The Vikings Whiffed in Pursuit of a Potential Free Agent Solution
D.J. Reed is an excellent corner. Go ahead: ask Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison what they think of Mr. Reed.
Given the need at the corner position, the Vikings pursuing Reed would have made a ton of sense. Minnesota may or may not have been in on the former Jet, but that’s now looking like an irrelevant point given the news from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini: “The Lions are signing CB D.J. Reed to a three-year, $48 million deal, per source.”
The Vikings Whiffed by Not Snagging D.J. Reed
Travel back to Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season.
Minnesota travelled to London to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. The game finished by a score of 23-17 in favor of the Vikings. Justin Jefferson turned 14 targets into 6 receptions for 92 scoreless yards; Jordan Addison turned 8 targets into 3 receptions for 36 scoreless yards.
No, D.J. Reed isn’t solely responsible for those outcomes, but he played a strong game. Across 73 snaps, Reed snagged 5 tackles and 2 passes defended. According to PFF, Reed was targeted 7 times, allowing just 2 catches for 16 yards. He finished the game with a blistering 87.8 grade on PFF.
Seeing the veteran signed by Minnesota’s most direct rival for $16 million per season has to sting inside TCO Performance Center
Yes, Reed is a bit smaller — standing at 5’9″ and weighing 188 pounds — but that doesn’t discount the fact that he’s a very good corner who is still only 28. Minnesota, meanwhile, made a move for a different corner: Isaiah Rodgers (shout out to Andrew Krammer), someone who got mentioned as a bargain option on PurplePTSD.
A notable detail with Rodgers is that he’s 5’10”, 170, a similar size to Reed. Reed, only a year older than Rodgers, is more proven even if he’s a decent bit more expensive (a $16 million per-year average versus $7.5 million). Should the Vikings have gotten their elbows up to box out the Lions for Reed?
Consider another deal that took place yesterday: a move from the Patriots to snag Carlton Davis for $20 million per season (per Ian Rapoport). By the Davis standard, D.J. Reed looks cheap. Of course, the deal that really stands out is the one for Byron Murphy Jr. (Tom Pelissero), who is getting an average of $22 million per season. Murphy has proven to be a strong corner and great fit for Flores, but the difference between Reed’s $48 million and Murphy’s $66 million is notable.
Reed finished his 2024 season having played in fourteen games. In that time, Reed snagged 64 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 11 passes defended, 1 sack, and 1 QB hit. He did so playing opposite Sauce Gardner, someone whom a lot of quarterbacks would rather avoid.
Of course, it’s possible that the Vikings weren’t super interested in D.J. Reed. If so, then one wonders about that decision. After all, being able to hang with Jefferson & Addison is no small feat. Minnesota is now going to see him a minimum of twice per season, making that Lions matchup appear even more daunting.
Free agency still offers a lot of talent, so stay tuned. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will continue trying to beef up his roster in the coming days.
Missing out on Reed, though, looks like a tough outcome for a team that came into the day with roughly $60 million in cap space and a major need at corner.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Vikings Fall Short in Pursuit of Premier Defender
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.