Vikings Players Sitting on the Free Agent Bubble in 2026
Because the Minnesota Vikings drafted poorly in 2022, they don’t have too many big-name free agents about to hit the open market. It’s a sad reality. Regardless, based on the recent contract structure, a few players are straddling the free-agent bubble, with fans unsure whether the club will re-up or unload them.
Jalen Nailor, Ivan Pace Jr., and Eric Wilson each present a different kind of bubble candidacy in 2026.
It’s also worth noting that this process occurs annually for the Vikings and 31 other NFL teams. Here’s the shortlist.
3 Vikings on the Bubble for March
It’s a mystery what the future holds for these three Vikings free agents.
Jalen Nailor (WR)
Nailor finished the season with 29 catches, 444 yards, and four touchdowns. A year earlier, with Sam Darnold flingling the rock, it was 414 yards and six scores. The numbers keep landing in WR4 territory.
Nailor’s production arrives in spurts during a season. Against Dallas last month, he personally transformed the game on a handful of snaps, complete with three catches, 47 yards, two touchdowns. He briefly looked like a receiver sprinting toward a new deal.
Then what happened? No catches the next two weeks. Nothing against the Giants. Nothing against the Lions. His season snapped back into place just as quickly as it broke loose. That trend defines him, unfortunately. Nailor punctuates stretches with electricity, and then it’s the milk carton routine.
The wrinkle here is J.J. McCarthy. Nailor is one of the few receivers he’s actually synced with. That chemistry hasn’t carried over elsewhere, including with Justin Jefferson. Through McCarthy’s first ten starts, his best moments came when Nailor was the target. Whoodathunkit?
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has already identified pressure points, and receivers whose production comes in bursts are the first to feel the squeeze. The Vikings could simply promote Tai Felton, a rookie from 2025, and let Nailor walk.
Nailor at $5 million is a workable deal for the cash-strapped 2025 Vikings. Nailor at $12 million per season is not.
Ivan Pace Jr. (LB)
Pace Jr. has started 27 games for Minnesota since the beginning of 2023. For an undrafted free agent, that’s really impressive.
Yet, his recent trend is disturbing. This season, the Vikings slid Pace Jr. to the side in favor of veteran Eric Wilson, trimming his role down to situational work. Pace Jr. went from starting commodity to a backup linebacker in about 1-2 weeks.
He is headed toward restricted free agency, and keeping him doesn’t appear to be a priority. Minnesota holds the card in the restricted FA scenario, but the franchise may simply not want him back. Pace Jr. missed many tackles in September, paving the way for Wilson, who did not miss tackles, to swipe his job.
In 2023, Pace Jr. was steady and reliable, earning a 77.1 PFF grade as a rookie. That number cratered to 42.3 this season. The timing was terrible because this offseason was when Pace Jr. could have cashed in on a sweet extension. Now, he’s on roster bubble lists.
Pace Jr. likely sees a starting path elsewhere for himself — he has the bravado to believe that — and the Vikings already showed they’re comfortable without him in a full-time role.
There’s a chance that Adofo-Mensah keeps Pace Jr. around and that his 2025 bench assignment was merely a product of the next guy on this list’s career renaissance. Folks will find out in seven weeks.
Eric Wilson (LB)
Like Nailor and Pace Jr., Wilson is seven weeks from free agency, and his next stop may hinge on where Brian Flores lands — whether that remains in the Twin Cities or takes a head coaching job in Baltimore, Las Vegas, or Pittsburgh. Either way, Wilson has positioned himself as a linebacker that teams now plan around, even if that would’ve sounded nuts one year ago right about now.
The 2025 season changed everything for Wilson, as he immediately acted as a disruptor and playmaker, showing up in places offenses didn’t account for. Among off-ball linebackers, he led the league in sacks and pressures, finished near the top in forced fumbles, and consistently wrecked plays behind the line of scrimmage.
None of that was part of the original calculus when the Vikings signed him 10 months ago. Adofo-Mensah signed Wilson as depth — a “guy” behind Blake Cashman and Pace Jr. By December, he was producing at a level that made Vikings fans wonder what the team would do without him.
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