Image courtesy of Vikings.com
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Minnesota Vikings are shopping cornerback Trae Waynes. La Confora wrote the following in his article titled “NFL combine: Translating GM comments on Odell Beckham, Eli Manning, Nick Foles, Josh Rosen, Derek Carr and more.”
(A brief aside on other players available ahead of the league year. League sources said the Vikings are shopping corner Trae Waynes, the Bears are shopping running back Jordan Howard, the Chiefs are talking trade on Justin Houston and the Eagles are open to moving Nelson Agholor).
So while much of the article is La Canfora’s attempt at translating general manager and coach speak, this section appears to have some teeth.
There has been talk of the Vikings trading from a position of strength, but Waynes’ name has not been mentioned near as much as fellow cornerback Xavier Rhodes. And while there has been little talk of Waynes in the trade market, he would likely have more trade value than his counterpart due to his youth and potential.
Waynes, 26, had the highest Pro Football Focus grade (69.1) among Minnesota cornerbacks in 2018. The 11th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft had his 5th-year option picked up by the Vikings last offseason. He is due to make $9.069 million in 2019. He can be traded or cut (as a pre-June 1st designation) with zero dead money.
With the Vikings cornerback depth made up of Rhodes, Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, the team is in good shape in the present and the future. Trading Waynes, who will be due a large contract after the season, may bring back the largest return.