PFF Sends 1 Top FA to the Vikings, MN Says Goodbye to Tomlinson & P2
K. Joudry
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As I’ve mentioned before, Brad Spielberger is one of the foremost analysts when it comes to free agent evaluations. He does a nice job of offering digestible information to describe a player while putting forth plausible contract projections. Recently, he built off his Top 100 list by partnering 1 FA to the Vikings in his “Landing spots for PFF’s top 50 free agents” (a piece he co-authors with Arjun Menon).
The 1 FA to the Vikings
Unsurprisingly, the Vikings don’t get too much love in the article. After all, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is in the unenviable position of needing to clear nearly $25 million off the books just to get back to even par. It’s a fair amount of money, especially when we remember that much more will need to be cleared in order to sign new talent.
Nevertheless, there is a specific player mentioned as a great fit for Minnesota: 28-year-old corner Cameron Sutton, who has spent his career with the Steelers. He comes in at 23rd in the PFF free agency rankings.
Take a look at the description of Sutton:
The Vikings really need to improve their secondary this offseason, and given that Brian Flores is their new defensive coordinator, they could target players familiar with his scheme, such as Sutton. While Flores didn’t work directly with Sutton in his lone year on the Steelers coaching staff, the overlap should help Sutton acclimate. Additionally, Sutton offers inside-outside flexibility, as he played most of his snaps at slot corner prior to 2021 and has now spent the last two years as the Steelers’ top cover corner on the outside.
Not too long ago, I published a Top 25 list for the Vikings and the upcoming free agents. Sutton took the top spot. Sometimes, the obvious answer is the right answer. He even came up in a PurplePTSD Vikings FA Fits piece.
The corner fills a position of need and still has some youth. He’s unlikely to cost as much as James Bradberry or Jamel Dean. He has the Flores connection and he has a history of strong play. Heck, he even played 185 snaps in the slot last year.
Meanwhile, the Vikings lost 2 strong veterans (at least in the projection piece). PFF foresees a marriage between Dalvin Tomlinson and the Cleveland Browns. Given the Kevin Stefanski connection, the Tomlinson/Browns speculation makes some sense (even though they didn’t overlap in MN).
For whatever it’s worth, we know that the Vikings and Tomlinson are open to a reunion. In fact, they’re discussing a new deal.
Somewhat surprisingly, there is also the suggestion that Peterson will depart. Instead of Minnesota, Peterson heads for Cincinnati. The reason for the move largely stems from the veteran corner’s ability to thrive in a more zone-heavy defense: “With Brian Flores’s heavy man coverage scheme coming to town, it’s likely that the 33-year-old Peterson won’t fit in their plans. Enter the Bengals, whose zone-heavy scheme would be similar to what he was running with the Vikings for most of his tenure there.”
The point about scheme fit is well taken, though I’m among those who aren’t inclined to doubt Peterson. Since coming to Minnesota, the veteran has proven to be an excellent player. On multiple occasions, he has expressed a desire to stay.
Free agency begins on March 15, but teams can start flirting with players on the 13th of March. Stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
