4 Vikings players who are living on borrowed time
By Dean Jones
Mike Hughes – CB
Mike Hughes came into the 2020 season with a big opportunity. The Vikings parted ways with Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, and Xavier Rhodes this past offseason and although they drafted Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler, the former first-round pick had a real shot of finally becoming the team’s No. 1 option at corner.
To say things didn’t go according to plan in 2020 for Hughes would be something of an understatement. He once again suffered some significant injury problems that eventually ended with a trip to the team’s injured reserve list for a third-straight year. But it’s hard to look at his level of production prior to that with any sense of encouragement.
Hughes just hasn’t lived up to his billing. The injury bug has hampered him throughout his career and it appears as if his time with Minnesota is hanging by a thread.
The outstanding contributions of Dantzler and Gladney make it a lot easier for the Vikings to cut their losses with Hughes this offseason.
Minnesota would save around $1.21 million in cap space if they moved on from the cornerback in the coming weeks, which appears like a realistic option at this juncture given that they’ll probably get next to nothing in return on the trade market.
This is hugely disappointing for all parties involved. Hughes came into the league with shutdown potential and he has struggled to meet his lofty expectations in no uncertain terms.