After a dreadful 1-5 start that has them more likely to compete for a top 10 pick than a playoff spot, the Minnesota Vikings started selling off, trading pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue to the Ravens for picks. Then they learned that their other top pass-rusher Danielle Hunter wouldn’t be coming back this year, and that may have only deepened their desire to sell off.
Thus, this:
Vikings Reportedly Open To Dealing S Harrison Smith, TE Kyle Rudolph, LT Riley Reiff https://t.co/V1aIEhWIM5 pic.twitter.com/epwo4U3PGa
— NFLTradeRumors.co (@nfltrade_rumors) October 25, 2020
Basically, the Vikings are looking to move out veteran guys who are making some money. No surprise there. Whether they’ll be able to offload that salary (let along for useful returns) remains to be seen. But clearly, the Vikings are already deep into future planning mode. All three mentioned players are in their early 30s, and although Smith can be released after this year without a 2021 cap hit, Reiff would come with a mild hit, and Rudolph would come with several more years of mild hits. I expect they would LOVE to be able to trade him, in particular – good luck, though, as his production has trailed off considerably in recent years.
Hey, sell as much as you want now, though – the Bears have two games remaining against the Vikings.
Of note, Kirk Cousins’ contract more or less guarantees that the Vikings are locked into him for 2021, but after that, they could easily make a transition – perhaps to a quarterback they drafted next year?