4 Vikings Players Who Could Be Traded
NFL free agency hits week No. 4, and most of the Minnesota Vikings’ transformative pre-draft roster building is complete.
But a handful of players could still be on the move via trade, especially because the Vikings are expected to make at least one more substantial move for a quarterback before or during the draft.
4 Vikings Players Who Could Be Traded
Ranked in ascending order of probability (No. 1 = most likely to be traded), these are four Vikings players who could still be dealt elsewhere.
4. Nick Mullens (QB)
Listen, the Vikings will probably draft a rookie quarterback in 25 days, showcasing this quarterback depth chart heading into May:
- Sam Darnold
- Unnamed Rookie QB
- Nick Mullens
- Jaren Hall
One man would be the odd man out in that scenario, meaning Mullens could be shipped to a new team for the popular conditional 7th-Round pick trade.
3. Brian O’Neill (RT)
There’s a small chance that a team like the New England Patriots — that needs a franchise offensive tackle — requires the Vikings to add O’Neill onto a trade up the draft board. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wouldn’t electively trade O’Neill, but if he’s the last item preventing a splashy trade for a quarterback, he might be the sacrificial lamb.
Meanwhile, Minnesota would eat more dead cap via an O’Neill trade — to the tune of $19 million.
2. Andrew Booth (CB)
Showing up in 2024 for his third season in 2024, Booth is either here awaiting a breakout season or status as one of the most blah Vikings draft picks in recent memory. To be determined.
Booth fired up a decent 68.6 Pro Football Focus grade in 2023, playing about 100 coverage snaps. The man actually looked good when on the field; he just didn’t see the field consistently as a starter. He has youth on his side, and this summer + fall will determine if Booth has staying power in Minnesota. It could go either way.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has five playable cornerbacks on the roster — Byron Murphy, Shaquill Griffin, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, and Booth — so Booth could be tradebait later this offseason if the other four stand out in the summer. Of course, the Vikings wouldn’t fetch much for Booth — probably a 6th-Round pick or so.
1. Lewis Cine (S)
Cine broke his leg 18 months ago, fully recovered last spring and summer, and then couldn’t win a starter’s job in 2023. In fact, Cine played eight defensive snaps in his second season — all garbage time against the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. He was not a factor — at all — for the 2023 Vikings.
Of course, Minnesota has safeties galore between Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, Camryn Bynum, Jay Ward, and Theo Jackson. In that vein, Cine isn’t really needed. But as a 1st-Rounder, the man should play some of the time.
Folks will figure out this summer and early in the 2024 regular season if Cine is truly a bust or just a late bloomer who broke his leg. The endgame could be a trade, probably for a late-round draft pick.
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; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.