A path to the Vikings trading for Lamar Jackson exists
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has put Vikings Nation in a frenzy by saying he talked to league sources who think Minnesota is a “wild card” landing spot for former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Matthew Coller of Purple Insider thinks exploring any way possible to get Jackson in a Vikings uniform is a no-brainer, albeit something that doesn’t exactly jump off the page as a realistic answer to the Jackson puzzle.
"The path is possible. I would not say it is likely or something that I think they're working on as we speak and is going to be announced tomorrow but it is possible. Because if Kirk Cousins is traded after June 1st his numbers change with his dead cap hit. It would go down for how much it would take out of the cap this year and then it spreads the dead cap money out over the next few years,” said Coller.
Trading Cousins before June 1 would hammer Minnesota with a $38 million cap hit this season. That cap hit goes down after June 1, which is inconvenient because it’s after the NFL Draft.
The path Minnesota would need to take is likely one that sees them trade Cousins for at least a first-round pick in 2024. Then the Vikings would have to send Baltimore two first-round picks (and more?) while agreeing to a huge contract with Jackson.
The question is which two first-rounders would Baltimore get? Could they agree to the deal before the draft and have the Vikings pick a player at 23 on their behalf or keep it simple and give the Ravens their 2024 first and the 2024 first they get by trading Cousins?
"This isn't a discussion of 'Do you want Lamar Jackson?'... but it's really more 'Could it really happen?' Because 'Do you want him,' for me, is a pretty obvious decision that the answer would be yes you would want Lamar Jackson on your football team,” Coller continued.
"I don't think there's any question about the player. Lamar Jackson has an MVP, he has won 46 games and lost 15 in the regular season in his career, and let's take a look at some of his top wide receivers: Marquise Brown, Rashad Bateman, these guys have not been all that great in the NFL. Mark Andrews is a good tight end, no question one of the better tight ends. He hasn't had anybody remotely in the ballpark of Justin Jefferson and if you're telling me they could figure out a way to pair Lamar Jackson, Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson all together with an offensive line that is actually good at run blocking, that's a pretty good start. That would be, in my mind, the closest they have been to the Super Bowl since 2009."
