When the Minnesota Vikings signed Bashaud Breeland, it was supposed to be the final piece in an overhauled secondary.
The Vikings had just spent the 2020 season relying on younger players and ranked 25th in passing defense. By adding Patrick Peterson, Xavier Woods, and Mackensie Alexander in free agency, Mike Zimmer had a group of veterans that could turn his defense around.
Although he signed several months later, Breeland fit what the Vikings were looking for. He had just spent two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and started in Super Bowl LIV. With Breeland holding down a starting spot, the Vikings could develop Cameron Dantzler at his own pace and make a run at competing in the NFC North.
But after signing a 1-year, $1.1 million deal, Breeland couldn’t even make it through a full season with the Vikings.
Why did this go wrong?
It starts with Breeland’s on-field performance. He had always been a streaky player dating back to his days with the Washington Football Team. He also had a failed experiment as a slot corner with the Green Bay Packers before making his way to Kansas City.
The championship resumé had to be appealing to the Vikings, but it covered up some of the flaws in Breeland’s game. He ranked first in the NFL with 12 penalties during the 2019 season and backed it up ranking 12th with eight penalties the following year.
Still, Breeland had the reputation of a solid starter. But what Minnesota should have considered was the trail of red flags during his free-agent process.
Breeland didn’t sign through the first couple of months due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. When he began to make the rounds, he stopped in Minnesota but left without signing a contract. Breeland went to several other teams before ultimately deciding that a veteran minimum contract was the best deal he could get.
So what would have made teams reluctant to sign him? Maybe it was his personality.
Every great cornerback has a personality. It’s almost a prerequisite to playing the position in today’s NFL. Receivers are more vocal than ever, and if a cornerback is afraid to give it back to them, they wind up being played out of the league. Swagger is an essential quality for a cornerback, but in excess its a detriment to his game.
It wasn’t just that Pro Football Focus graded Breeland 80th out of 82 qualifying cornerbacks this season. It was that he asked a reporter what his “reporter grade” was when he was questioned about it.
It wasn’t just that Breeland ranked 12th in the NFL with six penalties this season. It was that he pointed to his ring finger to tell San Francisco 49ers players that he had beat them in the Super Bowl.
It wasn’t just that quarterbacks turned into Pro Bowlers when targeting Breeland. It was that he spent time after games telling fans to stick his johnson in their mouths when he was allowing a passer rating of 112.6.
And it wasn’t that the Vikings had a capable replacement waiting in the wings. It was that Breeland had reached the point of no return with a brawl in practice.
According to a report from the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, Breeland’s latest altercation started as trash talk before escalating into a bigger situation. With Dalvin Cook and Sheldon Richardson involved, it got to the point where general manager Rick Spielman had to step in. Once again, Breeland’s swagger got the best of him.
In the end, the Breeland signing is similar to a lot of the Vikings’ off-season moves: What they hoped would be a new strength turned out to be another weakness.
Breeland falls into that group. With his trail of red flags this season, he now finds himself without a team, and the Vikings see another free-agent signing go terribly wrong.
