Vikings Pull off Late-Night Trade with Bill Belichick
The Minnesota Vikings and 31 NFL teams have until 3:00 pm CST on August 29th to trim rosters by 37 players, finalizing 53-man depth charts for the start of the regular season.
Vikings Pull off Late-Night Trade with Bill Belichick
And on Sunday night, Minnesota took one step closer to a finished-product roster, reportedly trading offensive tackle Vederian Lowe to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 6th-Round draft pick.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweeted, “Trade: Vikings are trading OL Vederian Lowe to the Patriots, per source. Lowe was a 6th-round pick last year by Minnesota.”
Most Vikings fans expected Lowe to make the team’s 2023 roster as a reservist offensive tackle, but he perhaps now has a shot at more playing time in Bill Belichick’s world.
The Vikings received the aforementioned 6th-Round draft pick for Lowe, according to reports, which was Lowe’s pricetag in the 2022 NFL Draft as the first offensive lineman drafted during the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era. Lowe also becomes the first Adofo-Mensah draft pick to depart the team. All other draft picks from 2022 and 2023 remain with the club as of August 27th.
Lowe played in four Vikings games in 2022, tabulating 33 offensive snaps and experiencing action on 20 special teams plays. The 6’6″ 320-pounder saw playing time against the Lions, Colts, Giants, and Bears to round out the season.
The Illinois alumnus joins this OT group in New England:
- Trent Brown
- Riley Reiff
- Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
- Conor McDermott
- Calvin Anderson
- Andrew Stuber
Trading Lowe to the Patriots all but guarantees a roster spot for veteran Oli Udoh, who some Vikings-themed analysts tossed on the roster bubble — despite his 76.8 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus last year. The Vikings will also likely keep a lesser-known offensive tackle for the active roster, like Christian DiLauro.
Minnesota could also get splashy and sign offensive guard Dalton Risner, slide Blake Brandel back to tackle, and seamlessly “recover” from the Lowe trade, although that theory is merely speculative. The Vikings met with Risner for a free-agent visit four weeks ago.
Here’s the Vikings OT unit sans Lowe:
- Christian Darrisaw
- Brian O’Neill
- Oli Udoh
- Christian DiLauro
And this is the Vikings current draft pick allotment for 2024:
- 1st-Round Pick
- 2nd-Round Pick
- 4th-Round Pick
- 4th-Round Pick (from DET)
- 5th-Round Pick (from KC)
- 5th-Round Pick (from CLE)
- 6th-Round Pick
- 6th-Round Pick (from NE)
Lowe told The Bleav in Vikings show last year he cheered for the Patriots as a kid.
He turned 24 in April.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead, and all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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