Questions Answered: Top Trade Target, Bold Prediction at GB, the Vikings’ Weakness
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the September 27th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Top Trade Target, Bold Prediction at GB, the Vikings’ Weakness
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: If the Vikings are buyers at the trade deadline, who will they pursue?
Answer: Probably an improvement at defensive tackle — like Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans (if he’s for sale).
Teams with lowly records at the deadline may look to offload players, especially ones in contract years, and yes, this version of Vikings could be buyers, thanks to a 3-0 start.
While Simmons’ contract doesn’t run out for a few years in Tennessee, his guaranteed money dries up after 2025. The Titans would have to absorb $14 million or so dead money in 2025 and beyond if they traded Simmons this season, however.
Otherwise, Minnesota’s roster is pretty sweet right now. Interior defensive line or cornerback are the only spots that really make sense. In theory, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could also get insanely rich at wide receiver and explore a trade for Courtland Sutton or DeAndre Hopkins.
Q: What’s your boldest prediction for the Vikings’ game at Lambeau?
A: A game-winning field goal by Will Reichard.
Oddsmakers believe the Packers will take care of the Vikings by two or three points, and we’ll pick the opposite. We’ll go with Minnesota by a score of 23-20, with Reichard, a rookie, drilling the game-winning field goal.
It would be a terrific way to acclimate him to the rivalry.
Q: Does this team really even have any weaknesses?
Answer: You have to be pretty damn nitpicky to find one.
The interior pass protection can improve — so, Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury — and Minnesota doesn’t have the most glorious interior defensive line, either. Harrison Phillips is fantastic, but better DTs exist in the NFL than Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard.
Still, those criticisms are a reach. Until losses flood the stat sheets, the Vikings don’t really have grievance-worthy weaknesses. And when injuries have hit so far this season, they just don’t matter. The “next man up” is in full effect for the 2024 team.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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