Chiefs trade for Vikings former first-round CB Mike Hughes
Chiefs take low-risk, high-reward gamble on young, talented cornerback
ANALYSIS: What did the Chiefs get in Mike Hughes? - Craig Stout takes a deep dive.
In need of depth and experience at the cornerback position, the Chiefs on Thursday have picked up former first-round cornerback Mike Hughes in a swap of 2022 late-round draft picks.
The 24-year-old Hughes arrived in Minnesota at the No. 30 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft from Central Florida. Injuries and inconsistent play, however, limited Hughes to 24 games with seven starts over the past three seasons. A torn ACL ended his rookie campaign after just six games. A neck injury limited him to just six games in 2020. Earlier this month the Vikings declined their fifth-year option on Hughes’ rookie contract.
In exchange for Hughes, the Chiefs agreed to send the Vikings their 2022 sixth-round selection in exchange for the Vikings’ 2020 seventh-round selection, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. With Hughes under contract for only the 2021 season with a salary of $1,825,566, this makes Hughes a low-risk, high-reward reclamation project for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs expect to enter training camp with Charvarius Ward and L’Jarius Sneed as their top two corners. Deandre Baker, rehabbing from a fractured femur, hopes to compete with Rashad Fenton for snaps as the team’s nickel back. The club also carries BoPete Keyes and Chris Lammons on the roster and expects to sign undrafted free agents Dicaprio Bootle from Nebraska and Louisville’s Marlon Character.