The 4 Best-Kept Secrets of the Vikings Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings’ 2024 campaign ended 12 weeks ago at the feet of the Los Angeles Rams in the Wildcard Round of the postseason.
The 4 Best-Kept Secrets of the Vikings Offseason
Since then, the club has conducted an impressive free agency, re-upped with head coach Kevin O’Connell, and is preparing for the 2025 NFL Draft, which gets underway in 19 days.
Along the way, Minnesota has fired off some under-the-radar transactions, too. These are the best-kept secrets of the Vikings’ offseason, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most important under-the-radar move).
4. Ty Chandler Not Guaranteed a Roster Spot in 2025
In the middle of March, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah conducted a weekend trade for running back Jordan Mason, shipping a menial 6th-Round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the veteran runner. Folks had no idea that Minnesota would use a trade to find a running back, instead believing the draft might be the wisest forum for RB depth.
Adofo-Mensah could still draft a running back in 2.5 weeks, and if so, halfback Ty Chandler might be the odd man out when roster trimdowns roll around in five months. Chandler has shown flashes of promise and speed, but because his pass protection is suspect, Minnesota has not trusted him with an RB1 workload.
If the Vikings choose a running back anywhere in the draft later this month, Chandler’s days would be numbered.
3. Jalen Redmond Back in Crowded DT Room
Early in the offseason, after the unspeakable loss to the Rams in the playoffs, the Vikings re-signed Redmond, one of the first orders of 2025 business.
Adofo-Mensah found Redmond from the UFL, and at the time of his signing, most considered him a “practice squad body” at best. But nope — Redmond banked 6 tackles for loss in 2024, basically out of nowhere.
He was also accountable for a 77.2 Pro Football Focus grade, which ranked 13th of 219 qualifying defensive tackles. Redmond will have to prove his sustainability in 2025, and he plays in a suddenly crowded DT room, but the Vikings have sought credible interior defensive line depth for over a decade.
Redmond is that.
2. New CB Isaiah Rodgers Could Start as a Standalone Solution
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores had a “tone his voice” while speaking about his defense welcoming Rodgers, according to O’Connell. If that’s the case, Rodgers could be in line to play CB2 for the 2025 team — not merely auditioning for regular season snaps against counterparts Mekhi Blackmon and Jeff Okudah.
Initially, when Adofo-Mensah signed Rodgers, some fans surmised, “Oh, that’s some good depth. I like it.”
There’s a world, albeit not formally announced, where Rodgers is already a starting cornerback. That theory will be amplified if Minnesota leaves the draft without a Round 1 or 2 corner and doesn’t fulfill the Asante Samuel Jr. rumors.
1. Ed Ingram Trade Paid for RB Jordan Mason
Right in the middle of March, Adofo-Mensah fired off the aforementioned trade with the 49ers, his former employer, for running back Jordan Mason.
He’s the guy who saved your fantasy football season when Christian McCaffrey’s injury(ies) lingered.
Mason played Minnesota last year, evidently impressing Vikings coaches to the utmost.
Well, Minnesota paid a 6th-Rounder for Mason, and it received that pick by trading Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans a few days before the Mason trade.
The faux secret? Minnesota essentially swapped Ingram, an underachieving guard, for Mason, an overachieving running back. Finesse.
You must be logged in to post a comment.