Why the Vikings Must Re-Sign Duke Shelley
Dustin Baker
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The 2022 Minnesota Vikings featured standout and unforeseen performances from players like Khyiris Tonga, Brian Asamoah, a little bit of Jalen Nailor, and to a degree, Oli Udoh.
But no player embodied “where did this guy from?” quite like cornerback Duke Shelley — or the NFL’s fourth-best CB in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus.
Why the Vikings Must Re-Sign Duke Shelley
Now, though, Shelley is a free agent and isn’t guaranteed to return with the Vikings in 2023. In fact, he can sign wherever he wants in about three weeks. If the Vikings have a say, however — they should — the franchise should re-sign the young corner, and here’s why.
Affordability
There’s an advantage to a player popping up from the shadows and thriving — nobody really knows who he is. And that translates to affordability. Because Shelley wasn’t coveted coming out of college — and then the Chicago Bears mismanaged his skillset — he doesn’t have name recognition.
Money should not be a substantial hurdle in re-signing Shelley. In fact, regarding “bang for your buck,” Shelley should be the posterchild this offseason for low-risk, high-return.
The Vikings already saw Shelley excel in a prolonged single-season sample. Now, the Vikings or another team will ask him to replicate it in 2022 but won’t hand out a fat contract until he proves sustainability.
Minnesota needs affordable assets with its current salary cap crunch. Shelly is an affordable asset.
Perhaps Not ‘Lightning in a Bottle’
Listen, Shelley may have produced Keenumish lightning in a bottle last season. You shouldn’t be surprised one iota if you pull up Pro Football Focus next November and find Shelley graded at a 55.0 or so. This happens.
But what if he wasn’t lightning in a bottle? Somebody‘s about to get a verdict. Why not the Vikings, the team that gave him a true-blue starting audition?
The Bears wanted to use Shelley as a slot cornerback, probably because of his physical stature. That just wasn’t his game. Minnesota used him on the outside — and boom — he turned in Top 5 cornerback, at least for a season.
Shelley deserves a second act, if only to prove he wasn’t a one-hit-wonder.
The One That Got Away
Suppose the Vikings merely tell themselves, “This guy overachieved. It ain’t happening again.”
Well, he’ll then venture elsewhere and toss the same chip on his shoulder from last season. Do the Vikings or the team’s fans want to see Shelley join another team and rank near the top of the league when they could’ve had him back for cheap? Yes, this is jealousy stuff.
Do you know how you feel when you see Daniel Carlson drilling kick after kick for the Las Vegas Raiders? That will happen with Shelley if he treks to a different team and prospers.
It should be a straightforward task to re-sign Shelley, and the Vikings — a team weak at cornerback entering the offseason — ought to fire up the sequel.
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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