4 Predictions for the Minnesota Vikings’ Offseason
Minnesota Vikings fans have now had a couple weeks to move past the very disappointing playoff loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
Now, it is time for the team to move on into the offseason to begin building for 2025. Minnesota has already made a couple big moves since the playoff loss, including inking head coach Kevin O’Connell to a contract extension.
With free agency and the draft approaching, here is a look at four predictions for additional moves that the Vikings can make over the next few months.
1. Vikings Trade Down from 24th Overall Pick
The main needs for the Minnesota Vikings in this spring’s draft come at three positions: cornerback, defensive tackle, and interior offensive line. This year’s class does not seem especially deep at IOL, but there certainly will be talented CBs and DTs when Minnesota goes on the clock.
That being said, we need to consider the Vikings’ draft as a whole. They hold only three picks this spring (one first round, two fifth round), and it would be very beneficial to add more to their arsenal The second day of the draft should still be loaded with talent at CB and DT, so if they were to add a couple Day 2 picks, they could knock out both needs this spring.
2. Vikings Restructure Brian O’Neill’s Contract
Brian O’Neill still has a couple years left on his contract, and the Vikings have gotten nothing but superb play from their right tackle when he has been on the field. As a result, it could make sense for the Vikings to either restructure or even extend O’Neill’s contract this offseason in order to give themselves more cap space.
As things stand right now, the Vikings hold just under $58 million in cap space, per Over the Cap, ranking seventh in the NFL. However, Minnesota has plenty of its own free agents to sign before they can begin worrying about grabbing other players with some of those Vikings free agents including safety Camryn Bynum, CB Byron Murphy, CB Stephon Gilmore, and WR Brandon Powell.
An O’Neill restructure would save the Vikings about $8.1 million this offseason, potentially making it easier to retain some of these free agents while giving more flexibility to bring other players in.
3. Vikings Sign G Trey Smith
Kevin O’Connell said after the playoff loss that the Vikings needed to take a hard look at their interior offensive line and what they can do to keep their QB upright. Minnesota has long looked for band aid solutions at guard, and Garrett Bradbury has not turned into a first-round quality center to this point.
As a result, it is time for the Vikings to really put some emphasis on that guard spot and sign the best player available: Trey Smith. Smith has spent his first four NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs after being selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he has blossomed into a very solid run blocker and pass protector at the right guard spot.
The Chiefs are going to have a tough time signing the star player seeing as they have just $11 million in cap space this spring with only 38 players under contract. Unless they make some big moves to shuffle the deck, Smith is likely heading to a new team this year, and it might as well be a team that needs him as badly as Minnesota does.
4. Vikings Re-Sign Daniel Jones as Backup QB
Daniel Jones went through a disappointing start to his career with the New York Giants, which resulted in him being released by the team during the 2024 regular season. The QB promptly hopped aboard the Vikings’ practice squad, and he has remained with the squad ever since.
The Vikings have done a solid job of putting these reclamation QB projects in positions to succeed over the past couple years, and Jones seems like the next in line for Kevin O’Connell. Obviously, he shouldn’t be considered the Week 1 starter in Minnesota (that role belongs to J.J. McCarthy), but he could be a great backup option.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Over the Cap.
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