The 3 Vikings Yet to Sign Rookie Contracts
Dustin Baker
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Thirty-nine men drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft have not signed rookie deals as of June 18th, and three are Minnesota Vikings draftees.
Minnesota welcomed 10 new players to the team in April after a bonanza of trades for first-year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Seven rookies are formally under contract. Three other Vikings and more players leaguewide are being more patient. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement made the signing of rookies extremely efficient in 2022, but some deals take longer than others.
These are the three Vikings who have yet to sign rookie contracts.
Andrew Booth (CB)
2nd Round
Like all of the men on this list, the why for remaining unsigned is not known. The Houston Texans paid a running back $25,000 more than “usual” from the 4th Round, which is said to be the reason for the backlog in that round.
For 2nd-Rounders, though, just 14 players in the NFL have signed deals. They’re evidently waiting for some mysterious domino to fall.
When Booth eventually signs, he’ll battle incumbent corner Cameron Dantzler for a starting spot. Booth is also recovering from a sports hernia that dropped his draft stock to Round 2 and thus allowed the Vikings to pounce.
Ed Ingram (OL)
2nd Round
Ingram, an offensive trenchman from LSU, is also a part of the 2nd-Round group of men who haven’t signed. He participated in June minicamp, however, and mostly saw action with the second-string personnel.
But as an interior offensive lineman drafted in the 2nd Round, Ingram should start sooner than later. His teammate Jesse Davis, a free agent from the Miami Dolphins, is the June frontrunner to start at the Vikings notorious RG position.
Ingram will have something to say about that when training camp and the preseason get popping.
Akayleb Evans (CB)
4th Round
A vocal personality on social media, Evans is eager to get started in Minnesota. He just hasn’t signed his contract yet.
Evans is one of the men affected by the Texans allotting RB Dameon Pierce a little extra money. When his money is sorted out, Evans will likely compete for the Vikings CB4 job against defenders like Kris Boyd, Nate Hairston, and Harrison Hand.
Notably, Evans was the guy Adofo-Mensah watched on tape “late at night in the dark.”
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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