The Minnesota Vikings are entering the 2023 season with a chip on their shoulder. Coming off of a 13-4 campaign that resulted in an NFC North victory, everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
How the Vikings went about compiling that record defied all logic. They had a negative point differential in the regular season and were undefeated in one-score games. Naturally, that luck ran out in the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Giants in a one-score game at home.
Not many people believe that the Vikings can replicate that success, so they will be motivated to prove those people wrong. But, before the regular season gets underway, they have some work to do when it comes to their roster.
August 29th is the deadline for roster cutdowns, so Minnesota will be giving a lot of people their walking papers. Some of those players will have value around the league, so if they can trade them, even for a late-round pick, it is better than releasing them for nothing.
One of the players whom Alica de Artola of FanSided believes that the Vikings could look to trade is cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. He was floated as a trade candidate over at Bleacher Report and de Artola agreed.
Booth has struggled with injuries and his standing on the depth chart has already slipped. Mekhi Blackmon and Akayleb Evans both look to have surpassed him in the pecking order. That will knock his value down even further, so trading him now to get the most out of him would make sense.
Next on the list is Patrick Jones II. The Vikings’ pass rush has plenty of depth heading into the 2023 season and he could be the odd man out. Luiji Vilain, DJ Wonnum, Marcus Davenport and Andre Carter are more than enough to complement star, Danielle Hunter.
A third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones should have some value around the league as he isn’t a cut candidate, but rather someone who could just be moved to save a roster spot. The opposite could be said for wide receiver Jalen Reagor.
Reagor was squarely on the chopping block before an injury to first-round pick, Jordan Addison. Reagor has played well in the absence of Addison, but he is someone that the Vikings still may not be include to use much.
With the last piece of the trade package to acquire him from the Philadelphia Eagles being tied to his production, Minnesota has little incentive to involve him heavily in their offense. Unless a need arises, he is someone the team looks to have little use for.
