As expected, the Minnesota Vikings have been active with the NFL’s Nov. 5 trade deadline looming.
In need of a starting left tackle following Christian Darrisaw’s season-ending knee injury, the Vikings swiftly landed OT Cam Robinson in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the bargain price of a 2026 mid-round draft pick and cash considerations.
The Vikings could be done dealing, given their depleted draft assets. They currently only have three picks in 2025 (a first- and two fifth-rounders), though a third-round compensatory pick could be coming due to Kirk Cousins’ huge free agent contract with Atlanta. The Vikes currently have nine picks in 2026, but three of them are now conditional seventh-rounders.
Minnesota is also short on cap space after reportedly taking on $2 million of Robinson’s remaining base salary for the remainder of 2024.
Still, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is yet to make an in-season move to bolster the defense in 2024, and Tyler Sullivan of CBSSports.com recently proposed a potential deal that could work with Minnesota’s tight cap situation.
Sullivan urged the Vikings to consider trading for Adam Butler, a veteran defensive tackle of the Las Vegas Raiders. Here was his take:
The Vikings have already addressed a key need on offense by acquiring Cam Akers in a deal with the Houston Texans. That said, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hasn't been shy making deals throughout his tenure, so they may not be done. One area they could look to shore up is the defensive line with Raiders tackle Adam Butler. The 30-year-old has a relationship with defensive coordinator Brian Flores back when he was the de facto DC with the Patriots and then signed on with the Dolphins in 2021 when Flores was the head coach.
Butler’s rapport with Flores is definitely noteworthy, as is his experience playing in a pair of Super Bowls — and winning one — during his four-year run with the New England Patriots. He also entered the season with a cap hit of $1.9 million, so his prorated salary would be relatively cheap. For what it’s worth, the Raiders currently rank fourth in the NFL in cap space (the Vikings rank 32nd), so they might be willing to ship Butler and cash to Minnesota for one of those seventh-round picks in 2026.
Butler has been a consistent starter for the Raiders this season, playing 56 defensive snaps in last week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He could provide depth behind veteran Jonathan Bullard, who’s produced just 11 solo tackles, four pressures and no sacks despite starting every game this season for the Vikes, per PFF's premium stats.
If Adofo-Mensah and Vikings make one last move before the deadline, something to sharpen the edges of the roster, like this proposed deal for Butler, is what it would look like.
