Should the Minnesota Vikings trade for Eric Kendricks’ brother?

Mychal Kendricks, the brother of current Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, apparently wants the Philadelphia Eagles to trade him to another team.

With Chad Greenway now retired, the Minnesota Vikings are currently in the middle of figuring out who will be taking over his starting weak-side linebacker spot on the defense in 2017. As it stands right now, Emmanuel Lamur, Edmond Robinson, and Kentrell Brothers are all fighting to takeover Greenway’s role in the defense this season.

But what if the Vikings wanted to add one more participant to this specific training camp battle? Perhaps someone with more talent and experience as a starter?

Well, on Friday it was reported that Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks asked the team to either release or trade him back in January and he still believes a move can be made. Mychal is the older brother of current Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks.

The elder Kendricks started eight games for the Eagles last year as the team’s weak-side linebacker. Back in 2015, he agreed to an extension with Philadelphia that would keep him under contract until 2020.

He struggled a bit last season, but perhaps a change of scenery and playing with his brother would bode well for Kendricks. At the very least, he would be an upgrade over what Greenway provided for the defense in 2016.

Minnesota Vikings

So what would it take for the Vikings to have two Kendricks linebackers on their roster at once? Apparently, not a whole lot.

As recently as this past offseason, the Eagles were reportedly looking to acquire a fifth-round draft pick or higher in exchange for the linebacker. Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman is a wizard when it comes to acquiring more draft selections, so parting with one to land Kendricks does not seem like it would be too much of a sacrifice.

Plus, since his base salary for this year has already been guaranteed by Philadelphia, the Vikings would only owe him around $1.8 million for this season. And if he does not end up working out for Minnesota, they can cut him in 2018 and only take a $3.2 million cap hit.

According to Over The Cap, the Vikings currently have around $13 million in cap space right now. So affording Kendricks in 2017 would not be a problem.

Next: Which Vikings are next in line for an extension?

The Vikings and Eagles were trade partners before the regular season in 2016 (with Sam Bradford). Will they agree to another exchange this year?