Top Free Agent Targets for the Vikings This Summer
The summer is here for the Minnesota Vikings, as organized team activities (OTAs) are in full bloom, and mandatory minicamp gets underway in a week and a half.
The Vikings still have some spending money, and these are the realistic options via free agency this summer.
The team then has a break until late August when training camp kicks off in Eagan.
And as of June 1st, the Vikings still have about $14 million in cap, on top of the ability to restructure a contract or two and clear more space.
So, here’s who could be targeted with the remaining cash. The players are listed in order of likelihood (No. 1 = most likely to sign with Vikings.
6. Gerald Everett (TE)
Everett, a seasoned veteran, spent one season with Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles, the 2020 campaign. Regrettably for his sake, Everett departed the year before the Rams won the Super Bowl, but O’Connell offensively coordinated Everett nevertheless.
The Vikings usually enjoy a prominent TE3 on the roster after T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver. Johnny Mundt, who now works for the Jacksonville Jaguars, can attest. And last year, for example, Minnesota signed Robert Tonyan.
If the club continues its usual tendencies, Everett would make sense at TE3 if it doesn’t trust youngsters like Gavin Bartholomew and Ben Yurosek.
5. Asante Samuel Jr. (CB)
Asante Samuel Jr.’s health is suspect, and apparently, he and NFL general managers will get a full verdict on his prognosis in July.
The former Charger has been heavily linked to the Vikings in the rumor mill for two months; maybe the rumor mill will be accurate if Samuel Jr. receives a clean bill of health.
He might have the highest upside of all men on this list.
4. Jack Jones (CB)
Jack Jones is kind of a sweet and intriguing character from the Vikings’ perspective.
They scouted him extensively before the 2022 NFL Draft, spending a Top 30 visit on his profile. The New England Patriots ultimately drafted him in Round 4 that year, but cut him midway through 2023. Jones hit the waiver wire, and guess who filed a claim? The Vikings.
The Las Vegas Raiders, though, won his rights that season. Fast forward to 2025, and Las Vegas cut him loose.
Minnesota rather vividly had an interest in Jones. The evidence is there. If the team determines that it needs one more cornerback, he just might be the guy this summer.
Janik Eckardt of PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory wrote about Jones this offseason, “In three NFL seasons, Jones played 42 games (21 starts). Last season, he was a full-time starter in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he has logged 136 tackles and seven interceptions. He returned four of those for touchdowns, including one that looked like the cornerback version of Andrew Van Ginkel.”
“Last year, among 98 cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps, his PFF coverage grade ranked 85th. He was targeted 82 times and gave up 54 receptions for 679 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three picks. The passer rating when targeted was 115.8. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores might be intrigued by the former Patriot and Raider, who secured J.J. McCarthy’s preseason interception last August.”
3. Shaquil Griffin (CB)
Old faithful.
Griffin is the ideal spot starter if your favorite football team loses its starter to injury. The 29-year-old remains a free agent, though he has flirted with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
There’s a chance that Minnesota will wait until July or August to decide to call an old friend in Griffin for CB reinforcements.
2. Mike Hilton (CB)
Hilton is 31 and has played about 5,000 defensive snaps since turning pro in 2017. He blitzes quarterbacks with the best of them as a cornerback. Hilton also usually posts respectable passer-rating-against and Pro Football Focus marks.
Like Jones, if Minnesota resolves that it needs more CB juice, Hilton’s veteran leadership and skill set would fit perfectly inside Brian Flores’ defense.
1. Cam Akers (CB)
There’s a running joke among purple fans — When will Minnesota trade for Cam Akers this year?
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has traded for Akers in back-to-back seasons, doing business with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and the Houston Texans in 2024.
Adofo-Mensah could save his late-round picks that he typically spends on Akers by signing him for cheap — like right now. Two years running, the Vikings proved they prefer Akers’ talent in the offense to Ty Chandler’s.
Maybe they’ll act wisely and sign Akers this summer before being forced to trade for him in September.
If they trade for him in 2025, it will become a real-life meme. Rightfully so.
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