In addition to getting closer to the 2021 NFL Draft, we’re quickly getting to the point where the Minnesota Vikings (and 31 other teams that don’t matter so much) need to make a decision on whether or not to choose the fifth year option in their first-round choices. of the 2018 NFL Draft. According to Chris Tomasson of St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Vikings have already come to a conclusion.
Salary cap analyst Jason Fitzgerald said that the fifth year option for 2022 to #Vikings CB Mike Hughes would be approximately $ 9.7 million. Vikings are unlikely to take Hughes’ fifth year option until the first week of May deadline.
– Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 8, 2021
Tomasson says Vikings should not choose the fifth year option in their choice for the first round of 2018, cornerback Mike Hughes. The option would cost the Vikings about $ 9.7 million, but it would only become fully guaranteed if Hughes was injured to the point where he was unable to pass a physical exam in early 2022 of the league. Although this news is coming out now, they have until the beginning of May to make their choice official.
Injuries have been the biggest problem for Hughes in his career. Things started out well for him with a choice of six in his first NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at the US Bank Stadium, but it hasn’t been very good since. He played only six games in his debut season before breaking an ACL, and he played only four games last season. He managed to play 14 games in 2019, but missed the postseason because of a neck injury.
As the Vikings should not choose Hughes’ fifth year option, he is entering the last year of his rookie contract and is facing a “trial” year in 2021. If Hughes plays to his full potential and can really stay on the pitch, he can get a second decent contract for himself, either with the Vikings or someone else. For the time being, however, you cannot blame the Vikings for making that choice if this is ultimately the conclusion they have reached.