Blow it all up: 3 players Vikings should trade after 0-3 start

It's been a disaster for the Minnesota Vikings in the absolute worst way. After winning the NFC North and making the playoffs last season (albeit only to get upset by the Giants), they came into Week 3 at 0-2, which history has told is can be a death knell for postseason hopes. Dropping to 0-3 is even worse, though.

And that's what they did -- but they made sure to twist the knife. After the equally un-clutch Chargers went for an ill-advised fourth down up 28-24 in their own territory late, it seemed as if the Vikings had life. That seemed even truer after they converted a fourth-and-5 to get to the Chargers 6-yard line. On the next play, though, Kirk Cousins threw a back-breaking interception in the end zone to effectively give LA the win.

Now it's looking as bleak as ever for Minnesota. This team overachieved in 2022, but this has been worse than anyone expected. And it's looking more and more like they need drastic changes to make a noticeable jump up in the future. Specifically, the Vikings need to consider trading these three players to jumpstart a rebuild.

Vikings trade candidate after 0-3 start, No. 3: Jordan Hicks, LB

As the Vikings tried to retool the defense this offseason -- something that has obviously proved futile through the first three weeks -- one of the remaining pieces from last year's unit that they kept around was veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Hicks was all over the field for the Vikings last season, racking up 129 total tackles with three sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception. While no one would mistake him for the all-world players in the league at the position like Roquan Smith or some of that caliber, the 31-year-old who is a free agent after the season has been a solid cog in the middle of the defense.

Frankly, Minnesota doesn't need that right now. The 0-3 start to this season has simply amplified the need for this franchise to draw a line in the sand and hit a hard reset on the roster around some key pieces like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, among some other young assets. An aging linebacker who could leve after this season doesn't offer much value, especially not in comparison to acquiring draft picks to help build for the future.

Hicks might not command a big price given that he's a pending free agent and 31 years old. However, for any team that's in need of a solid linebacker to help solidify the front seven, there could be a market. And anything the Vikings could get in return would be better than wasting an experienced player on a bad team and then losing him for nothing after the season.