How the Vikings Can Spend Their $16M Cap Space
The Minnesota Vikings spent heavily in free agency two months ago, adding newcomers Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Isaiah Rodgers, among others.
How the Vikings Can Spend Their $16M Cap Space
And the club still has some leftover cash to spend on free agents if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah determines the roster needs a bit more oomph.
So, here’s how the Vikings might spend their $16 million in cap space, with the free agents listed alphabetically.
Gabe Davis (WR)
The Jacksonville Jaguars cut bait with Davis this week after wrapping both arms around Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter for the long haul. That franchise has new leadership, and Davis evidently isn’t part of the plan.
In Buffalo for a few seasons, Davis thrived, and he was the guy who gashed the Kansas City Chiefs for 4 touchdowns in a 2021 playoff game.
If such things existed like “WR3 tier rankings,” Davis would wiggle close to the top. Too, his 2025 salary is basically already paid by Jacksonville, so he’d be affordable for Minnesota or another team.
Rasul Douglas (CB)
Douglas has a big name per cornerback availability on the free agent market, especially among Vikings fans who watched his career here and there when he played for the Green Bay Packers. The Buffalo Bills didn’t re-up with Douglas this offseason, and if Adofo-Mensah signed him this spring or summer, he’d essentially fill a hybrid role of 2024 Stephon Gilmore + Shaquill Griffin.
Speaking of Griffin …
Shaquill Griffin (CB)
Griffin has met with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason and posted a video of himself working out in Vikings attire — duality of man stuff.
The 29-year-old did precisely what Minnesota asked of him in 2024, filling in as a spot starter when Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL.
The window is open for a reunion.
Our Vikings aficionado wrote about a Griffin sequel this week: “The Vikings currently employ a bunch of cornerbacks, but only Murphy Jr. is experienced as a starter. Behind him, the Vikings added Isaiah Rodgers in free agency, who is just coming off a Super Bowl win as a rotational defender, and Mekhi Blackmon, a 2023 third-rounder, returns from a torn ACL.”
“Rodgers has never played more than 48% of the snaps in a season, and Blackmon registered 43% in his only season. The franchise has put a lot of trust in those two, but it is a serious cause for concern to expect not just one but two cornerbacks to play in way bigger roles than they ever have. Suddenly, they aren’t playing a combined 600 or 700 snaps anymore, but 1500.”
Griffin will turn 30 this summer.
Eckardt concluded, “Depth players Jeff Okudah has never gotten an average grade from PFF in his career, and Dwight McGlothern, despite showing flashes as an undrafted rookie, isn’t a reliable option either.”
“The Vikings know what they would get from Griffin, who will turn 30 in the summer: He is not flashy but dependable, and that’s exactly what the Vikings could use in a secondary with some uncertainty and projection.”
Mike Hilton (CB)
Hilton might be the league’s top-blitzing cornerback, and the Vikings’ defense blitzes more than any team in the world.
He’s 31, so the relationship wouldn’t span years upon years, but for a season or so, Hilton to Minnesota probably wouldn’t disappoint.
Jack Jones (CB)
Jones played really well with the New England Patriots while partaking in about half that franchise’s snaps in 2022 and 2023. When he landed with the Las Vegas Raiders and took on a full-timer’s role, his production slowed to a mediocre clip.
But we know verifiably that the Vikings scouted Jones during the draft three years ago and put a waiver claim in for his services during the middle of 2023.
Somebody in Eagan likes him — or did a year and a half ago.
Asante Samuel Jr. (CB)
Asante Samuel Jr. dominated the Vikings’ rumor mill in late March and all of April. Some claimed he’d sign in Minnesota after the draft, but that never happened. Meanwhile, NFL analysts have lined up to question Samuel Jr.’s long-term health, which could be holding up his free agency.
There’s a chance that Minnesota investigates his medical resume, deems it a go, and signs him for 2025.
Per talent, he’s definitely worth the squeeze, but it all boils down to his neck and shoulder condition.
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