5 Vikings who could be entering their final season with the team

Trae Waynes – CB

The writing is on the wall for Waynes and his tenure with the Vikings. When it came time for Minnesota to extend all their big-name players during the last two offseasons, Waynes was the one left in the dust.

It’s really not that surprising as the Vikings have addressed the cornerback position with their selections in the last few NFL Drafts.

Minnesota used a first-round pick on UCF’s Mike Hughes in 2018 and they also found a hidden gem in undrafted free agent, Holton Hill, from Texas. Before that, the Vikings also drafted a corner in Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander the year after they selected Waynes in the 2015 NFL Draft.

So Minnesota has been stocking up and they can now let Waynes walk without it hurting the defense too badly.

Obviously, there is some concern with Hill’s upcoming four-game suspension this season. That guy had his issues in college and to miss the first four matchups of the year isn’t great and it will surely land him in Mike Zimmer’s dog house this preseason.

Also, Alexander’s contract will be up in a year and the Vikings could all of a sudden be thin at the position in 2020.

Even with these potential issues, Minnesota likely can’t afford to bring back Waynes even if they wanted to next year. The Vikings will probably address the position fairly early in the 2020 NFL Draft and they could even use the likely third-round compensatory pick they’ll get for losing Waynes on his potential replacement.