NFL Rumors: Latest Trade and Coaching Reports Following Week 18

The NFL offseason is officially on for the 18 teams that didn't earn a playoff invite.

Based on the volume of rumor-mill rumblings we're already seeing, some of these front offices have been operating in offseason mode for a while now.

From coaching chatter to trade talk, we're dissecting some of the biggest discussions going in the football world.

While this wasn't a great season overall for the Cincinnati Bengals, it was yet another incredible one for the three-headed monster that is Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Burrow led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, Chase was the high man in receiving yards and touchdown catches and Higgins tied for the sixth-most touchdown receptions despite missing five contests.

This was truly magical stuff from the passing game, but will Bengals fans ever see it again? That's hard to say with Higgins headed for free agency and Chase owed a colossal new contract sooner than later, but they reportedly hope they can all stay together.

"Sources say the three have discussed playing together again for years to come," NFL Network's Ian Rappoport reported. "It's their goal, and privately they have made no secret about it."

Keeping this trio intact would cost a fortune, but it's also arguably worth a fortune. Yes, the Bengals have holes to fill elsewhere, but their passing game is what gives them a chance to be special. When Higgins suited up this season, Cincinnati went 8-4, and all four losses were single-score games against playoff times.

Last offseason, the Vikings plotted a new direction at the quarterback position, letting Kirk Cousins walk in free agency and spending the No. 10 pick on J.J. McCarthy. They also bought McCarthy a bit of developmental time by signing Sam Darnold to a one-year deal.

The path forward seemed simple, but Darnold's emergence potentially changed everything. He hit career marks across the board and quarterbacked Minnesota to its second-most wins in franchise history. He's also headed for free agency, and if the Vikings shell out whatever is needed to keep him, it's fair to wonder whether that would make them rethink their commitment to McCarthy.

Quarterback-needy teams will "100 percent" be calling Minnesota about McCarthy, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That said, there is "no reason" for the Vikings to consider trading McCarthy, "a young player that they really like," per NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.

Perhaps there's the proverbial Godfather offer that would make Minnesota think twice, but it feels like the franchise needs more data before doing anything dramatic. Can Darnold be more than a one-year wonder? How will McCarthy look after his would-be rookie season wiped out by a torn meniscus? If the Vikings can reach a short-term agreement with Darnold or just keep him on the franchise tag, that could buy them the time needed to make a better evaluation of their quarterback crop.

The Vikings' wildly successful season resonated all across the football season. In fact, folks are hoping the architect of that success, head coach Kevin O'Connell, might actually be able to be pried away.

"There are multiple teams that actually are considering trying to trade for Kevin O'Connell," Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported. "And the reason why, next year, the last year of his deal, they've had no contract talks yet at all."

The Athletic's Mike Sando expanded on some of the reasoning teams believe O'Connell could be obtainable, including "that O'Connell deserves outsized credit for the team's success," that the coach could be "in a great position to seek additional power under teams of any new deal" and that the Vikings may not offer "the kind of power and/or the type of money O'Connell might command elsewhere."

The tea leaves are admittedly interesting, but this only really becomes a story if O'Connell or the Vikings make it one. For now, a Vikings source told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, "We love Kevin and there will be no trade."