Vikings Go Nuts, Add Another Pro Bowler

Dustin Baker |

Mar 11, 2025

If you were worried the Minnesota Vikings would “take it easy” during free agency, those fears were wiped off the map on Tuesday morning.

Vikings Go Nuts, Add Another Pro Bowler

Minnesota will reportedly add two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargarve — on the same morning it signed guard Will Fries and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.

Vikings free agency is utterly popping off.

NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero tweeted Tuesday, “The Vikings aren’t done: They’re also closing in on a deal with two-time Pro Bowl DT Javon Hargrave and plan to sign him after his release from the 49ers is official Wednesday, sources say. So Jonathan Allen heads to Minnesota and now another huge D-line move in the works.”

The move, when complete, runs the tally to newcomer free agents to this legder:

Isaiah Rodgers (CB)
Bubba Bolden (S)
Ryan Kelly (C)
Will Fries (G)
Jonathan Allen (DT)
Javon Hargrave (DT)

Most Vikings fans rejoiced at Allen as a standalone defensive signing. But pairing him with Hargave could formulate a deadly pairing within the 2025 defensive line that perhaps onlookers haven’t seen from Minnesota since the 1970s. The talent is there.

Peek at the Vikings evolving line for next season:

DT: Javon Hargave
DT: Jonathan Allen
DT: Harrison Phillips
OLB: Dallas Turner
OLB: Andrew Van Ginkel
OLB: Jonathan Greenard

Here’s Hargave’s Pro Football Focus resume to date:

2024: 60.6
2023: 74.9
2022: 80.1
2021: 67.3
2020: 61.2
2019: 83.4
2018: 80.6
2017: 74.3
2016: 63.7

The Vikings were hellbent on adding an impactful defensive tackle this offseason. General manager Adofo-Mensah spoke at the NFL Combine two weeks ago, acknowledging that his team must improve in the defensive trenches. “To play January football, there’s a certain way you’ve got to play. You’ve got to be able to control the ball, and be able to get after the passer with just four. We need to get better and will,” the Vikings boss told reporters.

Folks didn’t know, though, that Adofo-Mensah would add two DTs. It’s a new era of Vikings football, financially enabled by utilizing a quarterback on a rookie contract in J.J. McCarthy.

The move, plus adding Kelly and Fries while re-signing Byron Murphy Jr. (CB), enables Minnesota to focus on the best player available in the draft, as all current long-term roster needs are close to filled. The Vikings will pick 24th on draft night and can basically choose a player from any position.

For context on Hargrave, he focuses on rushing the quarterback, with mediocre run-stopping tendencies, at least as of late.

Hargrave turned 32 last month.

Also Read:
Vikings Free Agent Tracker | 2025

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.