Minnesota Vikings free agency has featured emphatic transactions, including the acquisitions of Ryan Kelly (C), Will Fries (G), Jonathan Allen (DT), Javon Hargrave (DT), and Isaiah Rodgers (CB). The club also re-signed Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.
How to Spend It? The Vikings Still Have Cap Space.
And the franchise should still have between $30 million and $35 million remaining — even before restructuring any existing players’ deals.
So, here’s how general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might spend it, with the methods ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most probable).
4. Aaron Rodgers
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted Wednesday morning about the Vikings’ spending: “There is still more to come, including an expected agreement with DT Javon Hargrave. There is also the small matter of finding a QB to pair with J.J. McCarthy, and yes, the range of candidates is wide enough to include Aaron Rodgers.”
Rodgers is never affordable, so perhaps the theorists who believe he’ll become a Viking and complete the Brett Favre career arc are correct.
Otherwise, these veteran quarterbacks are still on the open market:
- Jacoby Brissett
- Joe Flacco
- Taylor Heinicke
- Mac Jones
- Drew Lock
- Gardner Minshew
- Cooper Rush
- Carson Wentz
- Russell Wilson
- Jameis Winston
3. Trade for a Splashy Cornerback
Some Sauce Gardner trade smoke appeared to begin with an account named “Playmaker Dave,” who boasts an impressive social media accuracy run, predicting events like Daniel Jones to the Vikings a few months ago, Davante Adams to the Los Angeles Rams, and Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, among other fulfilled prophecies.
The account tweeted Tuesday, “SOURCE: Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets in discussions for blockbuster trade involving Sauce Gardner’ lots of movement in the last 24 hours and the cap situation makes it all work.'”
Minnesota has also been tied to Cleveland Browns corner Denzel Ward in the rumor mill via trade.
Gardner or Ward would theoretically eat up a lot of the remaining space.
One could also wiggle Jaire Alexander into this category, as Green Bay is expected to release the Pro Bowl corner.
2. Big-Name WR
Cooper Kupp should be available as early as Wednesday, and maybe Minnesota will upgrade the WR3 spot over Jalen Nailor.
In addition to Kupp, these are the high-profile WR options:
- Stefon Diggs
- Amari Cooper
- Keenan Allen
- Tyler Lockett
1. Just … More Players
The Vikings need more depth players. Free agency isn’t over.
These positions may need love:
- Another Startable Cornerback
- 2nd Starting Guard
- Depth Linebacker
- Depth EDGE Rusher
- TE3
- Extra Safety
And that might spark interest in players like:
- Asante Samuel Jr. (CB)
- Mike Hilton (CB)
- Will Hernandez (G)
- Shaq Mason (G)
- Elandon Roberts (LB)
- Jerome Baker (LB)
- Jihad Ward (OLB)
- Emmanuel Ogbah (OLB)
- Josh Uche (OLB)
- Evan Engram (TE)
- Tyler Conklin (TE)
- Mo Allie-Cox (TE)
- Juan Thornhill (S)
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 Vikings 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.