Hold Your Fire on Big Vikings Trade Ideas

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The Minnesota Vikings have started the season strong and returned from their bye week at the top of the NFC rankings with a 5-0 record. The 2024 NFL trade deadline is rapidly approaching, with the window closing on Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. ET.

Hold Your Fire on Big Vikings Trade Ideas

Everybody has an opinion on what each team should do, and I will share my reasoning for why we should hold fire on big Vikings trade ideas. The temptation at this time of year is to try and do that one guy who can make all the difference, but how likely is that person to be out there?

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All the news outlets, social media platforms, and fan message boards are full of suggestions of players the Vikings should trade for. While some names are enticing, what are the chances that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will make a move for Dexter Lawrence? I’d suggest minimal. The Giants might seem unlikely playoff contenders this season, but at 26, there should be no rush for them to sell off their best player. If they did decide to go down that path, the Vikings aren’t exactly well-placed to pounce.

Adofo-Mensah was aggressive in this year’s draft, trading for a second first-round pick and eventually selecting JJ McCarthy and Dallas Turner. That leaves the Vikings with only three picks left for 2025 (a first-round and two fifth-round picks), plus a third-round compensatory pick expected to be awarded for the loss of Kirk Cousins in free agency. There are no obvious candidates to move on in a trade either, which leaves Minnesota thin on the ground when it comes to making a deal. The only way I see the Vikings making a trade is by using one of those fifth-round picks and getting a late-round pick back.

Realistic Options

Certain areas of the roster could use improvement, with the interior defensive line and interior offensive line at the top of the list, along with a running back. Some names are intriguing when looking at teams who might be looking to sell, but you have to think about the cost and whether it’s a move for the long term or if we are rolling the dice and trying to win it all this year.

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Jacksonville could be willing to listen to offers for Brandon Scherff, who will be 33 in December. He is at the back end of his career and isn’t at the First Team All-Pro level of his past. However, he’d be an immediate upgrade to both Ed Ingram and the returning Dalton Risner. The Jaguars could make a small saving by moving the veteran on. The Titans are another team that could be looking to sell, and DL Jeffrey Simmons has been mentioned as a name. Simmons has a big contract that must be juggled to bring him on board.

Cam Akers

The most likely scenario always seemed to be the Vikings trading for a running back. Minnesota came into the season shorthanded at RB, with Myles Gaskin being elevated from the practice squad on a weekly basis to be RB3. Aaron Jones led the rushing attack, backed up by Ty Chandler. News came out on Tuesday that the Vikings had agreed to a trade with the Houston Texans for Cam Akers.

The recent injury to Jones showed how fragile that RB room is, so adding someone to the mix makes sense. There were several guys could that be available, like Tony Pollard, Dameon Pierce, Chuba Hubbard, and Miles Sanders, to name a few, but the Vikings opted for the familiar face of Akers, who was with the team last season after the Vikings traded a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick for Akers and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick with the LA Rams. It’s the same deal with the Texans again. Akers provides good depth and can step in as either RB1 or RB2 if Jones were to have more injury issues.

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Will there be any more trades? Pro Football Focus recently gave their opinion on what teams should do with the trade deadline looming. They suggested the Vikings should hold, saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Vikings are getting it done at 5-0, and bringing an unknown element into the mix might not help.” While I don’t completely agree with that assessment, I believe bringing in added depth is always beneficial. The lack of 2025 draft picks means the Vikings will need to find a trade partner willing to work with picks further down the line.

The idea of a big Vikings trade doesn’t feel realistic.