Which Minnesota Vikings players should be off-limits to trade before this year’s deadline?
With only one win after their first six games, most have assumed the Minnesota Vikings are looking to unload a number of players from their current roster before this season’s trade deadline.
There have been a number of Vikings players in the rumor mill recently including Kyle Rudolph, Anthony Harris, Harrison Smith, Riley Reiff, and Adam Thielen, but no deals have been made yet. There are still a few days before the deadline, so there’s plenty of time left for Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman to get his trade on.
While it sounds like the Vikings are pretty willing to unload just about anyone on their current roster, there are a few players that should be off-limits to include in a trade before this year’s deadline.
Excluded from this list will be Minnesota’s rookies. It’s rare for a team to trade a rookie during the middle of a season and it seems highly unlikely that the Vikings would be willing to do something like this.
So outside of the guy who plays under center for Minnesota with a contract that makes him almost impossible to trade, who are some of the Vikings players that should not be available to acquire before this season’s deadline?
Irv Smith Jr. – TE
Heading into the current season, Irv Smith Jr. was projected by many to have a breakout campaign. Smith got off to a rough start during his first few games (two catches for 14 yards during the first four weeks), but during the Vikings last two matchups, the second-year tight end has hauled in a combined eight passes for 119 yards.
Leading up to this season’s trade deadline, Smith’s name has actually come up in the rumor mill. The Baltimore Ravens reportedly asked Minnesota about the tight end recently, but no deal was made.
Deciding not to part ways with Smith was the right choice for the Vikings. At 22-years-old, his potential is still too high for Minnesota to give up on. Unless Smith was some sort of problem in the locker room, there is really no reason for the Vikings to even think about trading for him.
With Kyle Rudolph’s future in Minnesota being in doubt, Smith is the in line to be the team’s No. 1 tight end sooner than later. Plus, Smith’s contract is accounting for less than $2 million in cap space until it expires in 2023.
Trading a guy who is young and cheap that could potentially be their top tight end before the end of the current season just wouldn’t make much sense for the Vikings to do.
Dalvin Cook – RB
If the Vikings hadn’t extended Dalvin Cook right before the start of the season, he would probably be one of the players that the team is willing to trade before this year’s deadline.
But Minnesota made their feelings about Cook very clear when they signed him to a five-year, $63 million extension less than two months ago. The Vikings offense is so much more dynamic when he’s on the field and the team didn’t want their relationship with him to end anytime soon.
So far this season, Cook is proving to Minnesota that extending him was a good decision. In five games this year, he’s already rushed for 489 yards and he’s made seven trips to the end zone.
It’s hard to imagine that a team would be looking to trade for a running back who just signed a lucrative contract extension. But if the Vikings end up receiving an offer before this year’s deadline for Cook for some reason, it should be very easy for the team to say no.
Brian O’Neill – OT
Believe it or not, the Vikings actually have some promising, young offensive linemen on their roster. There aren’t many of them though, so let’s not get too carried away.
But after Minnesota selected him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, offensive tackle Brian O’Neill has quickly developed into arguably the best blocker on the team’s current roster.
O’Neill has established himself as the Vikings’ starting right tackle during his tenure with the team. But with Riley Rieff’s tenure with Minnesota not expected to last much longer, the team could turn to O’Neill to be their next starting left tackle.
The Vikings recent history when it comes to drafting offensive linemen is not very good and that’s probably putting it too nicely. So when Minnesota lands someone like O’Neill, they should be doing everything they can to keep him on the roster for as long as possible.