Minnesota Vikings trade deadline recap

In the end, they were both. First, they broke the internet a little bit when they traded for 28-year-old QB, Josh Dobbs, to help fill up the void left in the QB room by Kirk Cousins’ injury.

Then, after buying on Dobbs, GM Kwesi-Adofo Mensah dealt away one of the better left guards in the league, Ezra Cleveland, to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2024 6th round pick.

Here are our full breakdowns on each trade:

• Cardinals Trade QB Josh Dobbs to Vikings for Late Round Pick Swap
• Vikings Trade Ezra Cleveland to Jaguars for 6th Round Pick

Vikings add QB security with Josh Dobbs

The first thing the Vikings did on Tuesday, before the trade deadline, was solidify some depth at quarterback, after losing Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles tear.

To do that, they swapped their 6th round pick in April for the Arizona Cardinals 7th round pick, in order to acquire the quarterback who has started all eight games for them this season, Josh Dobbs.

Here are all of new #Vikings QB Josh Dobbs’ scoring plays this year so far. Make no mistake, this guy can play. #SKOL #NFLTradeDeadline pic.twitter.com/0w9zZTd8Ka

— Joshua Anderson (@Josh_Anderson_3) October 31, 2023

Dobbs was available for clearance prices because the Cardinals are expected to activate Kyler Murray off injured reserve and they just drafted a young QB, Clayton Tune, last April. Dobbs isn’t a cinch starter for the Vikings and he’ll sit behind rookie QB, Jaren Hall, this weekend vs the Atlanta Falcons.

But, Dobbs brings a lot of experience in multiple different NFL offensive systems. He went to school to be a rocket scientist, so the Vikings hope he can catch on quickly.

We’ll see if Dobbs ever starts a game for the Vikings, with Hall getting the first crack at starting, post 2023 Kirk Cousins, and Nick Mullins set to come off IR in a couple of weeks. Even if he doesn’t, Kwesi & Co were smart to add valuable depth to a now raw position.

Ezra Cleveland traded for 6th round pick

Trade rumors have been circulating around Ezra Cleveland since this offseason. He’s on the final year of his rookie contract and has never really been expected to stick around this offseason.

Still, trading one of the better offensive guards in the league, when he’s only in his mid-20’s, is risky. That especially holds true when you only get a 6th round pick, in return. Obviously, the Vikings were motivated to deal Cleveland and nothing was going to stop it from happening, even a lackluster haul back.

If the Minnesota Vikings interior offensive line deals with any injury issues through the end of the season, or if Ezra becomes a decade-long rock on someone else’s offensive line, this deal will reflect poorly on Kwesi-Adofo Mensah.

Danielle Hunter stays put

The Danielle Hunter situation seemed to be trending this way, the last couple weeks, after the Vikings put together their current three game win streak. Kwesi wasn’t completely against dealing the NFL’s sack leader today but they needed something better than a 2nd round pick, to get it done, an offer they never received.

Thus, Hunter will remain in Minnesota for the rest of the 2023-24 season, before the Vikings either find a way to ink him long term or he leaves via free agency.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Vikings trade Ezra Cleveland to Jaguars

The #Vikings are trading standout guard Ezra Cleveland to the #Jaguars, per me, @TomPelissero and @MikeGarafolo. One of the better young players at his position, Cleveland moves on to beef up another O-line in exchange for a third-day draft pick. pic.twitter.com/uTItO1ECnE

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 31, 2023

I guess this one surprisdes me a little bit. Not the deal, itself, because I wrote over the weekend about how likely it was that Cleveland had played his final game as a Viking. What I’m a bit surprised by is the return Kwesi-Adofo Mensah was able to get for Ezra, who grades out as one of the better offensive guards in all of football.

Hell, we just gave up nearly the same thing for Josh Dobbs, who will hopefully only play QB for the rest of this season and then never step foot on a regular season field with a Vikings jersey on ever again. If Minnesota could have found a trade partner that Cleveland could have signed long term with, then he will be an offensive line staple for the next decade.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Ezra Cleveland questionable (more like doubtful) for Sunday

But last week, in the Vikings’ underdog victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Ezra was on the sidelines with a foot injury. Entering this weekend, he’s listed as questionable vs the Green Bay Packers, as well. That designation seems optimistic, though, if you heard or watched head coach Kevin O’Connell give the update on Cleveland at Friday’s press conference.

