Getty Rick Spielman addressed the decisions to release two first-round cornerbacks this past offseason and the future of the position.
The Minnesota Vikings folded on not one — but two — of their first-round cornerback selections this past offseason.
Parting ways with Mike Hughes (No. 30 overall, 2017) due to his injury history and Jeff Gladney (No. 31, 2020), facing family domestic assault charges for an incident this past spring, the Vikings have not seen a strong return on their investments at cornerback.
Not to mention veteran cornerback signing Patrick Peterson, whom the team signed to a one-year, $10 million contract, could miss extended time after being placed on the injured reserve list.
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman answered for the team’s wasted first-round picks and how the cornerback position may look in the future.
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Spielman Unconcerned at Cornerback
Spielman spoke out that it wasn’t entirely his decision to release Hughes in his annual bye week press conference.
“A lot of times, you have to make decisions based on [medical experts],” Spielman said, per Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling.
Hughes had dealt with several neck injuries that required him to miss significant time. The Vikings opted not to exercise Hughes’ fifth-year option earlier in the offseason before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round pick.
Spielman added that he didn’t anticipate Gladney’s situation and had no intel on Gladney’s background to suggest he would face criminal charges. He expects Harrison Hand, Cameron Dantzler and Mackensie Alexander to step up in Peterson’s absence but did not count out the possibility of making a move by the trade deadline.
“We’ll monitor everything like we always do,” Spielman said, per Goessling. “It’s not — I don’t want to call it like a fantasy football thing. You have cap ramifications; how do contracts fit, and how does that affect your cap?”
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Peterson’s Expected Return
Peterson was one of the most consistent cornerbacks in the NFL before suffering his hamstring injury against the Carolina Panthers in Week 6. He had played the most snaps of any cornerback in the NFL, playing in all 16 games in nine of his 10 seasons. The only time he had ever missed was a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in 2019.
Patrick Peterson in his career:
🟣 85.4 overall grade (ranks 21st)
🟣 88.3 coverage grade (17th)
🟣 10,332 snaps (most)
*among 132 CBs with 2,500+ snaps
The Vikings remain optimistic that Peterson will only need to stay on the injured reserve list for the required three-game minimum. Spielman said the team expects Peterson to be ready for Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers.
Peterson corroborated Spielman’s expectations on the latest episode of the All Things Covered podcast but did acknowledge how fickle recovering a hamstring can be.
“I definitely feel the steady progress that’s coming along since the injury occurred,” Peterson said. “Hamstring’s a tricky muscle. With that being our engine, having to have that thing fire for sudden movements, you never know what could happen. Mentally it’s coming down to trusting it, putting it to work in high gear and knowing it’s going to hold up and sustain the high gear that I’m able to get into on the football field.
“For the most part, everything’s going the way it should be. We’re going to continue to take it day by day. I’ll be back as on target, which would be the Green Bay game.”