Could the Minnesota Vikings actually trade away star safety Harrison Smith before the deadline?
It has been a disastrous start to the 2020 season for the Minnesota Vikings. They find themselves at 1-5 after the first seven weeks and things won’t get any easier next time they take the field in Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers.
There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Vikings following their decision to trade Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens after just six games in Minnesota. A number of other veteran players might also be the subject of interest from teams with a more realistic shot at contending for a Super Bowl.
And even though Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is making all the right noises in terms of quashing any potential rebuilding talk, the unloading of some longtime contributors is definitely a possibility with a little more than a week to go until the trade deadline.
This bears more significance when one looks at the salary-cap hell awaiting the Vikings in 2021. The financial resources available could come down to as little as $175 million due to a lack of gameday revenue following the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
This would result in Minnesota having to make some significant sacrifices during a critical offseason period next spring.
One name who is rumored to be on the block is Vikings safety Harrison Smith. The perennial Pro Bowler has one more year remaining on his deal and Minnesota might decide to cash-in and get some solid compensation in return for one of the team’s greatest defensive players of all-time.
Any decision to trade Smith, however, would be met by fury from the Vikings fan base and would leave no doubt as to which direction the organization is heading in. So let’s take a look at four possible destinations for the veteran safety if Minnesota opts to go in this direction.