Veteran Free Agent Defender to Meet with Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings certainly don’t have a quantity problem at cornerback, but the club is apparently interested in becoming even deeper.
Veteran Free Agent Defender to Meet with Vikings
Veteran cornerback Jerry Jacobs is scheduled to meet with the Vikings this week, a 26-year-old formerly of the Detroit Lions.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted on Tuesday, “Free agent cornerback Jerry Jacobs is visiting the Falcons and the Vikings over the next few days, per source. Jacobs recorded 55 tackles, three interceptions and eight passes defended for Detroit last season.”
Jacobs was an undrafted commodity from the University of Arkansas, signing with the Lions in May of 2021. He’s played in 40 games during the last three seasons, starting 29, and produced a 96.5 passer-rating-against in 2023. Jacobs was placed on injured reserve in January and missed Detroit’s NFC Championship appearance versus the San Francisco 49ers, where it suffered the largest collapse in the history of Conference Championship games.
If his visit to the Twin Cities is parlayed into a contract, Jacobs would nestle into a deep cornerback room and probably vie for a CB3 or CB4 job. For now, these are Minnesota’s cornerbacks:
CB1: Byron Murphy
CB2: Akayleb Evans
CB3: Mekhi Blackmon
CB4: Shaquill Griffin
CB5: Andrew Booth
CB6: Khyree Jackson
CB7: NaJee Thompson
CB8: Jaylin Williams
CB9: Joejuan Williams
CB10: A.J. Green III
CB11: Dwight McGlothern
Murphy is close to the only “sure thing” to start in Brian Flores’ defense this season, as after Murphy, it’s a toss-up for the CB2 and CB3 jobs. Minnesota signed veteran Shaquill Griffin in March, another depth option and one who could possibly win a starter’s job.
In fact, the Vikings’ CB room has so many decent-but-not-great options that many fans wonder who will be the odd man (or men) out. The top seven on the list above could reasonably make the 53-man roster individually, but it is severely unlikely for Minnesota to keep more than five cornerbacks, especially for a franchise already about six men deep at safety.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has roster needs at WR3 and left guard, at least per fans’ perception, so working out another cornerback might cause some head scratches over the team’s priority. It’s evidently the more, the merrier.
Last season, Minnesota’s defense improved to 11th-best leaguewide per DVOA, a 13-spot jump from 2022 when it ranked 24th per the same metric. However, Flores’ defense placed 32nd in the business per completion percentage allowed, a stat that desperately needs repair this autumn.
Jacobs will turn 27 in September. Here’s his Pro Football Focus resume to date:
2021 = 65.8
2022 = 55.8
2023 = 57.1
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.
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