Vikings Lose Compensatory Draft Pick After Cardinals Release Bradford

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

The Arizona Cardinals signed former Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason. After starting the first three games of the year and leading his team to an 0-3 record (throwing 2 TD’s and 4 INT’s), Bradford lost the job and it was handed to rookie Josh Rosen. Rather than collecting all that money while riding the pine, Arizona officially released Bradford today.

You wouldn’t think that an event such as the Cardinals releasing quarterback Sam Bradford would have any impact on the current Minnesota Vikings. Well, think again. As a result of Bradford’s release, the team lost what was supposed to be a high-round compensatory draft pick.

According to Mike Sando of ESPN, because Bradford was released before Week 10 the Cardinals will gain a projected 6th-round pick and the Vikings will lose a projected 3rd-round pick.

Compensatory picks are rewarded to teams that lose more or better free agents than they acquire. The method of determining which teams receive picks depends on multiple factors, including but not limited to the following:

  • How many notable free agents a team signs in the offseason
  • The contract value of a team’s departing free agent(s)
  • The amount of games played for each player on their new team
  • Player performance including postseason honors
  • As an example, Washington will receive a 3rd-round comp pick for losing Kirk Cousins

With the loss of the compensatory pick, the Vikings are now slated to received the following selections in the 2019 NFL Draft, according to OverTheCap.com’s compensatory draft pick chart:

  • 1st-round pick
  • 2nd-round pick
  • 3rd-round pick
  • 3rd-round compensatory pick (lost with Sam Bradford release)
  • 4th-round pick
  • 5th-round pick (exchanged in the Trevor Siemian trade)
  • 6th-round pick
  • 6th-round compensatory pick (gained by losing QB Teddy Bridgewater)
  • 7th-round pick (exchanged in the Brett Jones trade)
  • 7th-round compensatory pick (gained by losing CB Tramaine Brock)
  • 7th-round compensatory pick (gained by losing DT Shamar Stephen)

Due to Bradford’s release the Vikings now sit with eight projected draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft instead of nine. While the news may not have an immediate effect on the team today, it’s a pretty significant loss considering the pick was supposed to be a third-rounder.

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