Former Vikings Most Likely to Return to Team in 2021
Dustin Baker
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Free-agent week begins tomorrow with “legal tampering,” and the Minnesota Vikings have about $10 million to invest in players. That figure is sliding in nature and could spike with any Vikings transaction involving another release or a contractual restructure of an existing player.
So far, Stephen Weatherly came home this offseason. He spent 2020 with the Carolina Panthers, a place where his career did not take off as he forecasted at this time last year. Weatherly did not make too much noise in Carolina and was then hurt for the last half of the season. With the Vikings, he will compete for snaps at right defensive end, battling players like Ifeadi Odenigbo, D.J. Wonnum, and Jalyn Holmes.
Like most other franchises, the Vikings have droves of former players twisting in free agency. It is the nature of the beast in the NFL for men to team-hop – especially during an offseason with a coronavirus-ravaged salary cap.
Not many former Vikings will return to Minnesota in 2021. In fact, Weatherly may be the only one when all the offseason player movement is complete.
But here are the ex-Vikings ranked in “likelihood” categories, pertaining to a potential Vikings reunion.
Least Likely
Dan Bailey: Bailey struggled profusely in 2020 and will now resume his career with a different NFL franchise. Although every player deserves a shot at redemption, it is unlikely that the Vikings would trust Bailey for another season.
Everson Griffen: The odds of a Griffen reunion were jettisoned to the depths of hell when he insulted Kirk Cousins and the Vikings organization on Twitter a couple of months ago. And, the team signed Weatherly – who plays the same position.
Jerick McKinnon: McKinnon was a marvelous contributor for the Vikings during the beginning of the Mike Zimmer era. But now Minnesota has running backs galore with Dalvin Cook, Alexander Boone, and Mike Boone. McKinnon is not needed.
Yannick Ngakoue: The Ngakoue Experiment was an ill-fated and expensive one for general manager Rick Spielman. The Vikings lost a 2021 2nd-Round draft pick in the trade. Whatever the reason responsible for Ngakoue’s October 2020 exodus from the team – is the reason he will not return in 2021.
Adrian Peterson: The purple stalwart, Peterson, needs touches to break the all-time rushing record. The Vikings can offer nothing of the sort.
MyCole Pruitt: The Vikings offense doesn’t need any tight ends. They employ Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin, and Brandon Dillon.
Riley Reiff: Minnesota parted ways with Reiff for financial purposes. He will seek his next adventure elsewhere. He is an astute left tackle – that might even try life outside of the NFC North for the first time.
Kyle Rudolph: The long-time Viking will return to the team before he calls it quits – consider that a prediction. But it won’t be in 2021. Rudolph needs targets – and he didn’t really receive those from Kirk Cousins when he was a full-time tight end for the Vikings.
Laquon Treadwell: Treadwell will likely be out of the league before too long. He is a true-blue bust on the ash heap of Vikings history. He is a tremendous dude, but the Vikings will probably have some combination of Bisi Johnson and Chad Beebe at the backend of the WR depth chart. No room for Treadwell.
Medium Likelihood
Pat Elflein: This would be the sort of deal that Elflein returns to Eagan on a minimum contract. He can be a serviceable backup offensive lineman. It’s still a longshot, but stranger things have happened.
Cordarrelle Patterson: If Patterson was affordable, he’d fill two needs for the Vikings: A supreme special teams aficionado and quasi-WR3. Yet, he is probably too expensive.
Mike Remmers: This would not be a solution for the Vikings available starting jobs on the offensive line. But Remmers could add depth – much like Elflein. All depends on the price.
Xavier Rhodes: The former Vikings corner was magnificent in Indianapolis during 2020. Now, he hits the open market once again. It is unlikely that he returns to the Vikings to play second fiddle to Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney. However, 2020 proved that he is still a good football player. This one is a huge not-likely-but-maybe.
Most Likely
Mackensie Alexander: More folks should talk about an Alexander reunion. Spielman never should have let him depart in the first place. Alexander played 61% of all defensive snaps while allowing an 82.3 passer-rating-against. Minnesota needs cornerback depth. Alexander is perfect for this.
Nick Easton: Again – the Vikings need offensive line help, starters and depth. Easton played for the Vikings in 2016 and 2017. In that final campaign, he was pretty damn good.
Tom Compton: See above with Easton. Compton had a 62.5 Pro Football Focus for the Vikings in 2018. His high school football transpired in Minnesota; his collegiate days at the University of South Dakota. He’s a local.
Andrew Sendejo: Don’t look now, but Sendejo could be the starting free safety in 2021 if the Vikings spend all free-agent cash on non-safety positions. Sendejo is familiar with the defense, and Zimmer is familiar with him.