The Vikings May Regret Their Quiet Trade Deadline
K. Joudry
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If the Vikings had decisively beaten the Cowboys last Sunday night, perhaps they would have made a move at the trade deadline. There would have been some belief that the team turned the corner over the bye, perhaps nudging Minnesota’s leadership toward talent acquisition. Instead, the Vikings fell flat, looking totally uninspired against a Cowboys team that didn’t even have their starting QB. Should Minnesota have had a different approach at the deadline?
The Vikings and The Trade Deadline
After getting to 3-3, much of the focus rested on what kind of talent Minnesota would bring in. Patrick Peterson was lost for several weeks, so adding CB talent made a ton of sense.
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As previously mentioned, though, the clunker against Dallas quickly took the wind out of Minnesota’s sails. Why move a future asset to bring in talent for a team that can’t get the job done at home, against a backup QB, and coming off a bye? Perhaps the team did some calling around and was still interested in bringing someone in for the right price. Maybe it just didn’t materialize. What I’ve been wondering about, though, is whether the team will regret not being sellers.
A loss to the Ravens could have dramatic consequences for the team. Seeing Zim being fired wouldn’t be a surprise at this point. It’s possible that the team would respond to new leadership, putting together a late-season run that allows them to claw back into playoff contention. Stranger things have happened, folks.
Let’s assume, though, that things continue on their current trajectory. If the Vikings continue to hang out in football purgatory, shouldn’t the team regret not moving out players at the trade deadline?
Currently, Minnesota has just over $5 million in cap space. Moving on from Mason Cole (who, in fairness, will be needed this week), Bashaud Breeland, Sheldon Richardson, and maybe even Anthony Barr would have made sense. Doing so puts more money in the budget for next season. Furthermore, Minnesota could have potentially gotten a pick or young player who could help this team succeed in the future.
In all likelihood, the Vikings won’t need to tear things completely down in the offseason. The offense, for instance, is very young. Apart from Brian O’Neill, all of their starting o-linemen are on rookie deals. Dalvin in still in his mid 20s; K.J. Osborn and Justin Jefferson are sophomores. Let’s not forget that Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin are also young. In other words, the offense could reasonably be very good next season with some tweaks.
The defense has some youth. Cameron Dantzler can be part of the solution, Xavier Woods has several more good years in him, and Armon Watts has shown promise. There is work that needs to be done on defense, though, and that’s where selling off veteran players may have made sense.
Of course, none of us know how the season will progress. It’s entirely possible (though exceedingly unlikely) that the Vikes snag that Super Bowl. They’ve given fans no reason to believe it’ll happen, but it’s still technically a possibility. We’ll need to wait and see how the season unfolds.
If the season continues on its current trajectory, though, the Vikings will regret not moving on from players at the trade deadline.