After the Minnesota Vikings announced their plans to use the franchise tag on the free-agent safety, it’s possible that he could still be dealt to another team this offseason.
When Monday unofficially kicked off the start of the 2020 free agency period, the most surprising move made by the Minnesota Vikings came when it was reported that the team had decided to use their franchise tag on safety Anthony Harris.
It was assumed by many that Harris was going to cost too much for the Vikings to retain and most were expecting him to land elsewhere. But Minnesota clearly values his abilities and they wanted to at least give themselves more time to negotiate a potential long term deal with the safety before the start of next season.
Despite the franchise tag locking Harris down for another year with the Vikings, there’s still nothing preventing the team from trading him if they are presented with an enticing offer. One team, in particular, is reportedly interested in making a deal for Harris if Minnesota is willing to negotiate.
According to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns have shown interest in trading for Harris.
Obviously there is the connection between new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Vikings. But new Cleveland defensive backs coach Jeff Howard also spent the last two seasons working with Harris as Minnesota’s assistant defensive backs coach.
So the new Browns coaches know how talented the veteran safety is and how he could elevate their defense in 2020. The question is, how much are they willing to give up to land Harris in a trade?
According to Cabot, Cleveland would likely have to offer a third-round pick or possibly a second-round selection from this year’s NFL Draft to get the Vikings to agree to a deal. That might be too steep of a price for the Browns.
If Cleveland is willing to give up a second-round pick for Harris, however, this is a trade Minnesota should be making. As good as the safety was for them last season, the Vikings can potentially add a cheaper replacement for him in the draft and even land someone with a better upside.
So even after making a big blockbuster deal on Monday when they sent Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota might not be done making trades this offseason just yet.