The Denver Broncos are about to have joint practices and a preseason game with the Minnesota Vikings. Could the two teams come together on a trade?
Although most NFL teams at this point have not even played a single preseason game, the cold reality of 90-man rosters being cut down to 53 guys for each team is not far off. Although the reality of roster cuts is brutal for the players involved, it’s fascinating for fans and media to speculate on because you just never know what teams are going to do. The Denver Broncos have some big decisions ahead.
Although for the time being roster decisions can wait, the Denver Broncos have joint practices this week against the Minnesota Vikings. Joint practices are beneficial for both teams in a wide variety of ways. Not only do the teams get a chance to hit someone other than themselves, but the coaches and scouts get the opportunity to scour another roster up close for a few days and get some intel on guys they might want to try and pull off trades for.
In the NFL, relationships are everything, and when you have a relationship as strong as Denver Broncos general manager George Paton and Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, it’s not out of the question to think these two teams could come together on a trade or two before rosters are finalized after the three-game preseason is over.
There could be some trades made for big-name players, but you also have to look at guys up and down the roster that could wind up hitting the waiver wire. Teams might want to make trades for guys that would otherwise get scooped up before their chance to claim someone on waivers.
We’ve already seen the Minnesota Vikings sign former Denver Broncos wide receiver Warren Jackson after Jackson couldn’t make it out of Broncos camp.
With all of that being said, which players between the Vikings and Broncos might each team have some interest in?
Let’s dive in.
1. WR Tim Patrick to the Vikings
Tim Patrick has been a constant subject when it comes to trade rumors not only this offseason, but we were talking about it last year as well.
Patrick is coming off of the best season of his NFL career in which he caught 51 passes for 742 yards and six touchdowns. That career year led to Patrick getting a second-round restricted free agent tender from the Denver Broncos, not exactly a big-time contract but a substantial raise from what he was previously making.
Even with that, there’s no doubt that Patrick’s future in Denver is up for debate.
The Broncos and GM George Paton specifically have labeled Courtland Sutton as a core player on the team and someone that they want to ultimately take care of financially. If it’s the Denver Broncos plan to sign Courtland Sutton to a long-term deal, how does Patrick fit in beyond this season?
Selfishly, you’d love to see the Broncos be able to re-sign Patrick to a team-friendly deal.
Is that what’s best for the team or for Patrick, though?
With so many teams around the league needing receiver help right now, including the Vikings, will Patrick’s value be any higher?
At the NFL trade deadline, some team will be trading for just half a season of Tim Patrick. Trading for him now or at least soon will give them a chance to get him for a full year. I don’t see his value being any higher than at league-wide roster cut time.
The Vikings’ wide receiver position is not deep, especially after Bisi Johnson went on IR with a knee injury.
Justin Jefferson suffered a little scare in training camp with an AC joint sprain.
Adam Thielen will be 31 later this month and has missed six games over the last two seasons.
Even with their recent addition of a recovering Dede Westbrook, the Minnesota Vikings could add a blooming WR2 in Tim Patrick who has experience in the offense (or at least, a version of it) that coordinator Klint Kubiak is going to run.
Patrick can not only make big plays as a receiver, but he will also block as the Vikings look to establish their ground game and feature Dalvin Cook.
Among no-brainer trade options for Tim Patrick if the Broncos deal him, the Vikings should be near the top of the list.
2. LB Troy Dye to the Broncos
Because of how much the Denver Broncos plan to implement six defensive backs this season, there has not been quite enough attention paid to how thin the inside linebacker position is right now.
Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell are both on the roster, but Jewell has missed some substantial time at camp due to a groin injury. He’ll be expected to return to the starting lineup when healthy, but Justin Strnad has been taking the lion’s share of reps in his stead.
Behind Strnad, the Denver Broncos were expected to have at least Baron Browning, a talented rookie out of Ohio State, but he remains on the PUP list and hasn’t yet practiced.
With Jewell nursing an injury and Strnad coming off of a season-ending wrist injury, the Denver Broncos might be wise to scour the league for some linebacker depth, and why not a guy George Paton recently had a hand in drafting for the Vikings?
Many Denver Broncos fans loved the idea of bringing in Troy Dye a season ago, so better late than never, right?
Dye had 28 tackles and two passes broken up as a rookie for the Vikings, but there is now a significant logjam for linebacker snaps next to Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr.
Nick Vigil, Cameron Smith, and rookie third-round pick Chazz Surratt are all competing for a job there, so the Vikings could probably afford to make this deal for the right price in return.
3. OL Graham Glasgow to the Vikings
Let me preface this by saying — the most likely outcome with Graham Glasgow in 2021 is that the Denver Broncos bank on him being fully healthy and playing up to his hefty contract.
With that being said, the more good news that surfaces about Netane Muti in his second NFL season, the better chances something wild like this may have of actually happening.
The Broncos would save over $8.5 million this season by trading Glasgow, and even with a $9 million dead money hit between 2021 and 2022, what price can you put on having a long-term solution at a starting offensive line position?
