they saw locker room leader (DE) Everson Griffin eventually walk too. (DE) Stephen Weatherly, (S) Andrew Sendejo and (S) Jayron Kearse followed them out the door, before the final hammer dropped. Newly signed (DT) Michael Pierce, who Madden rated as Minnesota’s best defensive player this year, opted-out because of COVID concerns. I don’t know who this Sam guy is… but he saw it coming.

Bears – offense is a mess, meh QB, aging defense
Vikings – reallllll high defensive roster turnover in the cap purge, everyone just assumes 30 year old Theilen won't drop off without Diggs around
Lions – Lions

— Sam (@samhuppert) July 22, 2020

The end result was six new starters on defense, a 55% turnover on that side of the ball. But defense was far from their only problem. The Vikings also had a sub-par offensive line that, at the least, needed to be fortified on the inside.

Miscalculated Draft

So how did Spielman and Co choose to fix all of these holes on both sides of their depth chart, when the 2020 NFL draft came around in April? They chased the ghost of Stefon Diggs. They took that newly acquired 1st round pick they received through the Diggs trade and used it to draft LSU WR, Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson is an electric talent with game changing skills, but wide receivers are one of the more superfluous positions in football. Look at the top WR’s in the game today. What do Deandre Hopkins, Odell Beckham Jr, Julio Jones AND Devante Adams have in common? Zero Super Bowls. 

Teams should only draft wide receivers in the first round if they feel sufficiently stacked in the trenches. When was the last time the Vikings fit that mold? If you have an immobile, stationary quarterback (like Kirk Cousins) who is surrounded by a below-average o-line, the last thing you should do is draft a wide receiver. Do I dislike Justin Jefferson as a player? Absolutely not. Do I think it was a foolish pick with the makeup of this Vikings roster? Damn right… and I said it back then.

I’m going to reiterate my point again, I don’t hate Justin Jefferson as a player. I think the guy could be great but I still believe the Vikings should’ve addressed the offensive line/DB.

If the Vikes can land Trent Williams, I will be a very happy man.

— Stephen Strom (@SStrom32) April 24, 2020

OL > WR

What did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do after investing into a bovine 43-year-old Tom Brady? They traded up in the draft and selected the slam-dunk OL from Iowa, Tristan Wirfs. When veteran OL Trent Williams was begging out of Washington, Minnesota missed out. This is what separates good organizations from great organizations. 

Fast forward to now, the Vikings are 0-2 for the first time under Mike Zimmer. Stefon Diggs had more receiving yards on Sunday (158) than Kirk Cousins had passing yards (113). Dalvin Cook has no space to run, Cousins has been sacked five times in two games and the Minnesota Vikings have given up safeties in back to back weeks.

The same issues last year were stark going into the offseason, yet Minnesota failed to address many of them, even after they were gift wrapped a surplus of draft picks. This season is a reflection of what Spielman and Zimmer did in the draft. If the offensive and defensive lines don’t quickly transform, this will be a long season. But hey, at least Justin Jefferson has 5 catches for 70 yards on the year.

Want more fire from Strom on the Vikings? Listen to what he had to say this morning on his podcast, Wake Up Minnesota! Follow him on Twitter.

Stephen Strom | Minnesota Sports Fan