Reports: Vikings Trading LG Ezra Cleveland to Jaguars For Sixth-Round Pick

The Vikings are trading guard Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars, as first reported by NFL Media. The return is a sixth-round pick the Jags got from the Panthers, according to Ben Goessling.

Cleveland, a second-round pick in 2020, is in the final year of his rookie contract. He missed the last two games with a foot injury, which created room for Dalton Risner to step into the starting lineup at left guard. Risner, who has played pretty well, is now locked in as the starter for the rest of the season.

In Jacksonville, Cleveland will presumably have a chance to earn a starting job on a contending team. At the very least, he'll provide them with depth as someone with the flexibility to play either guard spot or maybe even tackle.

This move gets the Vikings a late-round pick for a player who was set to hit free agency after the year. It signals their confidence in not only Risner, but also Blake Brandel, who is the presumed backup at both guard spots now.

The Vikings took the ultra-athletic Cleveland with the 58th overall pick out of Boise State in 2020. He was a left tackle in college, but moved to right guard as a rookie to fit into the Vikings' O-line. He's spent the past three seasons playing left guard. Cleveland has been consistently excellent as a run blocker and was having the best pass-blocking season of his career this year (according to PFF) before getting hurt.

That's two moves today for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who also acquired QB Josh Dobbs from the Cardinals in a late-round pick swap.

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