A Breeland Signing Would Make Sense for The Vikings
K. Joudry
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Yesterday, the news emerged that Super Bowl champion Bashaud Breeland was visiting the Minnesota Vikings, apparently due to a job opening at corner. What would he bring to our Vikings? Is the interest legit?
Purple FTW very rightly notes that perhaps Breeland is merely using the Vikings as leverage. It’s entirely possible that he doesn’t intend to join our friends in purple but to use this meeting to help him get a better deal with KC. I certainly can’t blame Breeland for this strategy (if it is actually his strategy). NFL careers are short, and I really can’t be critical of players – especially accomplished veterans – who are looking to ensure they’re financially set for the rest of their lives.
If there is interest, though, Breeland would be a good signing for Minnesota. We’ve long known that the Vikings weren’t done with their roster yet, especially after the Mike Hughes trade. The Vikings have cap space and it’s not like their roster is 100% airtight.
Everyone knows that Zimmer loves to build up corner depth. I’ve joked before about how Spielman resembles a squirrel preparing for the Minnesota winter by hiding nuts in that he similarly tries to stash draft picks. Well, Zim does the same with corners. Adding Breeland would give the Vikings really great depth at corner.
Last year, Breeland was PFF‘s 57th-ranked corner. He played 787 snaps out wide. He only played 21 in the slot and 56 in the box. In other words, Breeland should be considered an outside corner. Minnesota’s two starters along the outside will be Cameron Dantzler and Patrick Peterson, a reality that is unlikely to change unless there is an injury. If he signed, Breeland would be the primary backup along the outside. Mack Alexander will be the starter in the slot with Jeff Gladney looking like the main backup at that spot.
The last time Breeland ranked as a CB1 was back in 2015, an eternity ago in NFL time. Since then, he’s either ranked as a tier-2 or tier-3 corner. That shouldn’t necessarily discourage Vikings fans. At this stage in the offseason, there’s just no way to get a Darrelle Revis-style shutdown corner. Adding quality veteran depth who can be solid for cheap is a really good move for the team.
If the Minnesota Vikings do indeed sign Bashaud Breeland, it’ll likely be a one-year prove-it deal for relatively cheap. Breeland has never accounted for more than $3 million against the cap, a reality that is very unlikely to change with the Covid Cap. The interest from Minnesota, from what I can gather, would likely hover around $2 million. Alexander got less than a million from Minnesota. Factoring in the fact that outside corners get paid more but that we’re also pretty deep into the offseason, it would seem that $2ish million seems about right.
If things don’t work out with Breeland, expect Slick Rick to keep searching high and low for more talent to add to their roster. They’ve intentionally left themselves a pretty good amount of money, so we should anticipate at least a move or two.
Skol.
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