Vikings Fire Off 4th Move of Free Agency
Through two days of NFL free agency, the Minnesota Vikings have extended linebacker Eric Wilson’s contract, re-upped with long snapper Andrew DePaola, and onboarded cornerback James Pierre from the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Wednesday morning, as the league calendar formally turns to 2026, Minnesota re-signed safety and special teamer Tavierre Thomas, the fourth move this week.
Minnesota kept building this week, and special teams stayed part of the plan.
Fans will remember Thomas for untimely penalties last season, but the Vikings value him much more than that.
Tavierre Thomas Brings Experience to Vikings’ Special Teams
Special teams continuity is on the menu.
Thomas Re-Signs in MIN
The move didn’t quite satiate fans’ need for more free-agent activity, but Thomas is back in the mix nevertheless.
Vikings.com’s Craig Peters wrote Wednesday, “Tavierre Thomas started another trip around the sun by agreeing to terms on a deal to stay with the Vikings. Thomas, who turned 30 Wednesday, which is the first day of the New League Year, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent.”
“He will be back with Minnesota after joining the Vikings during 2025 free agency. Thomas appeared in all 17 games last season, primarily on special teams. Thomas led Minnesota with 19 special teams tackles, including a team-high nine solo, while helping the Vikings net 44.5 yards per punt by limiting opponents to 8.6 yards per punt return.”
The Vikings experienced immense upheaval in their coaching staff over the two months, but special teams boss Matt Daniels remained, and Thomas was evidently a priority for him.
Thomas’s Resume
Thomas played all 17 games for the 2025 Vikings, seeing action on a whopping 371 special teams snaps and just 18 on defense. Think of it this way: Minnesota brought back its primary special teams asset with Thomas re-signing.
Here’s Thomas’ NFL resume to date:
- Arizona Cardinals (2018)
- Cleveland Browns (2018–2020)
- Houston Texans (2021–2023)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024)
- Minnesota Vikings (2025-now)
And this is Thomas’ Pro Football Focus work through eight seasons:
2025: 75.3
2024: 44.8
2023: 72.2
2022: 70.0
2021: 77.6
2020: 50.2
2019: 61.3
2018: 57.8
The 30-year-old logged heavy defensive work for the Houston Texans from 2021 through 2023, then saw his role shrink with the Buccaneers in 2024. Tampa Bay used him on just 45 defensive snaps that season while leaning on him heavily as a core special teams contributor. That trend continued for Thomas in Minnesota last year.
Our Janik Eckardt on Thomas: “Thomas logged 23 tackles in his debut season with the Vikings. Perhaps more memorable were his frequent penalties, something he might want to reduce entering his second season. PFF charted him with four penalties, some of which were negating returns and therefore were certainly on the more annoying side.”
“Myles Price returned a 99-yard kick return to the house against the Lions in November, but Thomas was caught cheating, wiping the effort off the board. Keeping core special-teamers has quietly been one of Minnesota’s offseason themes under Kevin O’Connell.”
Safeties Under Contract
With no word on Harrison Smith’s retirement or return for Year No. 15, here’s the lay of the land at safety for the 2026 depth chart:
- Josh Metellus
- Jay Ward
- Theo Jackson
- Tavierre Thomas
- Kahlef Hailassie
A verdict from Smith should be announced by Friday, and a source told VikingsTerritory that he was truly “50-50” as of late last week. Perhaps Smith is waiting to see Minnesota’s quarterback plan, which would shape whether another season is worth it.
More Safeties on the Way?
Of course, as Thomas doesn’t play much defensively, the Vikings may not be done adding safety talent. At the time of this article’s publication, these men remain free agents:
- Jaquan Brisker
- Kevin Byard
- Andre Cisco
- Nick Cross
- Kyle Dugger
- Marcus Epps
- Jaylin Hawkins
- Nick Scott
- Geno Stone
- Donovan Wilson
- Xavier Woods
Star Tribune‘s Andrew Krammer noted on Hawkins, in particular, last week, “New Vikings defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander used to coach Bynum, the ex-Vikings safety, when they were at Cal together from 2017 through 2019.”
“Perhaps Alexander will look to that Cal secondary for another former Golden Bear in Hawkins, Bynum’s former teammate who is coming off a solid year in New England. Hawkins thrived in a versatile role under Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, and the Vikings also ask their defensive backs to blitz and provide run support.”
Too, in the first few rounds of April’s draft, these rookies will cross Minnesota’s radar:
- Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State)
- Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)
- Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (S, Toledo)
- A.J. Haulcy (S, LSU)
- Kamari Ramsey (S, USC)
- Zakee Wheatley (S, Penn State)
- Genesis Smith (S, Arizona)
- Jalon Kilgore (S, South Carolina)
- Bud Clark (S, TCU)
Thomas’s new deal is reportedly worth $4.6 million over two years.
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