3 Vikings Who Will Vanish for Good

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NFL free agency is 44 days away, and the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in 89.

3 Vikings Who Will Vanish for Good

The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason is here, and before too long, the budget will take shape as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah adds and subtracts players from the 2025 depth chart.

Several players will depart the organization, and these men can be considered close to gone based on current hints.

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They’re listed alphabetically.

1. Andre Carter II (OLB)

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Carter II is actually already gone.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted last month, “The Raiders are signing LB Andre Carter II to their 53-man roster off the Vikings practice squad, source said. The Army product helps Las Vegas off the edge after losing Maxx Crosby for the rest of the season.”

Minnesota onboarded Carter II as one of its promising undrafted free-agent finds after the 2023 NFL Draft, and many fans had high hopes for him. However, he never morphed into a consistent mainstay on the active roster, and now he works for the Raiders.

Like UDFA Luiji Vilain in 2022, Carter II is probably gone for good.

2. Patrick Jones II (OLB)

Aaron Jones
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33) is tackled by Minnesota linebacker Patrick Jones II (91) during their football game on Sunday, January, 1, 2023 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

Minnesota drafted Jones II in the 2021 NFL Draft, Rick Spielman’s last as the team’s general manager.

The veteran pass rusher actually played rather well in the first half of the 2024 regular season, but injuries rattled the final eight games or so. Meanwhile, the Vikings have Dallas Turner and Bo Richter in the pipeline, almost guaranteeing that Jones II isn’t re-signed for the long haul.

He’s basically this year’s D.J. Wonnum.

3. Cam Robinson (LT)

Minnesota offensive tackle Cam Robinson (74), left, holds up a signed jersey of Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Anton Harrison (77), and vice versa, after the game of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Vikings defeated the Jaguars 12-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

The Vikings received a 7th-Rounder and Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange of a conditional 5th-Round pick that will morph into a 4th-Rounder from the 2026 NFL Draft.

Trading for Robinson was never about the long term; the deal temporarily stopped the bleeding from Christian Darrisaw’s season-ending ACL tear.

Minnesota already has Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill to take care of offensive tackle duties, and Robinson will cash in elsewhere during free agency. Robinson came aboard to help Minnesota finish the 2024 season and conduct a strong playoff push, an assignment it regrettably failed with a 1st-Round exit.


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 Vikings 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.