On Friday, former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes answered some questions on Twitter including one about the team who drafted him back in 2015.
Before the 2020 free agency period even began, most assumed Trae Waynes would not be re-signing with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings expressed an interest in potentially bringing back Waynes, but they knew that he was likely going to cost much more than they were willing to pay. Well, after he signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals last week, he was clearly out of Minnesota’s price range.
So after spending his first five seasons in the NFL with the Vikings, Waynes is set to begin a new journey in 2020 with the Bengals.
After his departure, some might have wondered if the corner decided to leave Minnesota due to a poor relationship with coaches or teammates. But Waynes took a recent opportunity to clear up any rumors out there regarding why he chose to not return to the Vikings this year.
During a Q&A session he held on Twitter on Friday, the new Cincinnati cornerback was asked a variety of questions including if he is mad at the Vikings. In response to this, Waynes had the following to say regarding his current feelings towards his former team.
"“Not at all. They drafted me, I’ll always have love for them.”"
Waynes is one of three corners to depart from Minnesota this offseason. Mackensie Alexander also decided that the Bengals were a better fit for him and Xavier Rhodes was able to land a one-year with the Indianapolis Colts.
While there might be some hard feelings remaining between Alexander and Rhodes and the Vikings, this doesn’t appear to be the case for Waynes. Minnesota probably just couldn’t afford to give Waynes the money he felt he was worth, so he went looking elsewhere for a team who could pay him.
The 27-year-old corner was selected by the Vikings back in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. After a slow start to his pro career, he showed some signs of potentially living up to his expectations.
However, Waynes was never really able to develop into the Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback Minnesota was hoping for when they used a top 15 draft pick on him. He shouldn’t really be considered a draft bust, but he certainly didn’t live up to his expectations during his tenure with the Vikings.
Is there a chance he could blossom into a great corner for Cincinnati next season? Of course, but nobody should be getting their hopes up about Waynes until he proves otherwise.