The Vikings’ Best Offseason Move, According to ESPN
The Minnesota Vikings have two weeks of free agency behind them, now focused on the 2025 NFL Draft, which kicks off one month from today.
The Vikings’ Best Offseason Move, According to ESPN
The franchise has conducted an intense flurry of roster moves, positioning itself to contend for a Super Bowl now if one assumes that 22-year-old quarterback J.J. McCarthy has staying power in the NFL.
Meanwhile, ESPN assigned grades to all the Vikings’ free-agent moves, and a dark-horse transaction fetched the highest mark — the Ed Ingram trade to the Houston Texans.
Ed Ingram Trade, a Dark-Horse Selection
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak gave the Ingram trade a “B+” mark — the highest of any purple offseason move — and explained: “The Texans not only surrendered a sixth-round pick, but they are taking on the most expensive year of Ingram’s contract — he’s set to make $3.2 million in cash this year.”
“This is almost like found money for Minnesota. It signed Will Fries as a free agent, and depending on how the rest of the offseason shook out, Ingram might not have been a lock to make the Vikings’ roster. Now, they get a sixth-round pick instead of having to make that decision.”
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah turned around and flipped that draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers for running back Jordan Mason a few days later.
“His advanced rushing metrics were stellar. Mason recorded 1.4 rush yards over expectation per carry, per NFL Next Gen Stats. On a per-carry basis, that made him better than Isaac Guerendo (0.9), Patrick Taylor Jr. (0.5), McCaffrey (minus-0.2) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (minus-1.2) on the 49ers,” Solak opined about the Mason addition.
“His 207 total rush yards over expectation — despite playing only 12 games — ranked sixth best among running backs in the NFL and ahead of players like Bijan Robinson, Bucky Irving and Jonathan Taylor. (Mason, 25, was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain in early December.)”
Minnesota will feature a sweet one-two tandem at running back with Jones and Mason.
“The cost here isn’t much. The draft capital is the equivalent of a late fifth-round pick when put together, and $7 million guaranteed for a running back is not totally trivial. But I would much rather pay $7 million for Mason than, say, $5 million for Najee Harris. And Mason pairs well with Jones because the veteran can take on the receiving work. Plus, Minnesota built some upside for itself by signing Mason to a two-year deal,” Solak concluded.
What ESPN Didn’t Like …
The Vikings signed defensive tackle Jonathan Allen two weeks ago, a move not fancied by ESPN. “I don’t love giving Allen $20 million per year, anyhow (although, again, we haven’t seen the guarantees yet). Allen, 30, missed nine games last season with a torn pectoral muscle, returning in late December,” Solak noted.
“I’ve underestimated the defensive tackle market this year — it’s somewhat surprising given the strong defensive tackle draft class — but given the signs of decline, Allen does not fit the profile of a player I’d want to be spending on.”
Vikings fans, on the other hand, love the Allen addition.
Flipping Ingram for RB Jordan Mason
Before the Jordan Mason trade, most Vikings faithful assumed that Adofo-Mensah would draft a running back next month, as this year’s class is absolutely dazzling.
Onboarding Mason, however, makes that less likely, especially from Rounds 1 through 3.
The takeaway from Adofo-Mensah’s dealings? He effectively traded Ed Ingram for Jordan Mason, a masterclass if one can daydream about Mason’s upside in the 2025 offense.
All the Other Free-Agent Moves
All told, the Vikings added these free-agent newcomers:
- Isaiah Rodgers (CB, Eagles) — 2 Years, $15 Million
- Bubba Bolden (S) — 1 Year, $840 Thousand
- Ryan Kelly (C, Colts) — 2 Years, $18 Million
- Jonathan Allen (DT, Commanders) — 3 Years, $60 Million
- Will Fries (G, Colts) — 5 Years, $88 Million
- Javon Hargrave (DT, 49ers) — 2 Years, $30 Million
- Tavierre Thomas (CB, Buccaneers) — 1 Year, $2 Million
- Justin Skule (OT, Buccaneers)
- Eric Wilson (LB, Packers)
- Jeff Okudah (CB, Texans)
- Rondale Moore (WR, Falcons)
And they extended these players:
- Theo Jackson
- Aaron Jones
- Ryan Wright
- Byron Murphy Jr.
- Harrison Smith
But the highest-graded transaction of them all … was an unsung Ed Ingram trade. Whoodathunkit?
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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