Vikings Reportedly Targeting 2 Positions via Trade
The NFL’s trade deadline is mere hours away, with 13 deals leaguewide already transpiring this season at the time of this article’s publication.
Vikings Reportedly Targeting 2 Positions via Trade
The Minnesota Vikings have a fancy 6-2 record through nine weeks, an unforeseen standing as most sportsbooks and pundits believed the purple team would win about six or seven games altogether in 2024. They’ve won six … four weeks before Thanksgiving.
And according to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, the Vikings could still be buyers at the deadline, already swinging trades for offensive players, Cam Akers (RB) and Cam Robinson (LT). “The Vikings continue to make all sorts of calls trying upgrade the interior of their defensive line and looking at a cornerback,” Wolfson said on SKOR North airwaves Tuesday.
Here’s the state of play at iDL and CB.
Interior Defensive Line
Minnesota currently employs these interior defensive linemen:
- Harrison Phillips
- Jerry Tillery
- Jonathan Bullard
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Taki Taimani (IR)
That group is underwhelming in NFL terms, assuredly lacking at least one starting-caliber force in the guts of the defensive line. Accordingly, Vikings fans haven’t been shy about trade rumors involving Dexter Lawrence (New York Giants) and Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans).
It’s just unlikely for the Giants or Titans to offload either player, at least according to the rumor mill.
So, that leaves more realistic trade targets. These are such players:
- Adam Butler (Las Vegas Raiders)
- Sebastian Joseph-Day (Tennessee Titans)
- Dalvin Tomlinson (Cleveland Browns)
- Calais Campbell (Miami Dolphins)
It’s also worth noting that the Browns recently cut DT Quinton Jefferson on Tuesday, and he’ll latch on somewhere before too long. Whether that’s the Vikings is unclear because he does not represent a significant upgrade to Jerry Tillery, for example.
Cornerback
Minnesota’s CB group:
- Stephon Gilmore
- Byron Murphy
- Shaquill Griffin
- Akayleb Evans
- Fabian Moreau
- Dwight McGlothern
The Vikings have encountered supreme struggles drafting cornerbacks since the days of Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes and now employ seasoned veteran corners — who are probably due for an injury or two.
Therefore, according to Wolfson, Minnesota might be CB shopping at the deadline. The market could look like this via trade:
- Greg Newsome II (Cleveland Browns)
- Marshon Lattimore (New Orleans Saints)
- Emmanuel Forbes (Washington Commanders)
- Jonathan Jones (New England Patriots)
Free-agent corners are available, as well, although none are quite as glamorous as Lattimore or Newsome. Former Vikings defender Patrick Peterson recently said he’d welcome a reunion with the purple team.
Vikings boss Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could also sell a few assets in the next few hours, perhaps LB Brian Asamoah, OLB Patrick Jones II, or CB Akayleb Evans.
The trade deadline is Tuesday, Election Day, at 3:00 p.m. CST.
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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 Vikings 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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