Mike Garafalo reports that the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings have finalized a deal to send cornerback Tramaine Brock to Minnesota. Ian Rapaport reported that the Vikings sent the Seahawks a seventh-round pick.
This is particularly notable given that Brock was free to sign with any team two weeks ago and chose to sign with the Seahawks. They chose to leverage his capability in a trade.
Brock was released by the San Francisco 49ers after an arrest for domestic violence. The charges were dropped by Santa Clara County because the victim did not want to cooperate and they therefore had insufficient evidence, though there were visible injuries when the crime was initially reported.
The former 49ers cornerback started 16 games for them last year and has played 40 games for the team. Brock has played well over the course of the past four years for the 49ers, missing most of the 2014 season due to injury. Generally speaking, he’s been a top-20 cornerback who could peak at times to play even better.
He has a Minnesota connection in that he played for the University of Minnesota for a year before transferring for failing to meet academic requirements.
Brock has played on the outside for the 49ers as a boundary corner, but could be seen as a potential player in the slot given his 5-foot-10 frame and the fact that the Vikings don’t have much reason to be confident in former second-round pick Mackensie Alexander. Even if Alexander is slated to start on the inside while Trae Waynes plays on the outside, adding Brock to the roster provides much-needed depth to a unit that looked like it was lacking a deep bench, particularly after it seemed like age had been catching up with Terence Newman.
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