A Specific Vikings Trade Target Makes All the Sense in the World
Last March, the NFL had sixteen trades take place. Minnesota didn’t get involved in any of those swaps, but the option exists to join the fun in March of 2025.
To that end, consider a Vikings trade target who makes a pile of sense: Cleveland Browns corner Greg Newsome II. The defender is young, has good size, fills a position of need, and has a connection to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. For all of those reasons, Newsome looks like someone to keep an eye on.
A Specific Vikings Trade Target
The current outlook on the Vikings’ roster is pretty dire: the corner room would be totally overwhelmed if a game were to take place tomorrow.
Thankfully, the meat and potatoes of the offseason is still ahead. Minnesota is sitting on roughly $58 million in cap space and is supposed to have four draft picks. Some combination of those resources are going to allow Adofo-Mensah to rebuild the critical position, with perhaps the first move resting in retaining Byron Murphy Jr.
Re-adding Murphy, though, would be just a first step. A solid move, yes, but one that needs to be followed by acquiring more talent.
For so many reasons, one thinks of Greg Newsome from over in Cleveland.
The Browns are an absolute mess right now. Currently, they’re more than $30 million over the cap for 2025 and their best player — Myles Garrett — wants out. Even worse, Dehsaun Watson (a horrendous option at quarterback for so many reasons) is coming in with a cap hit just under $73 million (not a typo). Cutting him would result in Cleveland taking on more than $172 million in dead money (not a typo).
Kevin Stefanski, a good coach, has essentially no chance to succeed.
Bring things around to the promising young corner.
Newsome has been in the NFL for four seasons but is still only 24. He stands at 6’1″ and weighs 192 pounds. Most recently, Newsome snagged a 52.2 PFF grade — not great — but his initial three seasons involved putting in grades in the high 60s. Quite possibly, a good buy-low candidate.
He was drafted in 2021 at No. 26 overall. Who worked in Cleveland’s front office back in 2021? That’s right, Mr. Adofo-Mensah.
Consider, as well, the versatility in Newsome’s game. Across his initial four seasons, Newsome has picked up 1,418 snaps as a wide corner and 1,148 snaps as a slot corner. Sounds like someone Brian Flores would be enthused about working alongside.
He has 3 interceptions and 34 passes defended in his career.
Minnesota’s options in the 2025 NFL Draft are limited when we consider shipping out a pick for a player, but there’s more options resting in the 2026 pile of picks. Don’t be at all surprised if Adofo-Mensah looks to onboard Greg Newsome to help fortify a position of need with someone who has upside, youth, and with whom the GM has familiarity.
The Browns would clear all of Newsome’s $13.3 million cap charge off the books with a trade.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
In High-Price Player Negotiation, Vikings Hold Most of the Leverage
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 Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.