The Minnesota Vikings have unloaded a day before Tuesday's final roster cuts ahead of the 2025 NFL regular season.
Minnesota has sent cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to the AFC South division, as reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. In exchange, the Vikings are getting a pick in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Via Pelissero on X (formerly Twitter): “Trade! The #Vikings are sending DB Mekhi Blackmon to the #Colts for a 2026 sixth-round pick, per sources.”
This move by the Colts comes on the heels of a devastating ACL injury suffered by rookie defensive back Justin Walley in a preseason Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
With Blackmon, the Colts get a cornerback who's regarded as a versatile asset in the secondary, thanks to his proven abilities to play on the outside and in the nickel spots.
The 26-year-old Blackmon was taken in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Vikings as the class's 102nd pick overall.
He appeared in 15 games (including three starts) in his rookie season in the league, while recording an interception, a fumble recovery, eight passes defended, 41 combined tackles and three tackles for loss, but did not play in the entire 2024 campaign due to an ACL injury.
Blackmon saw the field in 43 percent of the Vikings' defensive snaps and one percent of the team's special teams snaps in 2024.
Blackmon has an active contract up to the end of the 2026 NFL season, as he is still on the four-year deal worth $5.3 million that he signed with the Vikings in 2023, per Spotrac. He has a cap hit of $1.232 million in 2025 and $1.473 million in 2026.
By sending Blackmon to the Colts and taking a future asset in return, the Vikings have trimmed their roster without adding another player to decide his fate on this coming Tuesday, when all teams across the league are expected to reduce their player count to 53.
Blackmon's loss via trade shouldn't significantly move the needle in either direction for the Vikings, who were second in the league in 2024 with a 3.61 percent defensive interception rate. If anything, Blackmon gets to reunite with former Vikings teammate and safety Cam Bynum, who signed a four-year, $60 million contract with Indianapolis in the offseason.
