Sports
Vikings Territory: Patrick Peterson Supports Idea Of Chandler Jones Trade To Vikings
DeAndre Hopkins is the team's handsomely-paid wide receiver, due like clockwork for 1,200+ receiving yards per season.
July 27, 2021
The offseason was unfolding swimmingly for the Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray enters Year Three with expectations for an MVP-like jump. DeAndre Hopkins is the team’s handsomely-paid wide receiver, due like clockwork for 1,200+ receiving yards per season. J.J. Watt even elected to toss a bird on his helmet after signing in the desert.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Jones, like Hopkins, earns a lot of money with the Cardinals — his cap hit in 2021 is $20.8 million — so a relationship with the Vikings would necessitate creative cap dealings.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Although unlikely because of salary cap limitations, Jones would be a mammoth addition for the Vikings. Minnesota ranked 32nd in the NFL for pass-rushing performance in 2020, floundering without Everson Griffen (who left via free agency) and Danielle Hunter (missed the 2020 campaign with a neck injury).
Almost all of the Jones-Vikings fascination in the last 24 hours is derived from Vikings fans or Vikings-linked online entities. But Peterson’s proclamation that he’d welcome Jones to Minnesota with open arms makes the rumor a tad more credible.
Too, general manager Rick Spielman is no stranger to trading assets for a high-profile defensive end. Late last summer, the Vikings shockingly traded for Yannick Ngakoue from the Jacksonville Jaguars who, like Jones, was disgruntled with his state of affairs. Spielman sacrificed a 2nd-Round pick for the Ngakoue experiment, and it ended messily. Ngakoue struggled to jell with Mike Zimmer’s defense, culminating in a bye-week trade to the Baltimore Ravens some six games into his Vikings career.
And just to ensure the finances add up, Minnesota would likely have to include a player contract from the existing roster — one with a relatively sizable price tag. Otherwise, Spielman could attempt to renegotiate Jones’ deal on the spot, backloading the heft of the contract for future years.
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
