The Big Names to Know for the 2026 Vikings Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings still have five regular season games on the docket, but because the team has less than a 1% chance to reach the playoffs, most fans have turned their attention to the 2026 offseason, at least to a degree. Accordingly, these are the names to know.
The big names to know for the 2026 Vikings offseason include Brian Flores, who could shape defensive identity and major personnel decisions.
Minnesota will embark on a rather suspenseful, impactful, and mysterious offseason, mainly because 2025 has gone so poorly.
The Who’s Who of the Vikings’ 2026 Offseason
Listed alphabetically, get to know ’em.
1. Jordan Addison
The Vikings selected Addison in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft, meaning he’s spent nearly three seasons in purple — also meaning that the 2026 offseason is the time to start contemplating his next contract.
Yes, we’re already here.
Addison is generally electric, so long as the Vikings’ quarterback play isn’t putrid. And this season, the quarterback performance has been rotten most of the time, with Addison’s production dipping as a result. Regardless, he and his agent won’t care much about J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer’s struggles. Addison will want to be paid.
On the open market, Addison can probably fetch a contract worth $30 million per year. Fans will use the upcoming offseason to debate whether that’s worth it.
Addison is on pace for 635 receiving yards this season.
2. Mansoor Delane
Minnesota employs two starting cornerbacks now — and on the books in 2026: Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers.
Murphy Jr. has taken a downturn after netting a fat contract nine months ago, while Rodgers is dynamic but not a supreme tackler. The current roster screams for a tried-and-true CB1. Minnesota hasn’t drafted a successful cornerback of any kind — in any round — in a decade. The last semi-hit was Trae Waynes in 2015, and he was solid, not generational.
It feels repetitive to say, but Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to spend another high-round pick on the position. Mike Hughes didn’t work. Jeff Gladney didn’t work; rest in peace. Andrew Booth didn’t work.
Cornerback is Minnesota’s top draft need in 2026 by a mile — unless the franchise completely whiffs on the aforementioned McCarthy. If that ends up being the case, then Adofo-Mensah will need a cornerback and a quarterback.
Meanwhile, Minnesota will probably finish 2025 with a Top 12 draft pick, which will be prime territory to draft the 2025 class’ best cornerback: Mansoor Delane.
Maybe the Vikings will finally hit on a rookie cornerback.
3. Brian Flores
One of the items missing from the 2025 offseason? A contract extension for Brian Flores. There wasn’t even much fuss about it.
There may be a common understanding between Flores and the Vikings’ brass that he will jump into the head coach carousel with both feet, and therefore, signing an extension beyond this year might’ve been silly.
However, Flores’ legal litigation against the NFL is still pending, and if that scares off owners and general managers, Flores will need somewhere to go in 2026. Why not back in Minnesota?
Moreover, if Flores does not return to the Vikings, it will need a new defensive coordinator for the first time in three years. There will be a lot going on in Minnesota in the 2026 offseason, and usually, a vacant defensive coordinator position would be a huge deal. This year, though, it might be a Top 5 priority for fans, rather than at the very top of the list.
4. Jeremiyah Love
There’s a healthy faction of Vikings fans — this website can be lassoed into the group — that believe the franchise must put its foot down and draft a rookie running back. And not like a 7th-Rounder — Minnesota needs a blue-chip tailback prospect.
This offseason, that man will be Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.
He’s an Ashton Jeanty redux and has even drawn Bijan Robinson comparisons. Picking around No. 11 or so, Love will probably be gettable for the Vikings. Head coach Kevin O’Connell must decide a) whether a Round 1 running back is wise strategy b) if he will use Love in the offense. O’Connell — now notoriously — doesn’t run the ball enough. Could Love force O’Connell to shed the bad habit?
5. Kyler Murray
Arizona shut Murray down for the season this week with a foot injury. A few weeks ago, Cardinals fans and NFL media debated whether the franchise “softly benched” him in favor of Jacoby Brissett. Arizona’s coaching staff and public relations department did little to fight back at the allegations.
It’s just kind of understood in early December that Murray has played his final game in the desert. Seven seasons in Arizona haven’t netted much.
Insert the Vikings — a team with poor quarterback play in 2025 that is sinking the enterprise. McCarthy’s six starts have landed all over the map — occasional sparks at the end of games, long stretches of frustration in between. The inconsistency has almost become the calling card, and it’s flat-out bizarre.
At some point — whether it’s now, next month, or early spring — the Vikings will have to determine whether McCarthy has progressed enough through two NFL seasons to be their unquestioned starter beyond 2025. Probably not.
If the organization had to make that call on December 7th, the answer would be no — and that forces Minnesota into a search for a new QB1.
Minnesota’s history is littered with quarterback misses, forcing the franchise into short-term fixes like Kirk Cousins, Randall Cunningham, and the wild Brett Favre ride. So pivoting from McCarthy to Murray would be totally on-brand for a franchise that doesn’t take kindly to ground-up rebuilds.
There is logic behind drafting another passer this April, but can Adofo-Mensah really be trusted to swing at another quarterback after potentially botching the McCarthy selection? Would ownership even give him that authority? Those questions linger loudly.
Mark and Zygi Wilf could very well tell Adofo-Mensah, “You have offseason to fix this crap — and you can’t use another Round 1 pick on a quarterback.” That assignment might land in the lap of the next general manager. It probably should, as Adofo-Mensah may have bungled the McCarthy selection.
And that’s precisely where the Murray escape hatch comes into play. He’s the one gettable quarterback in the upcoming offseason with Pro Bowl upside. His stock is at its lowest.
You must be logged in to post a comment.