Vikings News: Minnesota sends Mike Hughes packing to Kansas City
By Adam Patrick
Some unexpected Minnesota Vikings news went down on Thursday after it was revealed that the team has reportedly agreed to trade cornerback Mike Hughes to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Less than a month after the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have reportedly decided to make a significant change to their group of cornerbacks.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday, the Vikings have agreed to trade cornerback Mike Hughes to the Kansas City Chiefs. Schefter added that Minnesota will be receiving the Chiefs’ 2022 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Hughes and a 2022 seventh-round draft selection.
Some wondered if Hughes would even make the Vikings‘ roster this year and now that question has been answered. Minnesota’s former 2018 first-round pick is no longer a member of the team.
Vikings News: Why did Minnesota trade Mike Hughes to the Kansas City Chiefs?
Following the uncertainty surrounding Jeff Gladney’s recent arrest and the fact that the Vikings did not select a corner in this year’s draft, some felt that there might actually end up being a spot for Hughes on the team’s 2021 roster.
Obviously, this isn’t going to be the case since the 24-year-old corner is now on his way to Kansas City. With Minnesota only receiving a sixth-round pick in exchange for someone who was drafted in the first round in 2018, one has to imagine that the team didn’t think Hughes was going to end up making their final 2021 roster.
The Vikings sending Hughes to the Chiefs should also lead us to believe that Gladney’s current situation might not be as worse as we thought.
With Thursday’s trade, Minnesota now has a total of seven cornerbacks on their roster, including Gladney, Cameron Dantzler, Patrick Peterson, Mackensie Alexander, Harrison Hand, Kris Boyd, and Dylan Mabin.
Hughes’ departure should allow someone like Hand to step up and potentially get some more snaps on the Vikings’ defense in 2021.
After getting a pick-six in his first-ever NFL game, Hughes’ career with Minnesota got off to an encouraging start. But injuries just ended up getting in the way of him ever reaching the expectations he was given when the Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2018 draft.