{"id":76621,"date":"2024-01-02T01:31:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T01:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=76621"},"modified":"2024-01-02T01:31:27","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T01:31:27","slug":"vikings-trade-pitch-nets-rival-19-million-qb-for-1st-round-pick-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/vikings-trade-pitch-nets-rival-19-million-qb-for-1st-round-pick-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Trade Pitch Nets Rival $19 Million QB for 1st-Round Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0hoped they\u2019d found an answer to their QB woes in Jaren Hall, but their faith in the rookie was misplaced.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Minnesota continues desperately searching for answers at the position, with the playoffs now a dubious proposition after losing at home by 23 points to the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0in what was essentially a must-win game on New Year\u2019s Eve. The Vikings have dropped five of six contests under the starting trio of\u00a0Josh Dobbs,\u00a0Nick Mullens\u00a0and\u00a0Jaren Hall, which leaves\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0the only viable answer in free agency.<\/p>\n

But Cousins will play next season at 36 years old and will be seeking a multiyear contract come March. Even at a discount, a new deal for him will cost the Vikings a substantial amount of money. If the season ended today, Minnesota would pick No. 12 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft,\u00a0per Tankathon, which almost certainly isn\u2019t early enough to pick up any of the top three QB prospects \u2014\u00a0Caleb Williams,\u00a0Drake Maye\u00a0and\u00a0Jayden Daniels, who could feasibly come off the board in the top three spots.<\/p>\n

The Vikings will have to part with multiple valuable assets to trade up for one of those players, including the No. 12 overall selection. However, that draft pick could be enough to convince the\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0to part with quarterback\u00a0Justin Fields\u00a0if the team decides to use the No. 1 overall selection to draft its newest QB of the future.<\/p>\n

Justin Fields Has Shown Flashes of Brilliance During 2nd Half of Season<\/h2>\n
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\"Justin<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fields started off his third season poorly after entering 2023 with legitimate MVP hype. He hit rock bottom when he suffered a dislocated thumb against the Vikings in Week 6, forcing him to the sideline for several games.<\/p>\n

However, when Fields returned to the gridiron on November 19, his playmaking returned with him. Chicago is 4-2 over that span and could be 6-0 save for two blown fourth-quarter leads on the road against playoff teams in the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0and\u00a0Cleveland Browns, which were as much or more about the Bears\u2019 defense than anything Fields did or didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

Fields still has plenty of work ahead of him as a passer, completing 61% of his 354 attempts across 12 starts this season for 2,414 yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. However, the QB is lethal with his legs, rushing 630 yards for 4 TDs in 2023. He nearly broke the all-time record for rushing at the position last year with 1,143 yards and 8 scores in 15 games played, per\u00a0Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n

The Vikings were at least somewhat interested in former\u00a0San Francisco 49ers\u00a0QB\u00a0Trey Lance\u00a0last offseason, and Fields is a better version of Lance with vastly more NFL experience. He offers head coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0a versatile option at the game\u2019s most important position and fits the timeline of the Vikings\u2019 top skill players \u2014 namely All-Pro wide receiver\u00a0Justin Jefferson\u00a0and Pro Bowl tight end\u00a0TJ Hockenson<\/p>\n

Jaren Hall Doesn\u2019t Look Like Long-Term Answer for Vikings<\/h2>\n
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\"Jaren<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fields has played his way back into solid first-round trade value and offers the Vikings a better considerably better alternative to Hall, a fifth-round pick in 2023. He does not possess the type of downfield accuracy that Cousins can offer Minnesota, but he does have the physical tools to get there under O\u2019Connell\u2019s tutelage.<\/p>\n

Fields also offers Minnesota a potential long-term solution under, while the injured Cousins can give them two or three more years at most. Fields is also entering the final season of his four-year,\u00a0$19 million rookie contract\u00a0in 2024, which will make him considerably cheaper than Cousins next season. Cousins will hit free agency in March but earned\u00a0$35 million\u00a0for his services in 2023.<\/p>\n

If the Vikings were to deal for Fields, they would also trade for the right to exercise a fifth-year team option for the 2025 campaign, which would keep the QB on cost-controlled contracts while Minnesota revamps its roster over the next two years.<\/p>\n

Fields would also alleviate the team\u2019s lack of options under center, which remains a major issue as the Vikings head into Week 18 with a 2.8% chance of making the playoffs, per\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Pro Football Power Index.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take a look at it,\u201d\u00a0O\u2019Connell said\u00a0of who will start against the Lions on January 7.\u00a0\u201cThe decision we\u2019ll make will be based upon that position putting our group in a place to try to move the football and have success. We did not do that tonight. We\u2019ll take a look at it, and all options are on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0hoped they\u2019d found an answer to their QB woes in Jaren Hall, but their faith in the rookie was misplaced. Minnesota continues desperately searching for answers… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}