Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell reacts with Mekhi Blackmon before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Las Vegas.
Many NFL pundits think the Minnesota Vikings should trade for Jalen Ramsey. But some inside the Vikings facility think they’re good as is.
Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon became the latest to dispute the potential Ramsey-to-Minnesota rumors by reminding the football world that the Vikings have a solid secondary already.
Blackmon, a third-round pick of the Vikings in 2023 who turned 26 in March, missed the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL. He has one career interception and one fumble recovery, with eight passes defended, over his 15-game NFL career.
Should The Vikings Trade For Jalen Ramsey?
The Vikings are coming off a 14-3 season where they lost their season finale against the Lions then their lone playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams.
Minnesota has won at least 13 games in two of the past three seasons. It has yet to win a playoff game in that span.
So the case could be made that a trade for Ramsey, a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, could give Minnesota a star-caliber across the field on defense.
Plus, as Super Bowl champion turned CBS Sports analyst Jason McCourty recently detailed, Ramsey can play all over the secondary and could be a huge difference maker in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme.
But Blackmon thinks Minnesota is good without Ramsey.
“We got a real good room,” Blackmon told The Athletic on Monday. “I see a lot of stuff on (X, formerly) Twitter. Y’all know. A lot of people are concerned about our room. I would say we have a real good room.”
Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis laid out the case for acquiring Ramsey, since he is familiar with head coach Kevin O’Connell and other members of Minnesota’s coaching and support staff from their time together in Los Angeles.
Lewis also laid out the potential drawbacks.
“Ramsey will turn 31 in October. Acquiring him might require trading draft capital the Vikings have wanted to accumulate after parting with several picks the last couple of seasons,” Lewis wrote in The Athletic. “Ramsey’s current contract could leave the Vikings in a precarious position for 2026. The amount of money Miami might be willing to absorb in a potential trade would matter.
“Second, bringing Ramsey into the fold would impede the path to playing time for youngsters like Blackmon and [undrafted cornerback] Dwight McGlothern.”
Do The Vikings Think They Should Trade For Jalen Ramsey?
The Miami Dolphins have been seeking a trade for the three-time All-Pro, and a deal can happen at any time, now that June 1 has passed and they can save almost $10 million in cap space by dealing him, according to Over the Cap.
The Rams have reportedly been trying to consummate a reunion with Ramsey, since he and O’Connell won the Super Bowl there with head coach Sean McVay in 2022. LA also was the team that ended Minnesota’s 2024 season, holding the Vikings pass offense to just 163 yards in its 27-9 upset win in Glendale, Arizona.
The Vikings finished 29th in passing yards against per game (262.3) last season — despite finishing tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks (49) with the Houston Texans.
So even though Blackmon, who stands to lose playing time with a Ramsey trade, may not in favor, members of Minnesota’s defense are reportedly in favor of making its unit as good as it can be.
“We would like to have so many different bullets in the chamber,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips told The Athletic. “Vastly different fronts, vastly different coverages. Are we going to move and bring everybody? Are we not going to move and bring everybody?”
