3 Free Agent Corners the Vikings Should Target This Offseason
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings defense wasn’t good in 2022, to say the least. They ranked among the bottom three teams in the NFL in terms of points allowed, yards allowed, and yards per play allowed. Many of their problems lay in the secondary with their pass defense, and now, they have only five cornerbacks on the roster heading into the offseason: Cam Dantzler, Andrew Booth, Akayleb Evans, Kalon Barnes, and Tay Gowan.
The Vikings have to fix not only the number of corners that they have, but they also need more talent and experience in their secondary for the 2023 season. With that in mind, here are 3 free agent corners that the Vikings should target during the offseason.
Sean Murphy-Bunting
Chandon Sullivan was signed last offseason to be the Vikings slot cornerback for the 2022 season, but he quickly became a liability for Minnesota’s secondary. Enter Sean Murphy-Bunting.
Over his first two seasons, Murphy-Bunting gradually became one of the best slot cornerbacks in the entire league. In fact, prior to the 2021 season, he was named the ninth-best slot defender in the league by The Touchdown Wire. This was largely due to strong playoff performances during the Buccaneers 2020 Super Bowl run where he gave up just 13 catches on 22 targets with 3 INTs and an opposing passer rating of 56.6
Over the past two years, Murphy-Bunting has struggled with injuries, but in 2022 he played 12 games and allowed a passer rating of 59.6 when targeted. With Tom Brady’s retirement, the veteran Buccaneers entering free agency may be less inclined to stick around for a rebuild. Murphy-Bunting should be a player on the Vikings radar this offseason.
Cameron Sutton
Cameron Sutton plays the outside cornerback spot, but the Vikings could certainly use some help there with all the inexperience in the room right now. Sutton will turn 28 years old during the 2022 season, but he’s coming off a very strong season (without having the benefit of T.J. Watt as a pass rusher for much of the season) for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
During 2022, he played 16 games, and he’s never played fewer than 15 games in a season since his rookie year, so health shouldn’t be a question. That should be a welcomed addition to a Minnesota secondary that had to turn to their practice squad with Duke Shelley. Luckily, Shelley played well, but he probably shouldn’t be relied upon as a starter next season.
Sutton should have at least a few years of strong play left in him. The Vikings probably wouldn’t sign him to a contract to a long-term contract like they may with Murphy-Bunting, but he is worth paying attention to as free agency approaches.
Byron Murphy
Byron Murphy has had a few ups and downs throughout his early NFL career, and now, his rookie contract with the Arizona Cardinals is at an end. That being said, his highs have been elite in the first four years of his career.
The inconsistency makes it tough to predict what exactly his value will be on the open market. However, even if his price rises, the Vikings drastically need to fix things on the defensive side of the ball. If they want to do that, they need to go get a big name in the secondary.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.