Minnesota Vikings cornerback Shaquill Griffin (1) runs back an interception against the Green Bay Packers during their football game Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings have a 6-2 record through eight games, sitting in second place inside the NFC North. If the postseason started today, Minnesota would travel to Arizona for a date with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
And on Tuesday, the NFL’s trade deadline came and went without another deal from the Vikings. The club acquired running back Cam Akers and left tackle Cam Robinson in the last three weeks, but that was it for trades.
And four winners became apparent after the trade deadline. These are those, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = primary loser).
Several wide receivers bounced around leading up to the trade deadline, including DeAndre Hopkins (TEN —> KC), Diontae Johnson (CAR —> BAL), and Jonathan Mingo (CAR —> DAL), among others.
In theory, Minnesota could’ve been in the sweepstakes for a WR3 upgrade, perhaps onboarding a player with a more trustworthy resume than Jalen Nailor, especially given his injury history. But it held firm, evidently insistent that Nailor will stay healthy.
It also helps that T.J. Hockenson is back, the team’s de facto WR3 per target load.
Players like Marshon Lattimore and Greg Newsome II twisted in Minnesota’s rumor mill for a few weeks and had general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pressed the button on either man, he likely would’ve taken Griffin’s job or at least nibbled at his defensive snaps.
However, the Vikings added no new corners via trade. When the 2025 offseason arrives, get ready for cornerback to become a foremost need, as the current group consists of veteran free agents [on expiring contracts] and no youthful options.
In April, Minnesota will either draft a defensive tackle or cornerback in Round 1. Book it.
Some wanted the purple team to trade its 1st-Round pick for an impact player like Dexter Lawrence on Tuesday. The only problem was that Lawrence wasn’t for sale.
Minnesota fought tooth and nail to keep the 2025 1st-Rounder amid the 2024 draft process and achieved that. There might’ve been a temptation to sell the asset on Tuesday for a proven asset, but the 1st-Round remained in the piggybank and will be used to bolster the J.J. McCarthy era, which is right around the bend.
Interior defensive line is a weakness for Minnesota. It stops the run efficiently but doesn’t create a pass rush like other Super Bowl-contending teams.
So, onlookers believed the Vikings could possibly finagle a trade for a DT like Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons. That simply didn’t happen.
Simmons, for example, would’ve immediately taken Jerry Tillery’s spot in the starting lineup. Yet, for the rest of the way in 2024, Harrison Phillips and Tillery will handle DT duties on Sundays.
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.