LG Ezra Cleveland (foot) is questionable for Sunday, per Kevin O’Connell. He got some reps this week but isn’t 100%. Would need more progress to start, it would seem.

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 27, 2023

“Yeah, [Ezra Cleveland]’s gotten some reps in there and we are just trying to gauge, right now, where he is at, from a standpoint of being able to be 100% Sunday at noon. Dalton [Risner] has had a good week as well, in prep. Regardless of kinda how it works out, with the active roster and things, will be just determined on what we think is best, based upon Ezra’s, you know, feelings Sunday morning.”

Kevin O’Connell

Later in his session with media members, O’Connell was asked if there is a chance Ed Ingram could get usurped at right guard, if both Dalton Risner and Ezra Cleveland are ready to go on Sunday. He put that conversation to rest by saying the only guard competition at TCO Performance Center is on left side, between Risner and Cleveland.

Related: Christian Darrisaw Completely Dominated Matchup vs Reining DPOY Nick Bosa

By the sounds of it, however, that competition is unlikely to exist this week, leading up to their matchup on Sunday in Green Bay, given Ezra looks more doubtful than questionable, entering the weekend.

Could Cleveland’s career with Minnesota Vikings be over?

And if we look beyond Sunday, Ezra Cleveland’s status with the Minnesota Vikings looks even more questionable than his designation for this week. Not because of his foot injury, but because of the October 31 trade deadline.

For months (if not years), all signs have pointed to Cleveland eventually leaving Minnesota in free agency, this offseason. And now, with Dalton Risner on the roster and seemingly the same starting-caliber guard as he was for the first four years of his career in Denver, the Vikings are likely shopping their “injured” left guard, as I type this blog.

And there’s no reason they should have issues finding a taker for one of the most promising young linemen in football. In theory, there are 64 starting offensive guards in the NFL and Cleveland’s PFF grades all rank in the top 25% of the league.

Trading Cleveland shouldn’t be a problem

If a contract extension can be agreed upon with his new team, before a trade is completed, Ezra should easily bring back day-two draft capital, in return. So, if the Vikings believe they are the same team with Dalton Risner at left guard, as they are with Ezra Cleveland playing there… then it only makes sense they ship Cleveland out if they can get a proper return.

So, should Ezra not play Sunday in Green Bay, it’s very possible we’ve seen him in a horned helmet for the last time.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Win or lose Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will finish their 2020 season at Ford Field vs the Detroit Lions. Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen will all suit up but other stars won’t.

Dalvin Cook will not be available, following the sad and surprising death of his father earlier in the week. Eric Kendricks will miss another game with the same calf injury he’s been nursing for weeks and Cam Dantzler has also been ruled out.

There’s one expected absence, however, that’s been talked up more than the others mentioned above. Riley Reiff hit the COVID-19 list earlier this week. As of now, the team has not announced whether or not he will play vs the Lions but there’s growing concern that he will not.

Plans for Ezra will not change.

According to Gary Kubiak, Ezra Cleveland will play right guard on Sunday, no matter what Reiff’s playing status is. He was drafted as the future LT and played there for most of his college career at Boise State.

#Vikings set to give Rashod Hill the start at left tackle, Gary Kubiak says, with Ezra Cleveland sticking at right guard. Riley Reiff on COVID list. They want to keep Cleveland there for now, Kubiak says, adding where he'll play in 2021 will be a "question in the building," too

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) December 31, 2020

Keeping Cleveland at guard for 2020’s last game, even if Reiff doesn’t play, makes sense for a few different reasons. Obviously moving him back to the LT could hinder progress he’s made on the right side.

On top of that, guard play for the Vikings behind Cleveland has been the flimsiest in the league. Kubiak also admitted that Rashod Hill deserves his chance at tackle. I’d agree, especially if the alternative is Dru Samia getting another shot at RG.

But still

But with all of that being said… left tackle is just too important of a position to fuck up. If the Minnesota Vikings were seriously considering Cleveland at LT in 2021 then it seems almost impossible that they wouldn’t take this opportunity to evaluate him there. Even if it’s just a “pre-test”, where the results wouldn’t be used against him going forward.

Riley Reiff still has one season left on his deal. If he plays 2021 like he did 2020, the $11.75 million he’d count against the cap would be much less than his worth. Rick Spielman already has enough questions that need to be answered on the OL this offseason. Why add another unnecessary one?

