Trae Waynes

The longtime Vikings cornerback has been a steady coverage man in his five NFL seasons, but Waynes has never quite made the proverbial next step. There is value in what Waynes, Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2015 out of Michigan State, offers to potential suitors.

When the best thing a cornerback offers is reliable tackling in the run game — and Waynes does that as well as anyone — it’s probably not a smart idea to trust him as an island corner in man coverage. That’s what the Lions defense needs opposite, or perhaps in place of, Darius Slay. Another tenet of the Lions defense is to not surrender big plays, and that’s really not Waynes’ game.

Per Pro Football Focus stats, Waynes has given up 16 TD passes in the last four seasons, including five last year. His QB Rating allowed when targeted of 109.9 was worse than Justin Coleman in his first year as a prominent Lions free agent. Coleman was not impressive and not worth the hefty contract he received from Detroit. This is where Quinn and Patricia show they can learn from their prior errors.

If he were better and offered more long-term promise, the Vikings would have made more of an effort to keep Waynes. There are other, more appealing CB options on the market for what figures to be less of a financial commitment.