Extending Trae Waynes may be in the Vikings’ plans before training camp

ESPN recently put out a list of current NFL players who could receive a contract extension before training camp and the Minnesota Vikings corner was included.

During his first four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Trae Waynes has developed into a solid contributor for the team’s defense.

Has Waynes emerged as one of the top cornerbacks in the league like the Vikings were probably hoping when they used the No. 11 overall pick on him during the 2015 NFL Draft? Not really, but he’s still played a good part in the success of Minnesota’s defense over the last few years.

Currently, Waynes is scheduled to become a free agent after the upcoming 2019 season. If the Vikings want the 26-year-old corner to return in 2020, they will likely have to extend his current contract sooner than later.

However, Minnesota is currently sitting with a limited amount of funds and they may not be able to give Waynes a new deal until the 2020 offseason. Everyone should know by now though that if the Vikings wanted to extend their young corner before Week 1 this year, they are fully capable of figuring out a way to do so.

Recently, ESPN’s Dan Graziano put out a list of 50 current NFL players who he believes could receive an extension before the start of training camp this summer. Waynes is among the guys Graziano chose to include on this list.

Extending Waynes before training camp begins at the end of July would certainly be an interesting decision for Minnesota to make. But it may actually be the cheapest way for the Vikings to keep him on the roster past 2019.

Waynes is coming off of his best season in Minnesota and it didn’t even result in a trip to the Pro Bowl. So him being able to get elite NFL corner money (around $14 million per season) seems like something that is not really in the cards for him at this point in his career.

If Minnesota were to give Waynes an extension this summer, they could probably get him to agree to a deal that would pay him around $10 million per year. An amount that could turn into a big bargain if the corner goes out and has a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2019.

It still seems like a bit of a long shot that the Vikings would extend Waynes before training camp this year. But if they did, it’s a decision that could prove to be very beneficial for them in the long run.