For now, Minnesota has three playable corners under contract for 2023 — Andrew Booth, Cameron Dantzler, and Akayleb Evans. All three could show up to Vikings camp this summer and look phenomenal; all three could show up to Vikings camp this summer and look terrible. That’s where the Vikings are at with their current CB room.
Future Hall of Fame CB Will Be Available if Vikings Want Him
But if the franchise wants a sure thing at CB — at an expensive pricetag — future Hall of Famer Jalen Ramsey will reportedly be on the market via trade.
Oct 16, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) in the first half against the Carolina Panthers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted Friday evening, “The Rams have had trade talks about six-time Pro Bowl CB Jalen Ramsey and league sources now believe it’s very likely Ramsey is dealt in coming weeks. Ramsey, 28, is due $17 million in 2023 on a front-loaded deal that averages $20M and L.A. is clearing cap space.”
It is unclear which teams have called about Ramsey’s services, but a trade should culminate in the next two weeks.
Jan 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) poses with children after the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Ramsey is one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks and is sometimes called the best, depending on the beholder. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-Team All-Pro, and a Super Bowl champion. And Ramsey just so happened to win that Super Bowl with current Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles.
In 2022, Ramsey was graded as the league’s third-best corner, with an 86.4 score from Pro Football Focus. He lived one spot above upstart Vikings CB Duke Shelley, who fired up an 82.9 PFF grade. Ramsey entered the NFL via the fifth overall pick in 2016 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and has barnstormed the league since.
Jan 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) returns an interception against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports.
His cap number in 2023 is $19.6 million (post-trade), making a trade to the Vikings with his existing contract unlikely. If Minnesota wants a Ramsey trade, it would probably finagle the deal for draft picks and rework the contract while adding more guaranteed money and pushing off the cap hit into the future.
The last time Ramsey was traded, the Jaguars landed received a 2020 1st-Round pick (K’Lavon Chaisson), a 2021 1st-Round pick (Travis Etienne), and a 2021 4th-Rounder (Robert Rochell). His pricetag won’t be quite that high because of age, but the Rams will probably ask for at least a 2nd-Rounder and an additional pick(s). It should also be noted that the Vikings don’t have a 2023 2nd-Round pick because it was donated as a part of a deal for tight end T.J. Hockenson last November.
If the Ramsey trade fodder is legitimate, Los Angeles is likely to send him elsewhere before March 13th, the opening of the NFL’s “legal tampering” phase of free agency.