3 Reactions to the Minnesota Vikings Trade for Cam Robinson
On Tuesday night, the Minnesota Vikings decided to swing a trade to bring in extra offensive line help.
After losing Christian Darrisaw for the season last Thursday night, the Vikings decided to bring in Cam Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars presumably to take over the starting left tackle role.
With that trade now settling into place, here are a few quick reactions to this trade to bring in a new offensive lineman.
1. A Great Deal for a Quality Player
In the end, the Vikings are sending a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick that can turn into a fourth-rounder. In return, Minnesota receives Robinson as well as a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick.
Throughout Robinson’s career, he has been one of the better pass protecting left tackles in the NFL, and the former second-round pick has oodles of starting experience having started all 91 games he has started in. This season, Robinson’s overall PFF grade, pass blocking PFF grade, and run blocking PFF grade all rank among the top-40 offensive tackles this season (min. 200 snaps).
2. The Vikings Don’t Trust Dalton Risner
When Darrisaw went down with his injury, of course the Vikings decided to toss David Quessenberry into the starting lineup. Quessenberry struggled though, and it simply did not work on Thursday night.
Many thought that the Vikings could simply kick Blake Brandel out to his original position of tackle, particularly with Dalton Risner coming back from injury. After all, Brandel had played his entire collegiate career and the first three seasons of his NFL career at the tackle position while Risner has had plenty of success starting at left guard.
Even still, the Vikings decided to make this trade to bring in a stalwart left tackle to take over the starting duties. It seems that with Risner taking an entire offseason to sign a contract for a second season while also coming off an injury may show that the Vikings don’t ultimately trust him at times.
3. Salary Cap Maneuvering to Be Done
More than likely, this isn’t the only move for the Minnesota Vikings over the final week before the trade deadline arrives. Coming into the season, Cam Robinson had a base salary of $16.25 million. According to Over the Cap, the Vikings only had $9.4 million in cap space before making that trade.
Of course, there is a chance that the Jaguars will pay at least a portion of Robinson’s remaining contract, but it would seem that the Vikings are still going to be making a move or two in order to not only create a roster spot for Robinson, but to also give themselves a bit more wiggle room in the salary cap department.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Over the Cap and Pro Football Focus.
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