NFL Rumors: 3 Vikings who should be traded before Week 1, one player to hold onto

NFL Rumors: Vikings should keep Jordan Hicks

The rise of Ivan Pace Jr. this preseason has given Vikings fans the warm and fuzzies. The undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati looks like an absolute steal with the potential to anchor Minnesota’s linebacker corps for years to come.

Yeah, that’s potentially hyperbolic praise, but Pace has received rave reviews from all corners throughout camp. The excitement is real. So naturally, a name like Jordan Hicks has come up as someone who could be displaced by the young gun.

Hicks arrived in Minnesota last season on a two-year deal. He started every game and came into this season as a likely starter again. But being an incumbent starter on a defense that gave up the third-most points in the NFL last year doesn’t exactly work in his favor. Nor does the fact that he’s on the final year of his deal.

So it would make some sense to move Hicks on if the linebacker corps has a bright new star to make up for it. That doesn’t mean the Vikings should do it.

Hicks is one of the few veterans on the team and it’s especially important at linebacker to have those experience voices helping to bring the young players through. Brian Flores has given Hicks the freedom to call his own plays in the middle of the defense at times. There’s clearly a certain amount of trust that’s grown between the defensive coordinator and his veteran linebacker.