StaTuesday: Waynes joins short list of Vikings CBs with sack
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Lost in Minnesota’s shutout of the Packers -- its first time blanking Green Bay since 1971 -- was cornerback Trae Waynes’ first career sack.
With the Vikings leading 13-0 in the third quarter and Green Bay facing a third-and-9 from their own 36-yard line, Waynes dropped back to cover Jeff Janis as Packers quarterback Brett Hundley tiptoed through the pocket.
Then Hundley ran into trouble. The first-year starter tried to scramble between the hashmarks, but after he was met by a sea of white Vikings jerseys, he bounced it outside to salvage a few yards.
Well that didn’t work, either. Four yards behind the line of scrimmage, Hundley slid to a stop and Waynes, who sprinted up from coverage, dove to down Hundley and record the sack.
In 57 years of the franchise’s existence, Waynes is the 13th Vikings cornerback to sack a quarterback and the first since Captain Munnerlyn in 2015.
The first purple cornerback to tally a sack -- unofficially, of course, as the NFL did not begin recording sacks as an official stat until 1982 -- was Joey Browner. Browner, Minnesota’s first-round pick in 1983, went on to become a six-time Pro Bowl safety, but he sacked a quarterback while playing cornerback in 1984.
Antoine Winfield is known as the Vikings’ best tackling cornerback in franchise history. Standing with a 5-foot-9, 190-pound frame, Winfield used every inch of his size for his 7.5 career sacks -- 6.5 of those coming in a Vikings uniform, which ranks first in franchise history among cornerbacks.
Browner was Minnesota’s first defensive back selected in the first round, while Waynes is the most recent.
| PLAYER | YEAR | SACKS |
| Trae Waynes | 2017 | 1.0 |
| Captain Munnerlyn | 2015 | 1.0 |
| Chris Cook | 2012 | 1.0 |
| Marcus Sherels | 2011 | 1.0 |
| Antoine Winfield | 2011 | 1.0 |
| Antoine Winfield | 2010 | 2.0 |
| Asher Allen | 2009 | 1.0 |
| Antoine Winfield | 2009 | 1.0 |
| Antoine Winfield | 2008 | 2.0 |
| Brian Williams | 2005 | 1.0 |
| Brian Williams | 2003 | 3.0 |
| Brian Russell | 2003 | 1.0 |
| Corey Chavous* | 2002 | 1.0 |
| Jimmy Hitchcock | 1999 | 2.0 |
| Corey Fuller | 1998 | 1.0 |
| Rufus Bess | 1985 | 1.0 |
| Rufus Bess | 1984 | 1.0 |
| Joey Browner | 1984 | 1.0 |
(Source: pro-football-reference)
* Brought in as a cornerback after four seasons with the Cardinals, Vikings head coach Mike Tice moved Chavous to safety in 2002. But Chavous sporadically played at corner during his first season in Minnesota, as well.
