3 players the Minnesota Vikings could franchise tag for 2020
By Adam Carlson
2. Trae Waynes, cornerback
The second defensive back on this list, Trae Waynes has already been shown that he is valued by the Minnesota Vikings front office since his fifth-year option was granted on his rookie contract and he earned over $9 million for the 2019 NFL season.
While $16.5 million is a significant jump from that number, having two experienced cornerbacks to start for the Vikings should be a priority for Mike Zimmer and his staff and that could mean needing to make sure they can keep Waynes around for one more year.
Interestingly enough, Spotrac projects that Trae Waynes has a nearly identical value to Mackensie Alexander despite him starting 74 games for Minnesota since joining the team as a first-round draft pick out of Michigan State in 2015.
Even if Waynes doesn’t end up getting tagged, fans should expect the team to attempt to free up some salary cap space to keep at least one of these cornerbacks. Of course, a contract extension would be preferable but sometimes desperate measures need to be taken.