New Players Arrive on Vikings Free Agent Radar
Everson Griffen signed with the Minnesota Vikings to start the week, and the team may not be quite done with adding new free agents.
On Wednesday, the franchise waived offensive tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk and kicker Riley Patterson. That whittles the roster below its usual body count for this time of year, so another player could possibly join the team any day. The Vikings own about $13 million in cap space as of August 26th, a sizable figure compared to previous years at this time under head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman. Ordinarily, Minnesota is down to pennies in late August.
But not in 2021. Indeed, the roster must be shrunk to 53 players by August 31st, yet some notable free agent names are currently whispered with links to the Vkings. These are those men.
Will Parks (S)
Nov 1, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz (86) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles strong safety Will Parks (28). Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
This safety seems to be associated with the Vikings rumor mill at least once per year. The team allegedly wanted Parks a while back and now is a reasonable time to effectuate that preference.
Playing in 72 career games while starting in 18 of them, Parks would be a depth safety behind Harrison Smith and Xavier Woods. Most of his career has been spent with the Denver Broncos, drafted in 2016 at the start of the dismal post-Manning era. Park has tallied four interceptions to date, 180 total tackles in five seasons, and generally posts a Pro Football Focus grade in the high-50s. Although in 2018, that score sneakily crept to 74.0.
No harm would arise from bolstering the safety depth. And this Parks rumor is credible.
Roderick Johnson (OT)
Jan 12, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs center Austin Reiter (62) talks with Houston Texans offensive tackle Roderick Johnson (63). Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
This is the other name credibly linked to the Vikings. Johnson is a tackle that actually tried out with the Vikings this week.
#Vikings have a tryout for tackle Roderick Johnson, who played the last three years with the Houston Texans. During that span, he started six of the 29 games in which he played.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 26, 2021
Minnesota is a little thin at left tackle – surprise, surprise – because 1st-Rounder Christian Darrisaw is not ready to start due to injury. That leaves career reservist tackle Rashod Hill in line for the gig – and nobody knows if he’s good enough to hold down the fort until the emergence of Darrisaw. Probably not as there are oodles of mean pass rushers in the NFL.
Insert Johnson, at least for a depth piece. With the Houston Texans, partook in 29 games and started six of them since entering the NFL in 2018. He posted a 64.5 PFF grade during the pandemic season, playing 245 offensive snaps for the lowly Texans. That ain’t bad.
Because the team waived Ksiezarczyk, an addition of Johnson makes sense. He was also college teammates with Dalvin Cook at Florida State.
Kamal Martin (LB)
Nov 23, 2019; Evanston, IL, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Kamal Martin (21). Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s the most exciting one. A former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Martin was the NFL’s second-best rookie linebacker last year per PFF grade. For some reason, the Green Bay Packers cut him loose this week.
He was drafted in 2020 via the 5th Round, and followers of Gopher football know Martin. He just turned 23 years old and started six games for Green Bay in 2020.
Acquiring Martin would be a contingency for the retirement of Cameron Smith last week and Anthony Barr’s weird injury status. Suddenly, Minnesota might be thin at linebacker. Martin would fix that.
It’s also fun to stick it to the Packers – with aspirations that Martin could blossom into a Pro Bowler under the Vikings tutelage. Those are visions of grandeur but who cares?
Regardless, it’s bizarre that Green Bay ended their relationship with Martin so soon.
Eddy Pineiro (K)
Dec 29, 2019; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indianapolis Colts kicker Eddy Pineiro (5). Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports
You had to know a kicker would get a mention.
The Vikings current kicker, Greg Joseph, has looked decent all summer. But for Vikings fans’ standards, decent means the man isn’t awful. Joseph’s stretches of consistency in training camp are impressive, but then he missed a long field goal in the second preseason game.
It is not beneath Zimmer to bring in a veteran to send a message. That man would be Eddy Pineiro, who was just released by the Indianapolis Colts because Rodrigo Blankenship is pretty damn good.
Pineiro played for the Chicago Bears in 2019 after a season when field-goal kicking ravaged their playoff hopes. He drilled 23 or 28 field goals, a middle-of-the-road stat for that season.
All the Pineiro stuff, for now, is speculative, but it is up for interpretation if he would be a better kicker than Joseph.
You must be logged in to post a comment.