It’s NFL Draft day and there’s speculation that the Vikings could be on the verge of acquiring Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams.
According to Les Carpenter of the Washington Post, the Vikings, Browns, Jets and Eagles are four teams showing the most interest in trading for the 31-year-old, with a second-round pick being the asking price.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, however, has sources telling him that there is zero truth to the Eagles being interested in Williams, leaving only three teams showing the most interest.
Source says "zero truth" to Eagles' interest in Trent Williams. Looks like Washington may be doing whatever they can to expand the market beyond one team: Cleveland. https://t.co/SlirafBo9u
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 23, 2020
The Washington Post report follows a recent report from ESPN’s John Keim, who on a recent podcast stated that Washington is still shopping the former All-Pro left tackle and the Vikings are a team that is in the hunt for his services.
“I know Minnesota was definitely one of the teams interested,” Keim said. “I think they’d probably be the team to watch. Whether they get him or not, I don’t know.”
Williams is a seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle who sat out the entire 2019 season after requesting a trade. Williams played with Kirk Cousins from 2012 to 2017 but also holds a $14.5 million cap hit, which is an obstacle for Minnesota with just over $12 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.
The Vikings already have Riley Reiff at left tackle, but his $13.8 million cap hit is tough for Minnesota to swallow. If the Vikings landed Williams, they have the option to move Reiff to left guard, but could also cut him and save $8.8 million.
It’s been reported that the Vikings are open to trading safety Anthony Harris, a star safety whom was franchise-tagged for $11.4 million. That would help offset most of Williams’ salary in a trade, but losing Harris would put another hole in a Vikings secondary that has already lost Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse and Andrew Sendejo in free agency.
What’s more is that trading for Williams would likely need to be coupled with a contract extension since Williams is not signed beyond 2020.
Then there’s the Dalvin Cook situation. Will the Vikings be able to trade for Williams, sign him to an extension, and extend Cook, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal?
Throw in the fact that Minnesota still has to sign its draft class (12 picks), finding money for everyone will require some magic by Rob Brzezinski, the executive vice president of football operations who has a history of pulling rabbits out of his hat to make the roster and contracts work.
