A Pro Bowler to Minnesota? There’s a Splashy Vikings Trade Idea.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is always looking for the next trade, which isn’t surprising considering his past as a Wall Street trader. Outside of his countless moves in the draft, the one high-profile trade he has made to acquire a player was for tight end T.J. Hockenson. What if he does that again?
A Pro Bowler to Minnesota? There’s a Splashy Vikings Trade Idea.
The executive has a bunch of holes to fill and his resources are roughly $55 million in cap space and four draft picks (including the likely incoming third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins’ departure).
Skol Nation has been scanning the free agency market to find help at cornerback, interior offensive line, and defensive line.
However, he could also find that help via trade. Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport assembled a list of six trade ideas and his proposal is that the Vikings land Cleveland’s Denzel Ward.
His recommendation: The Vikings get Ward and a sixth-round pick in exchange for the 24th overall pick.
Cleveland is entering another rebuilding phase, needing to reshape wide parts of their roster after selling a bunch of assets in the disastrous sweepstakes for Deshaun Watson.
Davenport noted, “The Cleveland Browns are a dumpster fire. Period. Full stop. The team reportedly has no interest in trading edge-rusher Myles Garrett, although that could change given Garrett’s desire to play for a team that might actually win once in a while. However, with the worst salary-cap situation in the AFC and a murky future under center (again), the Browns are widely expected to be sellers this offseason.”
It makes sense for the Browns to ship expensive players away for picks, hoping to replace the good but pricey players with cheaper ones.
And for the Vikings? The advantages are obvious. Adofo-Mensah would land a star cornerback without having to gamble that his 24th pick hits. If he drafted a player at the same position with the 24th pick, there’s no guarantee that he would actually be good.
“Ward has long been one of the NFL’s better players at a premium position. He’s headed to his fourth Pro Bowl and is in the prime of the career. But if Minnesota offers the 24th overall pick for Ward, Cleveland should pull the trigger,” Davenport opined.
“It would be a truly “all-in” move for the Vikings, who are already short on draft picks this year. But with $57.9 million in cap space, the Vikings could make this splash trade and still have enough money to bring back Sam Darnold.”
Ward entered the NFL out of Ohio State in the 2018 draft. Cleveland selected Baker Mayfield with the first and the cornerback with the fourth overall pick.
In his seven-year career, the four-time Pro Bowler has played in 95 games, securing 17 interceptions.
The Vikings need cornerback help, as the top four guys are all set to become unrestricted free agents in March. Byron Murphy is coming off a breakout season with six interceptions and a Pro Bowl nomination, but that undoubtedly drives his asking price.
His wingman, Stephon Gilmore, is 34 years old. It remains to be seen whether he wants to keep playing for another season, and if he does, it’s far from guaranteed that his 14th NFL season will be with the Vikings.
Shaq Griffin had a nice bounceback season after a few injury-riddled years, and he got cut during the 2023 season. Still, he is not the future of Minnesota’s CB position either, and even backup Fabian Moreau is scheduled to depart.
Mekhi Blackmon, Ambry Thomas, and Dwight McGlothern would be the starting cornerback group without any reinforcement.
Adofo-Mensah can spend his cap space to find cornerbacks in free agency, bet that a rookie can fill the void, or go the trade route, bringing one of the premier cornerbacks to the Twin Cities.
Is the move likely? It certainly isn’t. However, it is an intriguing theory that can’t entirely be dismissed.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt