Could Vikings tag-and-trade Byron Murphy Jr. like Chiefs did with L'Jarius Sneed?

What if using the franchise tag on Murphy makes more sense than using it on Sam Darnold?

Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) intercepts a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (8) during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After a Pro Bowl season while leading the Minnesota Vikings with six interceptions, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. is going to see his 2025 salary jump significantly. The question is how significant will his raise be and who will be paying him?

While The 33rd Team's Marcus Mosher is predicting Murphy could get nearly $17 million per season in free agency, there's growing speculation that the Vikings could hit him with the franchise tag and keep him locked in with the Minnesota defense in 2025. In fact, there's scenario in the mind of ESPN's Kevin Seifert where the Vikings are deciding whether to use the tag on quarterback Sam Darnold or Murphy.

"In the end, the Vikings seem more likely to let Darnold sign elsewhere and preserve their tag for a player such as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.," Seifert writes. "If nothing else, it would give the Vikings time to sign Murphy to a longer-term deal while keeping him off the market."

Franchise-tagging Darnold would cost the Vikings an estimated $41.325 million for the 2025 season. Using the tag on Murphy would come at a whopping price of $20.357 million, according to Over The Cap's 2025 franchise tag estimates.

Paying Murphy more than $20 million with the franchise tag would make him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Corners carrying a cap hit of at least $20 million in 2025 include:

• Marlon Humphrey (Ravens): $25.3 million
• Jaire Alexander (Packers): $24.9 million
• Denzel Ward (Browns): $24.5 million
• L'Jarius Sneed (Titans): $23.5 million
• Jaylon Johnson (Bears): $21 million

It's a short list, but an interesting one because Sneed is on it. Sneed was hit with the franchise tag by the Chiefs last year before he was traded to the Titans for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2024 seventh-round pick swap. In the end, it was a cost-saving move for the Chiefs, who wound up back in the Super Bowl despite moving forward without their star cornerback.

Could the Vikings do something similar?

Not only would franchise-tagging Murphy give Minnesota more time to work out a long-term contract extension, but it would also open the door for a Sneed-like scenario where the Vikings can trade him for a package of picks similar to what the Titans gave Kansas City.

if the Vikings aren't interested in committing $16+ million per season to Murphy, they could conceivably receive a third-round pick to bolster pick load in the draft. As of now, the Vikings only have the No. 24 overall pick, two fifth-round picks and possibly a third-round compensation pick stemming from last year's Kirk Cousins decision.

That, however, comes with the risk of emptying the cornerbck cupboard entirely. Without Murphy, the only cornerbacks on the roster entering free agency would be Mehki Blackmon, who is coming off a torn ACL, and Dwight McGlothern, who was a seventh-round pick in 2024 whose abilities against NFL starters is an unknown.

But a tag-and-trade scenario with Murphy would keep money on the table to pay cornerbacks in free agency and add draft assets. Does one scenario seem more valuable than the other? That's the question the Vikings will have to weigh.

Meanwhile, using the franchise tag on Darnold makes sense if Minnesota thinks J.J. McCarthy won't be ready in 2025 or if they believe they can get something for him in a tag-and-trade scenario. However, a quarterback hasn't been featured in a tag-and-trade since Matt Cassel in 2009, when the Chiefs sent the Patriots a second-round pick for Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel.

The two-week window to use the franchise tag opens Tuesday. We'll learn a lot about Minnesota's plans by the time the window closes.