3 Fascinating Under the Radar Decisions for Vikings in Free Agency
The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason has been dominated by a few dominoes, ones unresolved as of February 22nd.
Vikings Free Agency: 3 Under the Radar Decisions
These are the top matters in the Vikings’ orbit at the moment:
- Will Sam Darnold stay or go?
- Harrison Smith — will he retire?
- Will the Vikings re-sign Camryn Bynum and Byron Murphy Jr.?
- How will the team fix the interior offensive line?
- Who will play QB2 if Sam Darnold leaves?
- Which cornerbacks will start in 2025?
And while those items will be tremendously impactful, a handful of under-the-radar free-agency items loom.
Listed in no particular order, these are those.
1. Will the Vikings Add an Impact Off-Ball Linebacker?
Generally speaking, Minnesota has the off-ball linebacker positions sewed up, employing Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman. However, the 2024 campaign proved how valuable a reservist linebacker like Kamu Grugier-Hill can be when injuries emerge.
Most fans don’t have linebacker anywhere on their personal team-need lists, but the Vikings could get sneaky and sign a player like Jerome Baker from Brian Flores’ days with the Miami Dolphins. Baker is scheduled to be a free agent in two weeks.
Don’t rule out linebacker as a semi-splashy signing when the calendar turns to March 10th.
2. The RB Plan
All signs point to Aaron Jones returning in 2025.
ESPN’s Field Yates tweeted last weekend, “The Vikings and RB Aaron Jones agreed to move the void date on his contract from this Monday until the final day before free agency. If Jones had not been extended by Monday, the team would have taken on $3.2M in dead money in 2025. This expands the window for Jones and Minnesota to continue to negotiate a new deal that would avoid that amount hitting the cap in full for 2025.”
This proved that Minnesota at least has some interest in reuniting with Jones.
But can he really be the RB1 fix entering his age-31 season? Minnesota will probably draft a runner from a very deep class, and then the question is — who will it be?
3. Don’t Forget about Safety
Harrison Smith could retire, and Camryn Bynum may leave in free agency.
Minnesota could turn around in early March and realize it needs two starting safeties if it wishes to keep Josh Metellus in the Swiss Army knife role.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could use free agency for possible replacements, men like Jevon Holland or Talanoa Hufanga will be available. But remember, because Smith and Bynum feel like they’re still on the roster, safety doesn’t seem like an urgent need.
We could get here in a hurry.
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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