Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is officially set to make his Vikings debut against the Bills on Monday night.
Word that the Vikings would sign Beckham to their 53-man roster surfaced on Sunday and the team announced the move on Monday afternoon. Beckham has been on the practice squad for the last couple of weeks and was elevated to the active roster once without appearing in a game.
Beckham played in three games for the Giants in September, but was released after going without a catch in those appearances. He did not play in 2025, so he’ll be looking for his first regular season catch since he was with the Dolphins in Week 14 of the 2024 season.
The Vikings placed running back Demond Claiborne on injured reserve in a corresponding move. They also elevated safety Tavierre Thomas from the practice squad.
Vikings Clips
The Bills and Vikings have identical 0-4 records in the Super Bowl. They enter Monday night’s game with identical 6-1 records.
And the stakes are very high for both teams.
For Buffalo, which hopes to force the January road to SoFi Stadium through the open-air new venue in Western New York, it’s important to maintain distance between the 6-2 Jaguars and 7-2 Broncos. (The division is looking like the Bills’ to lose, with the Patriots now at 5-4.)
For Minnesota, their status as the last unbeaten team in the NFL could dissolve to being the last team out of the NFC playoff picture.
The NFC North, which now has a 20-3 record outside the division, has the Vikings at 6-1, the Bears at 7-2, the Lions are 6-2, and the Packers at 6-3. (Combined, they’ve lost as many games as the 0-8 Chargers.)
Last week, when the Vikings picked up their first loss of the season, the Lions, Bears, and Packers won. This week, the Lions, Bears, and Packers have won. A loss by the Vikings would conclude a two-week window in which the Vikings are 0-2, and the rest of the division is 6-0.
It gets worse. The 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams each won on Sunday. In the end, five playoff berths will go to the four teams of the NFC North and top three teams of the NFC West.
Two of those teams will be left out. And, frankly, the Vikings seem destined to be one of them.
Even with a 6-2 record, if they lose to the Bills. Because even though the defense is good enough to win a Super Bowl, the offense isn’t good enough to win a playoff game. It could be just bad enough to keep the team from making the playoffs.
It was one thing for the Vikings’ defense to not gripe when the end result of each game was victory. If the second game of a four-week gauntlet doesn’t go Minnesota’s way (the Packers and 49ers are up next), things could get even more awkward in the locker room.
The problem is that, despite plenty of speculation and chatter, the Vikings don’t seem to be inclined to pull the cord on the emergency option of trading for Daniel Jones or Kirk Cousins. The organization’s chronic “just good enough is just good enough” vibe remains palpable.
Which means it all comes down to Carson Wentz against the Bills.
Could Minnesota win? When Buffalo last visited Minnesota in 2018, the Vikings entered the game as 17-point favorites. The Bills, fueled by then-rookie quarterback Josh Allen throwing for 196 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 39 yards and two touchdowns (including a hurdle over linebacker Anthony Barr), won the game easily, 27-6. (Last week, Allen said the leap over a linebacker was the moment he realized “I do belong here.”)
Four years ago, the Bills were favored by 6.5 points over the Vikings. Minnesota won a crazy game in overtime, 33-30, with Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson making the catch of the century on a fourth-down, game-on-the-line play.
Tonight, in many respects, the season is on the line for the Vikings. Especially if they won’t be trying to upgrade the most important position on the team, which in recent weeks has been the weakest on the roster.
With a switch from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to rookie Fernando Mendoza seemingly inevitable, the question becomes whether the Raiders will explore trading Cousins to a quarterback-needy contender.
At the top of the list, obviously, would be the Vikings, where Cousins played from 2018 through 2023.
The Raiders have pushed the implausible idea that they “had not received any trade inquiries” regarding Cousins entering this weekend. This time of year, the inquiries are rampant. Everyone is poking and prodding in an effort to see who’s available and what it would take to get them.
It would be malpractice not to make the call. For all anyone knows, the Raiders wouldn’t want much for him. There’s only one way to find out.
The Raiders also are putting out the word that they aren’t interested in trading him. Beyond the fact that there’s no reason to have interest if no one has called, it feels like an effort by the Raiders to operate from a position of strength.
Surely, there’s an offer for Cousins that they wouldn’t reject. By acting coy about possibly trading Cousins, the Raiders’ obvious goal is to make it known that it won’t be cheap.
If they’ll be pivoting to Mendoza in any event, why not trade Cousins? They have Aidan O’Connell, who has 17 career starts, to serve as the understudy to Mendoza.
That doesn’t mean anyone will make the Raiders an offer they’d accept. But it would be lunacy for a team like the Vikings, who have a Super Bowl-ready defense, to not at least inquire.
Chances are they already have. And, if they haven’t, chances are they will before Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Especially after getting thumped on Sunday in their return to the Bay Area.
The Packers rolled to a 45-27 win in New England on Sunday, but running back Josh Jacobs wasn’t around for much of the game.
Jacobs left the game in the first quarter after getting hurt while delivering a stiff-arm to the helmet of a Patriot defender during a run. Jacobs did not return and head coach Matt LaFleur called it a “tough loss” while giving an update on his condition after the game.
“He fractured a finger,” LaFleur said, via a transcript from the Patriots. “Hopefully we can do something to allow him to go out there, but he was just having a hard time gripping the ball.”
Kaleb Johnson led the team with 14 carries for 68 yards and Pierre Strong chipped in with 22 yards on eight carries.
The trade chatter regarding Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has lasted for two weeks. It will last at least two more days.
The current belief in league circles is that the Colts will take the best offer that’s on the table as the deadline approaches at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Sure, the Colts would like to get as much as they can, ideally landing the same package the Panthers got from the 49ers for running back Christian McCaffrey. But the Colts are likely to take what they can get, with the market for Taylor set by the competition among the teams that make an offer.