Keeping Reiff in purple would mean only one starting offensive line spot that needs to be addressed (hypothetically), heading into the offseason. You’d have Reiff at LT, Bradbury at C, Cleveland at RG and O’Neil at RT.

Missing Sunday could cost Riley Reiff $1 million

For Reiff, there COULD BE a lot of money riding on week 17. Riley needs to be on the field for 93.7% of Minnesota’s offensive plays in 2020, to reach a $1 million roster bonus. If he plays even a handful of snaps on Sunday, he’d be almost guaranteed to hit it.

If tackle Riley Reiff doesn't play on Sunday and the #Vikings run 67 or more plays and he falls below the 93.75 percent threshold for his additional $1 million bonus, I would be surprised if the Vikings didn't pay it to him anyhow.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) December 30, 2020

Even if he doesn’t play, the Vikings would have to run 67 offensive plays or more for Reiff to drop under 93.7% and miss out on that bonus. But here’s the catch.

The Minnesota Vikings offense averages 66.8 plays per game…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

So here we are. The Minnesota Vikings are now 6-9 and officially eliminated from expanded playoff contention in 2020. With just one game left on the schedule, it’s time to talk about what’s next for our favorite professional football team.

The offseason conversation needs to start in a very familiar place, the offensive line. The Vikings seem so close, yet so far away from competence at OL that the uncertainty is maddening. At this point, we no-longer know where “the process” is up front.

Where there isn’t uncertainty on the field, there’s uncertainty on paper. O-line seems to be a position group of focus for Rick Spielman every offseason, but this year’s could prove to be the most crucial in recent memory.

Let’s take a look under the hood, from left to right.

Left Tackle

Starter: Riley Reiff (32) – After some serious contract consternation right before the season kicked off, 2020 may have been the best of Reiff’s career. It’s definitely been his best in purple.

Riley Reiff has the 2nd-highest PFF grade out of all Vikings offensive linemen, trailing only the young anchor on the other side of the line, Brian O’Neil. He’s tied for the team lead in offensive snaps (1,003) and Riley has been arguably the most trustworthy frontline performer of 2020.

He’s still under contract in 2021, if the Minnesota Vikings want to bring him back for $14 million, which they absolutely should. If they were to cut him, they’d pay $2.2 million in dead cap (according to Spotrac.com).

It’d be an easy divorce, should Spielman decide to move on, but I really don’t think the Vikings can afford to do so. Rick forced Reiff into a paycut before the 2020 season, however, so we’ll see what his worth is for Rick entering 2021.

Left Guard

Starter?: Dru Samia (23) – Yes, Dru Samia is the only “guard” currently on the roster, outside of Ezra Cleveland, for 2021. Dakota Dozier, who is tied with Riley Reiff for the team’s most offensive snaps in 2020 (1,003), is an unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason.

Something needs to happen at guard. Like… desperately.

“If I die, I die”

-Kirk Cousins when he found out Dru Samia was on the team probably pic.twitter.com/u7MQRuauUm

— ???? ???? (@WoIIin) October 13, 2020

Center

Starter: Garrett Bradbury – Two seasons into his career and Garrett Bradbury has piled up 31 of a possible 31 starts. Yet… we know nothing about how good of an NFL center he is.

The Minnesota Vikings have been unable to surround Bradbury with any consistency on either side, rotating in terrible guard after terrible guard, until Ezra Cleveland gave them a little bit of hope in 2020.

The NC State alum holds a 61.2 PFF grade this season but that’s held afloat by his 67+ run grade. His pass grade is a rough 45.2. Can Spielman find some help for Bradbury up the middle? If so, will he take a huge step forward in 2021? Hopefully, we find out one way or the other.

This type of thing has been a problem for Garrett Bradbury throughout his first two seasons. Needs to improve his ability to anchor if he’s going to become a top-15 center pic.twitter.com/FljJhPlenM

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) December 25, 2020

Right Guard

Starter: Ezra Cleveland – I’m putting Ezra Cleveland at guard because the Minnesota Vikings cannot afford to let Riley Reiff go. That means Cleveland stays at RG, where he has played all of his snaps in 2020.

It’s been an up and down rookie season for the Boise State Alum, which should have been expected. He’s going through a side switch, from left to right and a position switch, from tackle to guard.

