Does Spielman Have Any More Tricks Up His Sleeve?
K. Joudry
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You don’t get the nickname Slick Rick unless you’ve made some nice moves. Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman isn’t beyond reproach, but he’s great at his job.
Money was looking a little thin coming into the year, but Spielman found a way to bring in Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson (expect a bounce back year), Nick Vigil, Stephen Weatherly, Mackensie Alexander, Xavier Woods, and, more recently, Everson Griffen. That’s all within the context of the Covid Cap. Rob Brzezinski certainly deserve a ton of credit here; he is, after all, a financial wizard. Spielman, though, is the man in charge, so he’s the one who gets the most praise.
Recently, there has been some chatter about Minnesota potentially making a move for a backup QB. To put it mildly, things have gone poorly for Jake Browning and Kellen Mond. That led to some speculation about who may be targeted and how much money Minnesota is working with. Keep in mind that the Harrison Smith and Brian O’Neill extensions still haven’t happened, so there’s opportunity for Minnesota to free up cap space. An unexpected cut could also do the trick.
With these things in mind, I’ve been asking myself: is Rick Spielman planning on making one more bold move before the season starts? I’m not just talking about a backup QB, though that remains possible. I’ve more been thinking about whether he’ll bring in a LB or maybe another WR. There could also be some need for more help in the secondary or with the special teams.
Spielman isn’t shy about making a move. When Teddy Bridgewater suffered a horrific knee injury in 2016, Spielman traded a first and a fourth to get Sam Bradford. When Danielle Hunter’s “tweak” ended up being a season-ending injury in 2020, Spielman traded a second and a fifth for Yannick Ngakoue. In hindsight, neither of these moves look good. They underscore an important truth, though: Spielman will pull the trigger if he thinks the team needs a talent infusion.
I understand that both of the above scenarios involved a star player going down late in the offseason. Spielman is more willing to move draft capital when he’s put in this unenviable position. That being said, another critical factor is that Spielman made those moves because he believed his team was in a position to compete for a Super Bowl.
Right or wrong, Spielman is still operating under the assumption that this Minnesota Vikings team is good enough to not only get into the playoffs, but actually go on a deep playoff run.
The roster transactions are going to be plentiful over the coming days. Minnesota needs to get down to 53 men by the end of the month. Minnesota, of course, isn’t the only team in this position. Every NFL team is going to be making difficult decisions. Perhaps one of them will be willing to move a vet for the right price. I imagine Spielman is working the phones.
Time will well if anything comes together.