Vikings have “signaled” Harris available for trade for mid-to-late round pick
Joe Johnson
|
The one silver lining of the Red Wedding that the off-season has been thus far was that the moves that the Vikings made (letting Everson Griffen opt out of his deal, cutting Xavier Rhodes, David Morgan and Linval Joseph, trading Stefon Diggs and extending Cousins) opened up space for them to use a franchise tag on new star safety Anthony Harris.
Well, apparently the solace we found in that move was short lived as it’s being reported that according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday morning that the Vikings have signaled to teams that Harris could be had for a mid-to-late round draft pick. I will repeat (since some in the comments missed this), I’m basing this off of what Rapoport (and others) have mentioned as a possibility.
Like NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, who said:
“It turns out, the tag could just be a short-term placeholder to get the Vikings a modicum of return for losing the rising safety.”
A mid-to-LATE round pick?
Sure. Harris was an undrafted free agent and sure maybe dropping a franchise tag on a safety not named Harrison Smith for a team that is clearly in the midst of a rebuild may seem extravagant.
But a late round pick?
I guess it’s better than the nothing the team would’ve received had they done nothing (this year, as they would’ve most likely received a third-round compensatory pick in 2021 should Harris leave), but it’s still a late round pick for a player that was a major component of the 2019 defense and that could be even more important now that Rhodes is gone and there’s no guarantee that they will be able to keep corners Trae Waynes or Mackenzie Alexander.
Actually, considering that we’ve yet to hear anything about either corner, it’s probably safe to presume they will both hit the door tomorrow when free agency starts.
That is, unless the team can move Harris, which would open up the cap space needed to keep either or both. Considering the fact that we are at the 25th hour for those deals, hopefully the Vikings can find a team willing to part with a sixth or seventh round pick for a player that could be a major component of their defense for years to come.
Sigh.
We had a goo… Mediocre run.