The Vikings’ Top 5 Moves from a Busy Week
The Minnesota Vikings have smashed free agency through five days, electrifying folks with a spending spree not seen by most fans in their lifetimes.
The Vikings’ Top 5 Moves from a Busy Week
The week was busy, and it might’ve been easy to lose track of everything.
So, these were the Vikings’ five best free-agent moves of the week. They’re listed in ascending order (No. 1 = best decision).
5. Adding Javon Hargrave (DT) as Chef’s Kiss
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.”
That was right after the Jonathan Allen announcement, proof that the Vikings weren’t kidding around about fixing their offensive and defensive lines.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah chose an embarrassment of riches in the trenches.
4. Signing Ryan Kelly (C)
Most purple fans expected the team to prefer continuity at center, retaining Bradbury for at least one more season, the final year of his contract.
Instead, Minnesota upgraded over Bradbury, adding Kelly, a four-time Pro Bowler. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy will now take snaps from one of the league’s best during his first season as a starter.
The Vikings put their foot down and ended the Bradbury era, which had hot and cold moments — mostly chilly by a 1st-Round draft pick’s standards.
3. Jonathan Allen as Primary DT Fix
The Washington Commanders cut Allen loose just before free agency, and after trade rumors involving Allen last season, the Vikings got their man.
The last time Minnesota employed a Pro Bowl three-technique defensive tackle, Barack Obama was starting his second term of the American presidency.
That’s how long it’s been.
They finally did it. They ended the malarkey and signed an impactful interior 3T defensive lineman.
2. Fixing Guard Once and for All — Will Fries
Vikings fans have ridden a rollercoaster at guard for a decade, not unlike the DT woes mentioned above since Kevin Williams.
Well, the rollercoaster has stopped. The Vikings signed Fries as Adofo-Mensah handed out his largest newcomer free-agent contract to date — five years and $88 million.
Because fans have asked for a proven guard for eons — they even made memes about it — the Fries contract feels like a celebration and a realization after all these years that improvement is mandatory.
1. Letting Sam Darnold Leave
To safeguard against J.J. McCarthy’s inexperience and meniscus injury recovery, temptation must’ve arisen to re-sign Darnold and play it cautiously.
He would’ve cost about $34 million per season as it turns out, but the Vikings smartly said, “No thanks.”
So, they turned around and used that money to effectuate a vital task — build the trenches with players like Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave.
If Darnold had remained in the Twin Cities, the Vikings probably would’ve perhaps signed one of those players — not four.
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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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