The Vikings Have Shaken Up Everything
The Minnesota Vikings are back, departing for Chicago, Illinois, this weekend to take on the Bears on Monday Night Football.
The Vikings have shaken up everything this offseason, with so many new faces that casual fans won’t recognize all the changes this abruptly.
To get here, Minnesota executed a busy offseason, spending about $250 million in free agency and promoting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, along with onboarding a rookie draft class.
What’s more remarkable is the scale of change. The team finished 14-3 last season, but that didn’t prevent Minnesota from shaking up the roster.
The Vikings’ Roster Shake-Up Is Hard to Ignore
Minnesota orchestrated some major roster upheaval.
Vikings Had Cap Space — and Spent It
Heading into the 2025 season, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had one big chance to spend big based on the way he finagled the budget since arriving on the scene in 2022. In four offseasons, the young executive offloaded nearly every expensive and aging veteran (except Harrison Smith), while retaining the team’s youthful core, such as Justin Jefferson, Josh Metellus, and Christian Darrisaw.
His team ranked near the top of the NFL in available 2025 cap space, prompting Adofo-Mensah to unload.
All told, Adofo-Mensah welcomed these players:
- Jonathan Allen (DT)
- Will Fries (G)
- Kahlef Hailassie (CB)
- Javon Hargrave (DT)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- Rondale Moore (WR, injured for all of 2025)
- Jeff Okudah (CB)
- Isaiah Rodgers (CB)
- Justin Skule (OT)
- Tavierre Thomas (CB)
- Eric Wilson (LB)
3 New Quarterbacks
Last year, Minnesota employed these four men at quarterback: Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, Brett Rypien, and Daniel Jones.
None of those men works for the Vikings anymore. Zero. Darnold left in free agency for the Seattle Seahawks. Mullens chose the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones is the new QB1 in Indianapolis, and Rypien was just released after summer roster cuts.
To replace those men, Minnesota nominated McCarthy as the QB1, signed Carson Wentz, and somehow found an undrafted rookie gem in Max Brosmer.
Four jettisoned passers. Three newcomers.
3 New Defensive Tackles
What’s more, Vikings fans have pleaded with the franchise for over a decade to sign or draft impactful defensive tackles. Instead, the organization would always settle on a mid-tier solution, usually signing a player like Shamar Stephen, Armon Watts, Jonathan Bullard, or Jerry Tillery. In the regular season, those players would play okay, and the cycle would start over again — fans asking for somebody better.
The team listened this time.
Adofo-Mensah signed veterans Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, a pair with four Pro Bowls between them. Minnesota also used Round 5 of the NFL Draft to pick Georgia’s Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, who flashed at times in the preseason.
Think of the DT strategy this way: In with Allen and Hargrave, out with Bullard and Tillery.
3 New Offensive Linemen
Perhaps the main event for change, the Vikings finally put their foot down after a playoff spanking by the Los Angeles Rams.
When the offseason arrived, Garrett Bradbury, Blake Brandel, and En Ingram were on tap for more interior offensive line duty in 2025. That threesome has since been kicked to the curb, or in Brandel’s case, demoted.
The Vikings will feature two prominent free-agent newcomers with center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries. And at left guard, Adofo-Mensah drafted Ohio State left guard Donovan Jackson in Round 1.
Gone are Bradbury, Brandel (on the bench), and Ingram. Starting are Kelly, Fries, and Jackson.
More on the Offseason
NFL.com‘s Kevin Patra took a swing at describing the Vikings’ offseason before training camp. He wrote, “It’s all about J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota. The second-year quarterback will be under the microscope as he takes over an offense that rejuvenated Sam Darnold’s career last season.”
“The Vikings decided not to buffer McCarthy with a veteran backup after Daniel Jones opted to sign with Indianapolis. Apologies to the Sam Howell stans, but he’s not a threat to McCarthy. The former first-round pick inherited the Porsche of offenses, which has made almost every driver look good.”
Minnesota later replaced Howell with Carson Wentz and shipped Howell to Philadelphia.
Patra added, “Kevin O’Connell is a proven QB whisperer, so the assumption is that McCarthy should have little trouble keeping things afloat. With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and a remade offensive line, the Vikes offer weapons to aid the young signal-caller.”
“Minnesota is a 14-win club that, on paper, improved entering 2025. The loudest question is McCarthy and whether he can keep the engine humming after missing all of 2024. It’s not hyperbole to suggest that McCarthy is the pendulum that could swing the course of the entire NFC North.”
If you’re keeping track at home, it’s a new starting quarterback, two new backup passers, six new big men — starters on the OL and DL — and two new cornerbacks, Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah.
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