A Huge Trade Target for the Vikings to Consider
Pile up Minnesota’s main roster needs and a penetrating defensive tackle would come in pretty high. Any chance a solution is to be found on the trade market? If so, then a huge trade target from over in Seattle could make sense.
Earlier in the week, an article on PFF made note of the cap conundrum that’s in front of the Seattle Seahawks. The collective cap hits for QB Geno Smith, WRs Tyler Lockett & D.K. Metcalf, alongside DT Leonard Williams puts them in a tough spot: “these four players account for more than $135 million against the cap — roughly 50% of the total.” Worth it to at least call about the status of Williams?
The Vikings and The Huge Trade Target
Seattle, fresh off a relatively disappointing 10-7 season (they didn’t make the playoffs), will need to adjust things.
“It’s challenging to construct a competitive roster,” PFF’s Timo Riske goes on to write, “with such a large percentage of cap space tied to just four players.” Indeed. Part of the solution could rest in a cut(s) and/or restructure(s), but a trade is another way of clearing cap room. The bonus is that it brings an asset back to Seattle.
Shipping out Williams via trade would result in a cap savings of $12.5 million in 2025. The downside is that Seattle would need to digest $16.6 million in dead money. Keep in mind that Over the Cap currently has the Seahawks at negative $27.5 million in cap space, so some difficult decisions are going to need to be made.
The Vikings are being led at defensive tackle by Harrison Phillips, a rugged run defender who doesn’t generate a ton against the pass. He’s a great leader and excellent teammate, but he only fills a certain role. Complementing Horrible Harry with someone capable of collapsing the pocket would be a nice boost for the Vikings’ defense.
The 6’5″, 300-pound Williams is coming off of a tremendously impressive season. In sixteen games, Williams had 64 tackles, 11 sacks, 28 QB hits, 16 tackles for loss, 1 interception (he scored a touchdown), and 3 passes defended. Even as a 30-year-old defender Williams is playing the game at a high level.
He has been in the NFL since 2015, so a deal that brings Williams aboard isn’t about finding a DT solution for the next decade. Instead, it’s about supercharging an area of weakness for the next season or two as Minnesota looks to compete within the timeframe of J.J. McCarthy’s rookie deal.
Leonard Williams is currently operating on a three-year deal that he agreed to in 2024. In other words, the contract persists through 2025 and 2026. The simple fact that some of Williams’ compensation would remain on Seattle’s budget would make the DT easier to afford in the Twin Cities.
Williams finished the past season with the best PFF grade of his career — 87.1 — demonstrating a strong ability to help as both a run defender and pass rusher. Notably, he was asked to lineup in different spots, something that appeals to the Vikings. Williams was out wide for 130 snaps, over the offensive tackle for 241 snaps, in the B-gap area for 349 snaps, and in the A-gap area for 27 snaps. Just imagine what Brian Flores could accomplish with a player like Williams.
Actually landing the stud defensive tackle is a long shot. The possibility, though, is worth a phone call given the tough spot Seattle is in financially alongside the roster need for a Vikings team that’s trying to compete for it all as early as 2025. To facilitate a deal, the Vikings would very likely need to dip into their 2026 draft picks.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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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.