Monday Morning Mailbag: Analyzing Recent Roster Moves, the Vikings Super Bowl Chances & a Potential Trade of Tackles

[Viktor]

Each of the three players provided great moments for the franchise in recent years — think of Rhodes as a lockdown cornerback, Joseph as a dominant run-stuffer and Morgan for his toughness in run blocking (and the ability to be an emergency long snapper).


The positive out of those moves, if you can call it that, is that the Vikings now have a decent amount of cap space to work with. And with NFL players voting to ratify a new Collective Bargaining Agreement over the weekend, that number could go up if the with the expected salary cap increase as well. The new CBA also means more opportunities to make the playoffs, an eventual 17-game schedule, more playoff teams and fewer preseason games down the line.


We'll see what direction the Vikings go in now that they have the ability to sign a free agent (or a few) this offseason. Do they try to re-sign Anthony Harris, Everson Griffen or others who are scheduled to be free agents?


Time will tell, but the Vikings are now in a position to make some moves, but it did come at the expense of parting ways with a handful well-respected players.


In your opinion, what is it going to take for the Vikings to make it to the Super Bowl and win?


— Kenneth Johnson in Bakersfield, CA


A lot has to go right for a team to make a Super Bowl, much less win it. The key ingredients I think of are health, execution and luck.


First off, a team must stay relatively healthy throughout the course of a season, and in the playoffs. While depth players are available to step up, losing a few top players to injuries could mean the difference between a deep playoff run or not.


Next, you have to deliver in the clutch. Every NFL team has talent, but as coaches often say, it's about who can make the plays when they matter most. Coach Zimmer likes to harp on the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter as a time when outcomes can swing in either direction.


Finally, there has to be some good fortunate, too. Imagine all of the plays that came down to mere inches of a foot staying in-bounds or a runner barely getting a first down. Things have to go your way — including a lucky bounce of the ball here or there — in order to get to the Super Bowl and get a win.


The Vikings certainly have the pieces to be competitive, just look at their 50 wins over the past five seasons. But Coach Zimmer mentioned after the season about finding a way to get the team over the hump, so that will be a focal point in 2020.