Vikings a Fit for One of Free Agency’s Top CBs
If one doesn’t believe the Minnesota Vikings will re-sign free-agent cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. sometime in the next week, well, the purple team would have an emergency on its hands.
Vikings a Fit for One of Free Agency’s Top CBs
Minnesota has two possibly playable corners under contract for 2025: Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern. And then that’s it.
That’s probably why The 33rd Team named the Vikings as a free-agent fit this week for San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward, who will hit the open market on Monday if not re-signed by San Francisco.
In an article detailing the best landing spots for Ward, 28, Tyler Brooke nominated the Vikings and wrote, “There is still a lot of time to fix it, but there is a mass exodus of cornerbacks leaving the Minnesota Vikings. After such a strong season from Brian Flores’ unit, the Vikings now have four of their top cornerbacks hitting free agency, including start[ers] in Camryn Bynum and Stephon Gillmore.”
“As it currently stands, Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern are the only outside cornerbacks under contract.”
From the start of the offseason seven weeks ago, Vikings enthusiasts have circled New York Jets corner D.J. Reed as their favorite target, but if Minnesota swung and missed on Reed, few would complain about Ward as a substitute, an All-Pro in the 2023 campaign.
“After such a strong 2024 season, Bynum will likely be a top priority for the Vikings to bring back, but even if they keep him in Minnesota, cornerback is still a significant need for this defense. The Vikings have $62 million in cap space to work with, so they might have enough financial flexibility to be in the Ward market, regardless of their long-term plans with Bynum,” Brooke added about Ward to the Vikings.
Here’s Ward’s Pro Football Focus resume to date:
2024: 56.2
2023: 84.7
2022: 71.0
2021: 71.2
2020: 64.3
2019: 65.7
2018: 68.7
And his passer-rating-against by year:
2024: 124.1
2023: 65.2
2022: 103.1
2021: 79.4
2020: 82.4
2019: 64.5
2018: 116.6
Ward has played 102 games in seven seasons while starting 89. He encountered a down season in 2024, affecting his 2025 free-agent price tag, but Vikings fans would hope he could return to 2023 All-Pro form.
Other cornerbacks targets on the market, if Minnesota does not land Reed or Ward, include Paulson Adebo (New Orleans Saints), Carlton Davis (Detroit Lions), Rasul Douglas (Buffalo Bills), Nate Hobbs (Las Vegas Raiders), and Asante Samuel Jr. (Los Angeles Chargers).
Ward will turn 29 in May.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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