Vikings Territory: Bleacher Report Has A Trade Suggestion For Vikings

Press release from Vikings Territory:

2021-08-24

The Minnesota Vikings reconciled with longtime pass rusher Everson Griffen on Monday after five months of suspense on who the team might sign in addition to Stephen Weatherly and D.J. Wonnum to compete for the right defensive end job.

He patched over some locker-room wounds and will now be employed by head coach Mike Zimmer as a “situational pass rusher” until everyone realizes he’s worthy of the starting gig. And you know that will happen at some point in the 2021 season.

Bleacher Report detailed a trade that every team should explore before the commencement of the regular season. For the Vikings, that was the trade of a late-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Jerry Hughes, a player who is the same age as Griffen – 33.

“Earlier, we had the Broncos offering Von Miller to the Minnesota Vikings. But I’d imagine the always-cap-strapped Vikes would prefer to give up less than a primo draft pick for a pass rusher to complement Danielle Hunter. So before accepting that fictional offer, let’s have them touch base with the Bills about the veteran Hughes, who may be expendable considering the presence of fellow vet Mario Addison as well as youngsters Gregory Rousseau, Carlos Basham Jr. and A.J. Epenesa. At this point, Buffalo could be willing to move Hughes for next to nothing in order to save $6.4 million, and that total wouldn’t cripple the Vikings. See if they’d do it for a fifth-rounder, Rick Spielman!”

Put bluntly, however, Minnesota just took remedial steps to fix the pass rush. His name is Everson Griffen. That’s the Vikings move.

The transaction would bolster depth, but that’s why the Vikings signed Griffen this week. Minnesota either needed a Griffen-or-better defensive end – or nothing at all. The bodies are there for Zimmer’s depth; the focus is geared at more ferocious pass rushing.

That would do the trick if the Vikings were Griffen-less. Since entering the NFL in 2021, Hughes has notched 56 sacks, which is the 35th-most in the NFL during those 11 seasons. Most of his career – although he has strangely never reached a Pro Bowl – entails pass-rushing vibes. Hughes rushes quarterback with more efficacy than stuffing the run. The Vikings don’t really need any more run-stopping savants as Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Michael Pierce will hold down the run defense.

It is unlikely that Spielman will attempt this strategy again because the Ngakoue trade is now known for its shortcoming. A 5th-Rounder is a different arrangement than Ngakoue’s 2nd-Rounder. But why trade anything when the team has a very Jerry Hughes-ish Everson Griffen ready to make an impact?

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory .The views expressed here are the author’s own.