If Netane Muti is ready to start, the Denver Broncos should absolutely shop Glasgow around, and the Vikings may be interested.
They currently have an ideal starting five on the offensive line but the one position that is unsettled for the time being is at right guard.
Rookie Wyatt Davis is the ideal starter there, but he’s fresh off of the injured list and may need some seasoning. The Vikings also may not necessarily want a pair of rookies starting on the offensive line with Christian Darrisaw also expected to be the starting left tackle this season.
Glasgow could, in theory, provide a stable starter at the right guard position and he might net the Denver Broncos something nice in return.
4. DL James Lynch to the Broncos
As of right now, the Denver Broncos have at least four spots on the defensive line totally locked in.
Nobody is taking the spots of Dre’Mont Jones, Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, or McTelvin Agim without one of them suffering some kind of injury.
Beyond those four guys, the final two spots should be considered fairly up for grabs.
Veteran Shamar Stephen (a former Viking) has fit in rather nicely, so he’s likely to claim one of those two spots. DeShawn Williams, who finally got a shot to stick on the active roster and play some significant snaps in 2020, is the favorite for the sixth spot at this particular point in time.
Still, if the Denver Broncos could get a player they like with some longer-term upside in there? They might take it.
Again, George Paton had a hand in drafting James Lynch in the fourth round out of Baylor last year for the Vikings. The Vikings have had so many draft selections over the last couple of seasons that their defensive line group could include some really tough decisions at roster cuts.
If Lynch is on the bubble, the Vikings might be inclined to call up George Paton and ask how much he really liked Lynch in last year’s draft.
Lynch had a monster final season at Baylor but didn’t even play 60 snaps as a rookie in Minnesota. He still managed to get his first NFL sack, however.
He would be an interesting pickup to add to an already talented Denver Broncos defensive front.
5. DE Jalyn Holmes to the Broncos
We’ve seen in recent years that the Denver Broncos have taken quite a liking to Ohio State defensive players, specifically guys on the defensive front.
Dre’Mont Jones has obviously been a fantastic pickup for the Broncos but the jury is still out on guys like Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning.
Jalyn Holmes is an Ohio State pass rusher from the class of 2018 who is now in a contract year and could be on the roster bubble for the Vikings despite playing a career-high 617 snaps a season ago.
The Vikings’ starters off the edge are more than likely going to be Danielle Hunter and a combination of Stephen Weatherly and a possible breakthrough sophomore in DJ Wonnum.
With third-round pick Patrick Jones coming in as well as fourth-round pick Janarius Robinson, could the Vikings be willing to trade essentially a starter from last year’s team?
It’s possible.
If they are willing to trade Holmes, it would not be surprising in the least to see the Denver Broncos express interest. Holmes could play along the defensive line for Vic Fangio and utilize his versatility to provide nice depth in the run defense department.
6. S Trey Marshall to the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have taken on some substantial turnover in the secondary, bringing in veteran Patrick Peterson to be the team’s CB1 as well as bringing back former second-round pick Mackensie Alexander.
Jeff Gladney, a first-round pick just last year, has been cut due to significant off-field issues. They traded another former first-round pick, Mike Hughes, to the Kansas City Chiefs. Other former high draft picks like Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes have left the team in the last couple of years.
Safety Anthony Harris bolted for the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
You get the picture.
While Trey Marshall has been much more of an asset to the Denver Broncos on special teams, opportunity could be knocking for him as a third or fourth safety with the Minnesota Vikings.
This trade would obviously fall into the “modest” category for both teams but it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on.
7. CB Kris Boyd to the Broncos
Similar to the way the Denver Broncos have been collecting some Ohio State defensive front seven players the last couple of years, there’s also a pattern lately of some love for Texas defensive backs.
PJ Locke has seemingly entrenched himself as a possible third safety for the Denver Broncos, and if not, he was certainly one of the team’s best and most important special teams players a season ago.
The Broncos also selected Texas safety Caden Sterns in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Obviously George Paton was with the Vikings when they used a seventh-round pick on Kris Boyd in 2019, who was expected to go quite a bit higher than that.
The combination of the Broncos’ current need for a sixth cornerback (okay, need might be a stretch), the Vikings possibly wanting something else off the Denver Broncos’ roster, and George Paton having a hand in drafting Boyd could all help this potential move come to fruition.
Boyd is considered to be on the Vikings’ roster bubble at this point competing with guys like Harrison Hand, a 2020 fifth-round pick, and Minnesota may be ecstatic to get something in return for him as opposed to having to outright cut him.
Boyd played 343 snaps for the Vikings last year so he would give the Denver Broncos another player in the defensive backfield with some experience and time on task.
Until Essang Bassey and/or Duke Dawson are back healthy, the sixth CB spot behind Michael Ojemudia should be considered up for grabs. Acquiring Boyd would also allow the Denver Broncos to potentially keep seven corners if and when Bassey is ready to go.
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