With the NFL The deadline to make changes is approaching, Minnesota Vikings made a big move Tuesday night, acquiring offensive tackle Cam Robinson from the jacksonville jaguars.

The move made a lot of sense for Minnesota, as left tackle Christian Darrisaw tore the MCL and ACL ligaments in his left knee in the Vikings’ Week 8 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday, ending what appeared to be a Pro Bowl-caliber season.

This is the third straight season in which the Vikings made a trade in Week 9 to compensate for an injury in Week 8.

In 2022, they reached an agreement with the Detroit Lions to acquire tight end TJ Hockenson after Irv Smith Jr. suffered an ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals. And last year, of course, after Kirk Cousins ​​tore his Achilles tendon against the Green Bay PackersMinnesota made a trade with those same Cardinals to acquire Joshua Dobbs.

Many thought Robinson was going to be too expensive for the Vikings. But the way Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah reportedly resolved things with Jacksonville, this move is essentially a steal.

By Field Yates, NFL expert on ESPNTo close the deal for Robinson, the Vikings got the Jaguars to agree to pay more than $7 million of his remaining base salary for the 2024 season.

Since the 2017 second-round pick was set to make a little over $9M the rest of the way, the Vikings are only on the hook for about $2M of his base salary and a little less than $59K for each game he plays. So if Robinson appears in Minnesota’s final 10 games, he will be owed a roster bonus of around $588,000, which will put his salary cap hit with the Vikings slightly below $2.6 million.

Once again, he is an absolute bargain for a player of his caliber. While not as highly rated by Pro Football Focus as Darrisaw, who ranked 10th among offensive tackles with 81.4, Robinson ranks 31st with a solid 69.4.

Strong play here from Kwesi.

While Robinson fills the void at offensive tackle, CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan suggests the Vikings should also make a move at defensive tackle, specifically someone defensive coordinator Brian Flores knows well, with Adam Butler being one of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Butler, who went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017, signed as a free agent with the New England Patriotswith whom Flores was essentially the defensive coordinator without officially holding the title.

After four seasons in Foxborough, Butler signed with the Miami Dolphins. Flores, of course, was Miami’s head coach at the time. So this is a guy he knows.

After recording a career-high 5.0 sacks a season ago in his first year with the Raiders, Butler has yet to record one this season, but has racked up 32 tackles, a pair of quarterback hits and a pass defensed. .

He’s not the strongest option out there, but he might be worth considering, especially considering that, like Robinson, he’s on an expiring contract. Plus, Butler’s cap hit was just $1.9 million this season, and the Vikings obviously wouldn’t be affected by all that.

It’s no secret that the Vikings’ 2022 draft class, which was Adofo-Mensah’s first, has been a complete failure from an overall standpoint.

Only three of the 10 players selected that year have played significant roles for Minnesota: guard Ed Ingram (Round 2), cornerback Akayleb Evans (Round 4) and running back Ty Chandler (Round 5). But even of those three, Ingram is the only full-time starter this season.

And three others are no longer even with the team, including their first-round pick, safety Lewis Cine, who was released after last season and currently resides in the buffalo bills‘practice team. The other two are cornerback Andrew Booth (Round 2) and defensive tackle Esezi Otomewo (Round 5).

According ESPN’s Jeremy Fowlerthat number could soon be four, as he feels the Vikings may be looking to offload a third-round pick from that infamous ’22 draft class.

“Vikings linebacker “Brian Asamoah II, a former third-rounder who hasn’t made an impact on Brian Flores’ defense, is also a trade candidate,” Fowler wrote.

You are certainly right that Asamoah failed to make an impact. After making 17 tackles and forcing a fumble as a rookie, he made just seven tackles in 2023 and just one in 2024. And that was an assist against the Houston Texans in Week 3. There may not be much value here, but if Los Vikings can even get a sixth or seventh round pick in return, that should be considered a win.