Vikings Trade Pitch Snags $3.5 Million Eagles Star for Critical Role

The Minnesota Vikings are putting together the pieces they need to repeat the success they had during the 2024 season but hopefully get further in the playoffs. The Vikings closed out the 2024 regular season with a 14-3 record, putting them at No. 2 in the very competitive NFC North, which is no small feat. Now, they’re forging ahead with J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback and trying to craft a team around him that will lead to more achievements.

One of the most reliable veterans on the Vikings’ team is safety Harrison Smith, who has been with the team for his entire NFL career, starting back in 2012. Smith is 36 years old, and he may retire after this season, which would leave quite a gap in the Vikings’ roster.

So, the Vikings would be wise to think ahead and trade now for a young, budding safety who can work with Smith in the coming year and learn under his leadership.

Philadelphia Eagles Safety is a Rising Star

The free agent safety class for 2026 doesn’t have any huge names, but it does have one Super Bowl winner who could fit right in with the Vikings. Even if this guy hadn’t been on last season’s championship-winning team, he would be worth a look.

Reed Blankenship‘s $3.575 million contract extension with the Eagles runs through the 2025 season, and if they don’t work out a deal, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025 season. Blankenship is young, albeit not as young as some of the other safeties hitting free agency in 2026, and has proven himself a valuable asset on a winning team.

Blankenship was undrafted in the 2022 NFL draft, but after the draft, the Eagles took a chance on him and signed Blankenship to a three–year, $2.56 million rookie contract as an undrafted free agent. The signing has been fruitful for the Eagles, and they signed a contract extension with him in April 2024.

He has a 74.4 overall grade from PFF, with a 72.3 run defense grade and 73.6 coverage grade. Blankenship has gone from being totally undrafted in the NFL to one of the top safeties in the league, which shows that he has the work ethic the Vikings would welcome. At 26 years old, he has plenty of productivity left in him and should for the foreseeable future.

Preparing for the Minnesota Vikings’ Future

So, here’s my trade pitch: Bring Blankenship to the Vikings in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick.

The Vikings may be without longstanding safety Smith come 2026, and while they’ll have Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson and Jay Ward in the fold, there’s no denying that Blankenship has shown that he has a unique penchant for this position. Bringing Blankenship to the Vikings now would give him a year to develop under Smith and possibly break out as their No. 1 safety.

The Eagles will be looking to add more new talent to their roster in 2026, so that added draft pick may look like a good deal, especially since they have a solid safety room in Andrew Mukuba, Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum.

Adding Blankenship to the Vikings’ roster could take care of a 2026 problem before it even starts.