Which players should the Minnesota Vikings consider trading before this year’s deadline?
After the first five games of the 2020 season, the Minnesota Vikings are sitting with a 1-4 record. No team since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 has gone on to win the Super Bowl after beginning their schedule with four losses in their first five matchups and the Vikings probably aren’t going to either.
Minnesota should still be going into each week attempting to get a win so they can possibly find themselves in the playoffs this season. But if the chances are looking less and less likely that the Vikings aren’t going to end the year with the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl victory, then they should be thinking about the future and how they can contend in 2021.
One way they can begin to plan for the future is to acquire 2021 draft selections in trades with other teams. The 2020 trade deadline is coming up on November 3 and Minnesota has a number of high-priced veteran players that other teams around the NFL might be interested in dealing for.
Considering their start to the current season, thinking of ways to add more draft capital before 2021 is something the Vikings should already be thinking about. As the trade deadline approaches, who are some of the players on Minnesota’s roster that the team should consider sending elsewhere this year?
Kyle Rudolph – TE
Potential Trade Partners:
- New England Patriots
- Carolina Panthers
- Indianapolis Colts
After five games this season, Kyle Rudolph has caught a total of seven passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. He’s averaging just over 15 yards per matchup and he has yet to end a contest this year with more than two catches.
For someone like Rudolph who is taking up around $8.8 million of Minnesota’s cap space, his production this season is not worth the kind of money he’s currently making. His lack of production might not entirely be his fault, however, since he’s only been targeted 10 times so far this year.
Rudolph is already a candidate to be a cap casualty in 2021, so the Vikings should be making some calls to teams around the NFL who are in need of a tight end who excels in the red zone.
Given his age (31 in November), Minnesota would probably be lucky to get anything better than a fifth-round draft pick in return for Rudolph. Any offer for the tight end that would send them a draft pick higher than a fifth-rounder is something the Vikings would definitely have to pounce on.
If Minnesota were to actually trade Rudolph, they would free up almost $7.4 million in cap space. Whatever happens though, the Vikings have to figure something out with the veteran tight end because him averaging a catch and 15 receiving yards each week is not why the team is paying him more than $7 million this season.
Anthony Harris – S
Potential Trade Partners:
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Baltimore Ravens
Even after they placed the franchise tag on him, the Vikings were reportedly trying to shop Anthony Harris around this past offseason. So it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Minnesota threw Harris back up on the trade block before this year’s deadline.
Last season, Harris was exceptional and arguably one of the best safeties in the NFL. He’s been playing solid this year, but it definitely isn’t near to the level that he was performing at in 2019.
This season, Harris already has more missed tackles (four) than he had in all of 2019, he’s given up two touchdowns in pass coverage, and opposing quarterbacks have a 124.7 rating when targeting the safety. Last year, opposing passers had a rating of just 44.2 when they targeted pass-catchers who were covered by Harris.
If Harris ends up looking for a contract next year that pays him similarly to what he’s currently making on the franchise tag (over $11 million), it seems pretty unlikely that he will return to Minnesota. It’s not that the Vikings wouldn’t want him back, they just aren’t expected to have a ton of cap space and they’re likely going to spend the small amount of money that they do have on younger players with more upside.
There were a few teams who were reportedly interested in adding Harris to their roster this past offseason, including Kevin Stefanski and the Browns. Minnesota should be giving these teams a call before the trade deadline to see if they’re still interested in making a deal.
Adam Thielen – WR
Potential Trade Partners:
- New England Patriots
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Baltimore Ravens
Let’s take a deep breath before continuing, okay? For most, it’s incredibly hard to imagine Adam Thielen ever playing in another NFL uniform and the Vikings actually trading him this season is something that still seems pretty unlikely.
But Thielen is a player who, at 30-years-old, is nearing the end of his prime, he has a $13.5 million cap hit in 2021, and he is one of the few guys on Minnesota’s current roster who can help them acquire a second-round draft pick that they currently don’t have after trading for Yannick Ngakoue earlier this year.
The success of Justin Jefferson so far this season is something that has made the possibility of trading Thielen even somewhat realistic. The Vikings also have other weapons on their roster like Irv Smith Jr. and Dalvin Cook who can make up for the loss of Thielen in the team’s passing attack if he were to be dealt.
Any possible trade involving Minnesota’s top receiver would likely depend on how the team’s next two games turn out. If the Vikings are 1-6 or 2-5 after facing the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, then calling around to see who wants to make a deal for Thielen could be in the cards.
But if Minnesota goes out and wins their next pair of games against the Falcons and Packers, then any possible trade involving the talented receiver is likely off the table.
Like we mentioned earlier, it’s getting to the point for the Vikings this season where they probably need to start thinking of what they can do to improve their chances to contend in 2021.
If Minnesota believes that trading Thielen to acquire an early-round draft pick and create some much-needed cap space is what’s best for the future of the franchise, then it’s something they should explore before this year’s deadline.