Vikings Free Agent Coined a ‘Buy Low’ Asset
The Minnesota Vikings have 16 free agents who can sign anywhere in the NFL in two weeks:
- Kris Boyd (CB)
- Garrett Bradbury (C)
- Jonathan Bullard (DL)
- Andrew DePaola (LS)
- Ben Ellefson (TE)
- Bisi Johnson (WR)
- Greg Joseph (K)
- Alexander Mattison (RB)
- Nick Mullens (QB)
- Patrick Peterson (CB)
- Austin Schlottman (C)
- Duke Shelley (CB)
- Irv Smith (TE)
- Dalvin Tomlinson (DT)
- Chandon Sullivan (CB)
- Oli Udoh (OT)
It’s a safe bet to assume about half will stay and half will leave.
Vikings Free Agent Coined a ‘Buy Low’ Asset
And according to Pro Football Focus, one man meets the threshold as a “buy low” asset, with the potential to thrive in 2023 for whichever team signs on the dotted line. That’s Patrick Peterson.
Peterson was fantastic in 2022, truly turning the clock back about four years to his days with the Arizona Cardinals. He notched a 77.8 PFF grade in 2022, ranking 13th in the NFL among all cornerbacks.
PFF’s Gordon McGuinness tabbed Peterson as the NFL’s lone buy-low free agent at CB and explained, “Age means that Peterson is currently projected to land a one-year, $5 million contract in free agency. While a team would be gambling a little given that he is now 33 years old, this is also the player who ranked eighth among cornerbacks with a 79.7 PFF coverage grade and tied for second at the position with five interceptions this past season.”
While the 32-year-old can sign with any team on March 15th, Peterson seemed to hint at a return to Minnesota in 2023. He tweeted this on Super Bowl Sunday:
That trio of emojis, coupled with the full Vikings uniform, appears to imply he isn’t going anywhere. Otherwise, he probably could’ve selected from a slew of photos not wearing Vikings colors — or not tweeted at all. But we shall see.
McGuiness is correct about Peterson’s potential value because Peterson has already lived it — in 2022. He played on a one-year, $4 million deal last season, far exceeding the value of his contract. In fact, he — with a side dish of Duke Shelley — were season-savers for the Vikings defense.
PFF also recently mentioned the Cincinnati Bengals as a free-agent destination for Peterson and claimed he wouldn’t fit in the Vikings new defensive system, “With Brian Flores’s heavy man coverage scheme coming to town, it’s likely that the 33-year-old Peterson won’t fit in their plans.”
With or without Peterson, Minnesota must seek a cornerback solution this offseason, as only Andrew Booth, Cameron Dantzler, and Akayleb Evans are under contract in 2023. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must re-sign Peterson and Shelley, scour the open market for a new CB1, or explore the early round of the NFL draft for a corner.
Peterson said on his podcast All Things Covered in January about staying with the Vikings, “I would love to be there in that purple and gold again and give it a run again just because I love the community there. I love the organization. I love the new regime that [was] brought into that building, the trainers, the strength and conditioning staff. It’s just amazing. I truly believe it felt like home for me. I felt like it was a place that I belonged. But we all know it’s a business.”
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,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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