Regardless, the 2-7 Colts are ready to sell. At this point, they should be ready to move anyone — and everyone. They’re hoping to stockpile draft picks for the next General Manager. The more picks that compile, the more attractive the job becomes.
So whether it’s the teams that have been linked to Taylor (Giants, Vikings, Seahawks, Broncos, Packers) or someone unexpected (like the 49ers), a trade is expected to happen before the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10.
It looks like Odell Beckham Jr. will be making his Vikings debut against the Bills on Monday night.
Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports that the Vikings will sign Beckham to their 53-man roster ahead of the game. Beckham signed to the practice squad in Minnesota a month ago and was elevated to the active roster once without appearing in a game.
Beckham opened the season with the Giants and played in all three of their September games. Beckham saw action on 70 offensive snaps, but was only targeted with one pass and did not make a catch.
The Vikings will not have Jauan Jennings on Monday night due to a calf injury, so there should be a chance for Beckham to be involved in the team’s passing game. That passing game will be led by quarterback Carson Wentz as Kyler Murray will not play due to a hamstring injury.
At a time when the Colts are undoubtedly considering an exit strategy from the balance of the Daniel Jones contract, Jones has a clear incentive to be traded to a playoff contender.
The incentive comes directly from his incentive package.
Jones’s two-year, $88 million deal has plenty of sweeteners for 2026. And most of them are tied to making it to the playoffs, and winning games once he gets there.
He’s on track to earn up to $550,000 by racking up 90 percent offensive playing time for the season. Through eight games, he has taken 98 percent of the snaps. (Specifically, the term gives him $100,000 for 50 percent, $200,000 for 60 percent, $300,000 for 70 percent, $400,000 for 80 percent, or $550,000 for 90 percent.)
Jones also gets an extra $100,000 for each win in which he plays more than 50 percent of the snaps. To date, he has added $200,000 of a potential $800,000.
If his team wins 10 or more games and he participates in 75 percent of the offensive snaps, Jones gets another $250,000. With 75-percent playing time and a playoff berth, he gets another $250,000. With 75-percent playing time and a division title, he gets another $250,000.
Then comes the package for postseason success, with up to $2.5 million available. With 50-percent playing time and a win in the wild-card round, he gets $500,000. With 50-percent and a win in the divisional round, he gets another $500,000. With 50-percent playing time and a win in the conference championship, he gets another $500,000. With 50-percent playing time and a win in the Super Bowl, he gets another $1 million.
So, yes, Jones has plenty of reasons to want to be moved from a non-contender to a contender.
And the Colts have plenty of reasons to want to get him off the roster. He has a $10.51 million injury guarantee for 2027. At some point, the Colts could be tempted to put him in bubble wrap, like the Giants did to him in 2024.
At that point, Jones would surely repeat his request from two years ago to be released. Because, however, the trade deadline will have passed, he’d be subject to waivers.
The best outcome for the Colts (who can walk away from the Jones contract before the guarantees vest in March 2027) would be to get value for Jones now. The best outcome for Jones would be to land on a team with which he’s better situated to unlock several million in incentives.
And the best destination — barring a serious injury to a contender’s starting quarterback on Sunday — continues to be the Vikings.
Before Week 8, the Vikings had been linked to Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. After Week 8, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones became a potentially more attractive target for the Vikings.
With the trade deadline less than three days away, why not both?
The performance of quarterback Kyler Murray in the 19-15 loss to the Lions made the passing game a front-burner issue for the Vikings. But the running game remains not good enough.
In Detroit, running back Jordan Mason had eight carries for 20 yards. Running back Aaron Jones had five carries for 22 yards.
A package deal could allow the Colts to get the first-round pick they won’t get by trading Taylor alone. And perhaps the Colts could get another pick or two, perhaps contingent on the playing time and/or performance of either or both players.
Regardless, with Minnesota previously linked to Taylor and currently linked to Jones, the Colts trading both to the same team could get Indianapolis something they won’t get by trading Taylor and Jones to two different teams — a first-round pick.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings has not played a major role in the Vikings offense through the first eight weeks of the season, but he wasn’t interested in switching teams when the possibility presented itself last month.
The 49ers and Vikings discussed a trade that would send Jennings back to the team he played for during his first five NFL seasons and talks progressed to the point that Jennings spoke to his former coach Kyle Shanahan about a return. Jennings expressed a desire to stay with the Vikings and gave a succinct reason for his decision when asked about it on Saturday,
“I just thought it was best for both teams,” Jennings said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “No distractions. I love where I’m at.”
Jennings only has six catches on 10 targets this season, but he expressed no issues with his spot in the Vikings’ offense.
“I’m not the coach, so I don’t call the plays,” Jennings said. “I’m a player, so I just play the game. I feel like anybody who watches football, who watches sports in general, kind of understands what comes with it.”
Jennings won’t be improving on his production Monday night as the Vikings ruled him out with a calf injury. That could open the door for Odell Beckham Jr. to make his Vikings debut.
Dion Dawkins didn’t practice at all this week, but the Bills aren’t counting him out for Monday night’s game against the Vikings.
Dawkins has been listed as questionable to play. A rib injury is the reason that Dawkins is at risk of missing a game for the first time this season.
The Bills ruled out wide receiver Joshua Palmer after he missed practice all week with a hamstring injury.
Offensive lineman Alec Anderson (ankle), defensive lineman Greg Gaines (calf), defensive back Jordan Hancock (hamstring), and wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (knee) are listed as questionable. Hancock and Shavers would need to be activated from injured reserve and the physically unable to perform list in order to play on Monday.
