Aiming For Run Towards Playoff Contention, Vikings Stand Pat at Trade Deadline

The 2020 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and the Vikings were content to stand pat. Whether or not that was influenced by a surprise victory in Green Bay on Sunday is anyone's guess. The only distinct conclusions we can make are that the Vikings never got an offer that blew them away, and that they still believe – at least to some degree – that the playoffs are within reach this year.

When Rick Spielman dealt Yannick Ngakoue to the Ravens 12 days ago, it seemed like the start of a rebuild for a highly disappointing 1-5 team. Riley Reiff, Kyle Rudolph, and Anthony Harris were all seen as logical trade pieces for the Vikings, who could open up roles for young players and recoup draft picks by dealing those veterans – essentially building for the future by moving on from players who may not be around in 2021. Other names, from stars like Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen to minor pieces like Pat Elflein and Tajae Sharpe, circulated throughout the rumor mill as well.

And yet, the Ngakoue move goes down as the Vikings' final in-season trade of 2020. They have nine more games to see if this team, as currently constructed, can make a major turnaround and compete for a playoff spot, or if the win over the Packers was merely a fun moment in a losing season.

Back after the Ngakoue trade, Spielman declined to commit to a rebuild and made it clear that the Vikings were focused on winning games this season. They did just that on Sunday at Lambeau Field, defying expectations and riding Dalvin Cook to their first signature victory of the year. However, Mike Zimmer seemed to leave the door open for potential moves.

"It just depends on what kind of offers we get or what kind of things we can come up with," Zimmer said of the deadline. "It really has nothing to do with the wins at this time."

It was a quiet deadline across the league, with no major moves taking place. Perhaps the COVID-19 protocols and a projected dip in next year's salary cap factored into that. Regardless, the Vikings' focus now turns to the rest of this season. After that, they'll evaluate the state of the roster heading into an important 2021 offseason – one that will begin with Spielman and the front office having very little salary cap room. Players like Reiff and Rudolph will become restructure or cut candidates, while Harris could be allowed to leave in free agency for a compensatory pick in 2022.

The Vikings are 2-5 and 2.5 games back of the seventh seed in the NFC, but they have reason to believe they're better than their record shows. Duds against the Colts and Falcons are concerning, but Zimmer's team lost by one point apiece to the Titans and Seahawks. They're 15th in Football Outsiders' DVOA and have some very talented playmakers on both sides of the ball, even with a number of key players out due to injury. Additionally, the Vikings have a favorable schedule coming up. Here's a look at their remaining nine games:

Week 9: vs. Lions (3-4, -29 point differential, 17th in DVOA)
Week 10: at Bears (5-3, -5 point differential, 18th in DVOA)
Week 11: vs. Cowboys (2-6, -81 point differential, 30th in DVOA)
Week 12: vs. Panthers (3-5, -14 point differential, 16th in DVOA)
Week 13: vs. Jaguars (1-6, -66 point differential, 31st in DVOA)
Week 14: at Buccaneers (6-2, +82 point differential, 1st in DVOA)
Week 15: vs. Bears (5-3, -5 point differential, 18th in DVOA)
Week 16: at Saints (5-2, +9 point differential, 7th in DVOA)
Week 17: at Lions (3-4, -29 point differential, 17th in DVOA)

Five of those games are at home, including four of the next five, and only two are against teams who can be viewed as legitimate contenders. The Vikings showed against Atlanta that they can lose to anyone, but they also showed against Green Bay that they're capable of playing at a high level and beating good teams.

With no moves before the deadline, the next nine games will tell us a lot about what the Vikings' approach should look like next offseason.

It all starts this weekend against the Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis. Also, click the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first), leave comments below, and follow me on Twitter.