Still the Vikings and the man to his left, Garrett Bradbury, need him to improve heavily next year, if the team as a whole is going to take a step forward. Getting a guard to hold down the left side of the interior line would help…

Right tackle

Starter: Brian O’Neil – He’s been arguably the best Vikings offensive lineman this season and holds the best PFF grade (77.8). He’s the only Minnesota O-lineman who has either a pass block or rush block grade above 80 (RB – 83.3).

Currently, there is no problem with Brian O’Neil, either on the field or on paper. He’s been great and his rookie deal still has one season left on it. Spielman is getting the Wilf checkbook ready, though. This is a man who’s getting paid before 2022.

Backups

The only current backup available at offensive line for the 2021 season according to Spotrac.com, is (RT) Oli Udoh. Rashod Hill, Dakota Dozier and Rashod Hill are all set to be free agents.

This could prove to be the most crucial offseason for this Minnesota Vikings offensive line. Really though, it shouldn’t be that difficult to make big strides.

Spielman should be able to find a competent guard to place on the left side of Bradbury (via draft, free agency and/or trade), for under $8 million dollars.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

One thing that has been very good, but slightly under appreciated, has been the offensive line. In order to have an elite running game, you have to have a decent offensive line… right? Let’s take a look.

Vikings offensive line PFF grades:

As a whole, the line averages out to be a 66.7 grade and rank 41st of 72. That’s pretty much average. If you seperate the running game, which is where the Vikings have been most successful, the numbers look a bit better. The average ranking of the five positions is 36 out of 72. It’s still not great but it’s exactly in the middle.

The offensive line has been the Vikings’ achilles heel for as long as I can remember. It’s certainly not 100% fixed, but three of the five positions seem to be in good hands with Bradbury, O’Neil and Cleveland all showing great progress.

Garrett Bradbury’s rank among centers in Week 10

➤ 1st Overall (88.6 Career High)
1st Run Block (90.6 Career High)
➤ 17th Pass Block (59.7)
➤ T-3 Pressures Allowed (2)

? #SKOL pic.twitter.com/HcGHaczcKq

— PFF MIN Vikings (@PFF_Vikings) November 17, 2020

There is still work to be done but Dalvin Cook has to be loving the improvement in front of him as much as anyone. This offense is going to continue to build around the run game and it’s good to see the line prove they can play that style of football.

There’s still a long ways to go and, with Kirk Cousins at QB, they’ll still need heavy improvement in blocking the pass rush, if the Minnesota Vikings are ever to reach their full potential.

Shorthanded OL vs Cowboys

The Vikings and their OL will have to continue its improvement shorthanded on Sunday vs the Dallas Cowboys. Ezra Cleveland has been ruled out. On a positive note, both CJ Ham and Garrett Bradbury will play.

#Vikings final Week 11 injury report pic.twitter.com/uuXU1MNznJ

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 20, 2020

Vikings announce CJ Ham has been activated off the COVID-19/Reserve list. Mike Zimmer seemed confident yesterday that this would happen. Minnesota gets it’s starting FB back for the Dallas game.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) November 21, 2020

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

Mike Zimmer can try to spin it all he wants to. The Minnesota Vikings activating and releasing Pat Elflein Saturday morning was weird. Sure the offensive line has looked better of late… but could it have looked worse than what it did for the first handful of games this season?

Some dude named Dakota Dozier is currently starting at LG for the Vikings. When Elflein was released on Saturday, “sources” said Brett Jones is going to be elevated again from the practice squad (lol) vs the Bears. I’m sure teams were foaming at the mouth to steal Jones from us if we didn’t call him up…. (not).

We may never find out what exactly happened with Pat. We do know a few things, though. The Vikings’ offensive line is now as thin as the ice that sits on our Minnesota lakes today (there isn’t any ice on our lakes yet) but it has 4 starters that are playing pretty well and showing promise for the future.

#Vikings OL according to PFF.

Reiff | Doz | Brad | Clev | O’Neil
71.2 | 52.9 | 68.9 | 63.2 | 80.2

Elflein’s grade is a 60.

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 15, 2020

Leaving Ezra Cleveland at RG

If you were planning on Ezra Cleveland being your starting left tackle for 2021 and beyond, then that’s probably where you would want to play him now. But after holding onto Reiff at the trade deadline and now releasing Elflein, it’s clear the Vikings are happy to play Cleveland at right guard, not left tackle.

