4 Vikings who could be traded before the start of the 2023 season

Player No. 1

Jordan Hicks - ILB

Earlier this year, the Vikings were able to convince Jordan Hicks to take a pay cut in order to remain with the team for the 2023 season.

Taking less money seemed like an easy way for Hicks to all but guarantee himself a spot on Minnesota's final 2023 roster. However, this financial decision was made before the emergence of rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. this summer.

Pace has been one of the most talked about Vikings players during the last few weeks, and he's easily earned a spot on the team's regular-season roster, at the very least. But he's played so well this summer that he also has a chance to begin Week 1 as one of Minnesota's two starting inside linebackers.

With Brian Asamoah hampered by an injury recently, the belief has been that the Vikings will likely open up the 2023 regular season with Hicks and Pace as their two starting inside linebackers. But Asamoah returned to practice on Tuesday, so it seems like he should be healthy enough to play in Week 1 on September 10th.

If Asamoah's health isn't believed to be anything worrisome, what if Minnesota decided to go with him and Pace as their two starting inside linebackers instead of Hicks and Pace?

One could argue that the Vikings' new aggressive defensive scheme is a better fit for the younger and faster Asamoah and Pace. So it's not crazy to think that Minnesota could attempt to move Hicks elsewhere before the start of the regular season.