The Vikings are “kicking the tires” on Dre Kirkpatrick, according to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). However, their interest is still in the preliminary stage. 
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The Bengals dropped Kirkpatrick in late March to save $8.3MM against the cap while making room for former Vikings corner Trae Waynes, who inked a three-year, $42MM pact. If the Vikings sign Kirkpatrick, the two teams could wind up with a cornerback trade of sorts with Mackensie Alexander also headed to Cincy.
The history between Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and Kirkpatrick could play a role here. Zimmer was on the Bengals’ coaching staff when they drafted Kirkpatrick in the first round of the 2012 draft. Meanwhile, new Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones has spent the previous two seasons with the Bengals. There are connections aplenty, and Kirkpatrick may profile as a potential add at this stage of the offseason.
For his career, Kirkpatrick has 99 appearances to his credit over the course of eight seasons. Last year, his season was cut short by a hyperextended knee injury, leaving him with a stat line of 33 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery in six games. Before that, in 2018, he allowed just 44.4% of the targets thrown his way to be caught, good for the second-best rate in the NFL.
After losing Waynes, Alexander, and Rhodes, the Vikings are left with a green group of CBs. As it stands, Mike Hughes and Holton Hill profile as the team’s top corners.
Charles Woodson at 43 would be better than any of those three clowns. They won’t be missed much. Especially Rhodes.
Trust me Wayne’s is much better than Kirkpatrick. Tired of seeing Dre celebrate like he won the Super Bowl when he does his job and defends a pass. I agree that none of them are “ special “ ( depending on how you look at it lol ) but on a scale of 1-10 … Wayne’s would be a 6 and Dre would be a 3.5
I know he’s an outside corner and Darqueze Dennard is a slot corner, but I still don’t know why the Vikes appear to be ignoring the latter. His PFF grades have generally been better than Kirkpatrick’s, and he’s actually missed fewer games per season than Kirkpatrick. He’d also almost certainly be cheaper. I suppose they’re committed to Hughes, Hill or even Boyd (nah, can’t be) in the slot for 2020.