Those two positions are very different. Cleveland is going through both a position AND side change. Most O-linemen don’t like to do one or the other, let alone both. I can’t imagine the Vikings making moves this drastic if their foreseeable future plans had Cleveland at LT. I expect them to play Cleveland at RG into 2021.

That means you re-sign Riley Reiff, right?

If the Minnesota Vikings plan on keeping their 2020 2nd round rookie at RG, then they can’t afford to let Riley Reiff go at the end of this season. Luckily for them, Reiff is under contract through the 2021 season. Does that surprise anyone?

The Wilfs would have to pay him more than they have in any year yet… but $14M (cap-hit) isn’t overpaying for a starting LT. Let’s not forget about the pay-cut they forced him to take before the 2020 season. Would he take a haircut again? He’s only supposed to make $11.6M in cash so you’d think the Vikings could re-work the deal so it’s easier on the cap and Reiff still makes as much in cash. We’ll see..

At this point, I’d say Reiff is more likely to play his home games in Minnesota next season, than not. If you would have told me that before the trade deadline, I would have laughed at you. I just don’t see any way Spielman can find a better bang for his buck in free agency.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Vikings have possibly the worst professional offensive lineman I’ve ever seen, in Dru Samia. I first took notice last week, while watching back Kirk Cousins’ snaps from week 4. Anytime there was pressure, Dru Samia seemed to be getting rolled over or he was off somewhere, blocking nobody.

At first glance, Samia looked just as bad (if not worse) on Sunday night vs the Seahawks, but I thought it might just be me taking closer notice… Early in the week though, Luke Braun (Locked On Vikings Podcast) made this video of Dru Samia highlights and confirmed what everybody (myself included) saw in real time.

https://t.co/gNN4yQi9ip pic.twitter.com/OQyzSbMwI0

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) October 12, 2020

I don’t mean to continue hammering on Dru Samia. This is a 2nd-year player who clearly isn’t ready for the role he’s been thrust into. Having watched him closely, I don’t think he’ll ever become a starting offensive lineman in the NFL… but I wouldn’t stop your NFL conversations with my opinion.

Samia isn’t ready

Right now, however, he isn’t ready. That conclusion doesn’t take all-22 film or a degree in American Football Strategery, to come to grips with.

But if you expected the Minnesota Vikings to make a change at RG or for Gary Kubiak to admit defeat on Samia’s ability, then you’d better head back to the drawing board. While Kubiak has plenty of good things to say about Ezra Cleveland’s progress at practice (of course he does), he also names Samia as the starter for week 7 vs the Atlanta Falcons.

Gary Kubiak seems really pleased with the development of Ezra Cleveland. Said he had a really good practice today and him making the next step is “probably just about an opportunity.” Said that “his time is coming” and confirmed he’s getting practice reps at guard & tackle.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 15, 2020

Kubiak did say he will stick with Dru Samia at right guard. “We’ve got to continue to grow Dru, and we’ve got to work to some of the mistakes, but we’re also hanging onto some of the positive things he’s doing. We believe in our group, and we’ll just keep working.”

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) October 15, 2020

Did you see the Samia film above? If Ezra Cleveland is worse than that… then we should have drafted someone else in the 2nd round. For example, Antoine Winfield Jr was taken 13 slots ahead of Cleveland. How many of Spielman’s (6) 6th-7th round picks would it have taken to jump up and grab Winfield Jr, who is gunning for NFL Rookie of the Year?

Don’t hate the coach, hate the game…

I’m not mad at Gary Kubiak for his interview… What’s he supposed to say? “Yeah, my right guard options suck.” He’s incredible at telling the media what he wants them to hear, even if it makes no sense. He’s the polar opposite of Mike Zimmer, when it comes to his interaction with reporters. It doesn’t make his comments any less asinine, however.

Just to throw in more confusion, Dru Samia didn’t practice today with a wrist injury… making Kubiak’s comments even more dumbfounding. It’s also worth noting, that starting RG Pat Elflein (who is eligible to come off IR), was at practice today.

Thursday's #Vikings injury report pic.twitter.com/oUaFzHNpZq

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 15, 2020

Here is his Kubiak’s interview, from earlier this afternoon.

LIVE: Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Gary Kubiak previews #ATLvsMIN https://t.co/KC7Sh8uemM

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 15, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan