Should the Vikings be aggressive in free agency?
As we motor on towards the Combine and free agency, the QB question dominates the discussion. The interior offensive and defensive lines along with cornerback are also area of desperate need for upgrades. I wonder if a veteran QB will be comfortable signing a one year deal knowing full well that as soon as the offense has a tough day or the QB throws picks, the boo birds will come out and the calls for JJ will increase. This assumes the veteran will start. I do not see Darnold or Jones willing to come back for one year and then riding the pine. Jones has to want a chance at playing so he can get a long term deal. I do not know if JJ could beat out Jones. It would be a surprise. The Vikings could be looking at some other QB as competition for JJ if there is truly going to be a competition. I believe the team will have one but I think the majority of fans do not want one. They want JJ to start. Period.
I posted an article below that talks about how difficult it is proving to be finding good interior offensive linemen around the NFL. Throwing money at guards could prove to be disastrous. Even spending high picks on offensive linemen has proven to be sad for the Vikings. The real question is do the Vikings have capable people in charge that can identify offensive linemen? It is not unreasonable to have serious doubts. But they have to do something too.
All that being said, the real positions that need immediate attention (after QB and before interior offensive line) is defensive tackle and cornerback. All you have to do is look at the internal free agents and players under contract next year at those positions. It really is not rocket science. If they have to come back with Brandel who could improve since last year was his first playing guard in the NFL for a full season, hopefully Risner, and sadly, Bradbury. They do have Jurgens who they kept on the active roster all season. There is a reason they did that and it should not be dismissed. He could still not become a starter but they like him along with Rouse.
Having a mobile QB may help out the offensive line a lot. JJ and possibly Daniel Jones would definitely be an upgrade in the mobility department.
NFL Releases 2025 HBCU Combine Roster
The National Football League, in partnership with the Black College Football Hall of Fame, announced the players attending the 2025 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Combine.
The HBCU Combine will be held at the New Orleans Saints practice facility, the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, on Monday, February 17. Offensive prospects will work out at 8:45 a.m. – 12 p.m. CT and defensive prospects will work out between 12 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CT.
The HBCU Legacy Bowl is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, February 22 at Tulane University’s Yulman Stadium, with live coverage on NFL Network.
The HBCU Combine and Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl kick off next week in New Orleans. The key players to watch for heading into the week follow the trend in the NFL – running backs. pic.twitter.com/0YIM7yCc79
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) February 15, 2025
Jada Byers, RB, Virginia Union
Irv Mulligan, RB, Jackson State
Elijah Williams, DL, Morgan State
Keshawn Toney, TE, South Carolina State
Carlvainsky Decius, DB, Morgan State
Kendall Bohler, DB, Florida A&M
James Burgess, DB, Alabama State
Robert McDaniel, DB, Jackson State
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
REPORT: Another Raider Prediction Lands Viking QB in Las Vegas
While the Raiders have been predicted to cut ties with Minshew this offseason, and the return of Ridder is unlikely, O’Connell seems to be the one mainstay on the quarterback depth. That being said, the Raiders active pursuit on a quarterback showcases that the franchise will be looking to use O’Connell in a backup role once more.
The 33rdTeam’s Marcus Mosher joined the Raiders predictions recently and he too chimed in on the Raiders and Darnold connection. Here is what he had to say revolving Darnold as he enters free agency.
“Darnold will also benefit from a weak quarterback class in the 2025 NFL Draft, which could lead a team like the Raiders to pay him now rather than wait for someone to fall to them. Darnold is only 27 but has a lot of experience, having started 73 games in the NFL,” Mosher wrote.
Now with the new leadership in Las Vegas in head coach Pete Carroll, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and general manager John Spytek, the Raiders would benefit from adding an experienced quarterback such as Darnold. If Darnold were to sign with the Raiders, the offense could take leaps and bounds from what it was last season.
“The best landing spot would be with a veteran coach and a roster full of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but considering he hasn’t earned a big payday yet in the NFL, the money could ultimately dictate where he lands,” Mosher wrote.
Daniel Jones Gets Clarity on Vikings Future Before Offseason
ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes that scenario could play out with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I think the Raiders are gonna make a play for Sam Darnold. I think Sam Darnold’s a candidate to be the Raiders quarterback. We’ll see whether Minnesota lets him go or not, but let’s see if that works out with Sam Darnold winding up in Vegas. And so, if he goes there, then the Vikings have to bring in another quarterback. J.J. [McCarthy], obviously, is going to be there. J.J. is coming along,” Schefter said on the “Pat McAfee Show” on February 10.
“I think that was part of the reason they brought in Daniel Jones; because they were kind of getting him up to speed in their system their organization in the event that they do lose Sam Darnold.”
“You peel back the layers, and you start to see some of that same upside that I saw with Sam (Darnold).” #Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell raves about Daniel Jones and how much he meant to the QB room to @AdamSchein.
https://t.co/jP0HFpEWEm pic.twitter.com/Cks5j4y8aU
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) February 7, 2025
Schefter’s comments follow those of O’Connell, who said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on February 13 that the team had yet to decide on a direction between Darnold, Jones, and McCarthy.
O’Connell also said the team remained in contact with all three QBs during the process.
“We haven’t made that decision yet,” O’Connell told Dan Patrick on “The Dan Patrick Show” on February 13. “J.J.’s here every day. But I talked to Sam yesterday for a long time. Talked to Daniel Jones for a long time. I just want those guys to know that there’s an element in this where our relationship matters. The communication between me and those guys has to be paramount, and the agents and our front office, those conversations will go on.”
There is an epidemic in the National Football League and we saw it on full display in the playoffs.
High-end offensive linemen are a scarce resource.
After Super Bowl LIX, it’s more obvious than ever that even the best teams struggle on the offensive line. This is the second Super Bowl loss by the Kansas City Chiefs that resulted from a poor offensive line. It’s not like the Chiefs haven’t tried either. They have spent numerous resources on the offensive line, including multiple second round picks and millions in free agent dollars to only have the unit crumble in the biggest spot of the year.
With the amount of teams that have issues on the offensive line, it’s not quite that simple. The Minnesota Vikings have had issues on the interior of the offensive line for years and the fanbase is begging general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to fix it.
It’s a smart bet that the Vikings will try to fix it, but how they will go about it is still up in the air. Adofo-Mensah essentially said that improvement isn’t linear.
“I think having studied it, I would agree with what he said. What I would say is though, I think a lot of times everybody hears that and thinks the answer is kind of simple. And the answer can come from different ways. It can come from a different player. It could come from a player year over year improving. It could come from how we do things from a pass protection standpoint. Those two games revealed some issues in there that were tougher to overcome. How do you overcome them? And that’s what’s beautiful about football. It’s this complex sport. If you want to run the football, there’s a lot of ways to do it. You could maybe get better at receiver and make them play you a certain way. We’ll approach this off-season trying to fix the team with that creativity, that mindset in place. We’ll collaborate with Kevin, but yeah, we want to be in a place where we’re still playing football. And to win these last games, any potential places where teams can attack, you’ve got to be ready for, not just from your starting lineup, but from your two deep. And so we want to set ourselves up to be in that position and going from there.”
The idea of fixing the offensive line not being linear is something that appears to be felt across the league. During an interview, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider spoke to the epidemic of the offensive line.
“Everyone’s on a constant quest for developing offensive linemen. There’s always a dearth of talent at the position. You can’t just throw money at something to fix a perceived need.”
– John Schneider on @SeattleSports
— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) February 15, 2025
Schneider is right. We can talk about fixing the offensive line until we are blue in the face, but it’s not as simple as it seems.
While Schneider is right about just throwing money at the position, that is what free agency essentially is. Like the NFL Draft, you have to spend your assets wisely. Adofo-Mensah did a great job with it last year by signing three Pro Bowl players with the Vikings free agency class.
However, we’ve seen numerous instances of free agent contracts not working out. Heck, the Vikings have had a few of them over the years. Throwing assets at the problem won’t solve it. Like selections in the NFL Draft, the moves have to be calculated, well researched, and the asset needs to be available.
There is a major scarcity of good offensive linemen and every team needs them. Simply throwing money at the problem won’t fix it. You need to use your assets in a smart way like the Philadelphia Eagles have. Sure, they are paying three of their offensive linemen top-of-the-market deals, but they drafted all three of them, and that doesn’t include starting center Cam Jurgens who is set to get his own top-of-the-market contract.
KOC Reveals Who was on Track to Win 2024 Vikings QB Battle
Last season the Minnesota Vikings scooped up a former first round pick at quarterback when they signed Sam Darnold. They also used their first pick on a quarterback, drafting J.J. McCarthy. Discussions raged on regarding who would start during the regular season, but they all became moot when McCarthy suffered a season ending knee injury.
That doesn’t mean head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t need to consider what his plan of attack was. Of course he was leaning one way or another just weeks before the season started. It also plays into what the QB blueprint could look like for 2025.
Fresh off winning an NFL Head Coach of the Year award, MN Vikings leader Kevin O’Connell joined the Dan Patrick Show. It didn’t take long for the host to hit him with a pretty tough question. If the injury to the rookie never occured, who was going to start?
“Well I would say this, Dan. We had just seen J.J. [McCarthy] play in his first preseason game. There was a lot of positive things on that tape that left us as a coaching staff saying that we need to see this thing through to the end of training camp… Sam Darnold was having a really good camp. It was showing up day in and day out… I would probably say that Sam Darnold would have been our starting quarterback just out of the experience.”
Many in the Vikings’ fanbase want them to sell out to fix the interior of the offensive line, including with their first-round pick.
The latest installment of our SKOL Search series focuses on a fan favorite in Alabama guard Tyler Booker.
Strengths
Strength: Booker is arguably the strongest player in this class. Once he gets his hands on you, it’s over. He can drive you through the ground and prevent you from moving off of your spot.
Size: Booker has incredible size and length. Built like the Pokemon Golem, Booker cannot be displaced and has enough length to keep pass rushers at bay.
Anchor: The two above traits highlight Booker’s best trait: his anchor. You won’t be moving him backward, as he thrives putting his feet into the ground and holding his own.
Weaknesses
Movement Skills: Booker is a physically imposing player at guard. He will grab you and prevent you from moving. However, Booker struggles with movement. He doesn’t take good angles when climbing to the second level and his footspeed is subpar in a major way.
Athleticism: When you look at Booker, you see a strong menace in a phone booth. What he doesn’t have is great athleticism. He struggles when pulling, climbing to the second level, and getting off the football quickly.
Leverage: Booker struggles with consistency in leverage. He gets himself in bad positions by lunging at defenders, allowing defenders to
Booker is a fascinating prospect. He is one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL Draft and his strength profile is incredible. With that said, the deficiencies are ones that could take him off the Vikings’ draft board.
When you run an outside zone scheme like the Vikings do, your interior offensive linemen need to be able to move well and climb to the second level. Those elements aren’t what Booker does well. It’s a very poor scheme fit.
2025 NFL draft: 5 stud players the Vikings can’t pass up at No. 24
It feels almost inevitable that GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings will trade down from the 24th pick in this year’s NFL draft. They simply need more selections, and this is a deep draft class into the second and third rounds, particularly at some positions of need for Minnesota (RB, DT, CB). It just makes all kinds of sense, provided Adofo-Mensah can get good value from a team that wants to come up to 24.
But there are certain players who are simply too good to pass up. In hindsight, the Vikings obviously should’ve taken Kyle Hamilton or Trent McDuffie with the 12th pick in 2022, instead of trading down 20 spots and picking Lewis Cine. Winning in this league requires depth, but it also requires finding stud players. So with that in mind, here are five players who look too good to pass up on if they happen to make it to the Vikings at 24 (and it has to be reasonably possible; we’re not gonna put likely top-ten picks Mason Graham or Will Johnson here).
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen
Texas CB Jahdae Barron
Alabama LG Tyler Booker
Michigan DT Kenneth Grant
.
Note: I would disagree with this 100%. Besides, Jeanty, none of these players is head and shoulders over other players at their position groups. IMHO. Unfortunately, due to Kwesi giving up picks last year, the Vikings probably have to trade down and it would not surprise me if he traded a future pick to get more picks.
Vikings Could Part Ways With $16 Million Standout in 3-Team Myles Garrett Trade
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a look at the Vikings’ options as a third-team facilitator in a blockbuster trade centered around defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, who has asked out of his current situation but isn’t needed in the Vikings locker room — particularly when considering his cost could be as high as two first-round picks.
Barnwell on Thursday, February 13, laid out a scenario in which the Vikings move Turner to the Browns and get back a big-time draft asset in return.
“While the Vikings won 14 games, they’re deep at edge rusher after signing Jonathan Greenard and
Andrew Van Ginkel and trading up for Dallas Turner in the first round of the 2024 draft. It would be a surprise if they sacrificed more draft capital to go after Garrett,” Barnwell wrote. “The Browns might prefer to add a young edge rusher to replace Garrett in lieu of pure draft capital as part of a deal. … There was plenty of talent ahead of Turner on the edge, but the 22-year-old didn’t exactly force his way onto the field as a rookie.”
None of that means Turner is a bad player or that it’s time to declare him a bust. What it does mean, though, is that if the Vikings can get off of him for a mid-to-high first-round pick or something early in the second round, it might be worth it.
Just a for instance, the Chicago Bears might be able to get in the game for Garrett for the price of the Nos. 10 and 39 picks this April. If the Vikings could get off Turner’s $16 million rookie contract in return for an early second-round pick as the third team involved in that trade and then draft defensive backs with the Nos. 24 and 39 selections, that might be more valuable than keeping Turner on as a rotational pass rusher.
.
Note: An NBA style trade that rarely happens. I cannot even recall one time where three teams were involved in a trade. This idea is basically trading Turner to the Browns for their 2nd round pick AFTER the Browns trade Garrett for the #10 and #39 picks. I mean, I guess they could do it but I would hope to get another mid round pick too.
An Off Season Plan
Starting Cap Space
2025: $58,012,543
2026: $101,508,844
Franchise tag Sam Darnold and trade him to Raiders for pick #73 and #217
Cut Ed Ingram
Cut CJ Ham
Harrison Smith Retires or Cut
.
Extend Brian O’Neill – 2 yr 32M (Salaries of 8.5M, 14.5M, 16M, 16M; 15M signing bonus; saves 7M in cap space)
Extend Andrew Van Ginkel – 2 yr 28M (Salaries of 5M, 15M; 8M signing bonus; saves 4M in cap space)
Extend Josh Oliver – 3 yr 21M (Salaries of 3.5M, 4M, 7.5M; 6M signing bonus; saves 2.5M in cap space)
Extend Daniel Jones – 1 yr 15M (9M salary; 6M signing bonus)
Extend Theo Jackson – 2 yr 6M (Salaries of 2M, 2M; 2M signing bonus)
.
Sign Milton Williams (DT) – 3 yr 66M with one void year
(Salaries of 20M, 12M, 24M; 10M signing bonus)
.
Sign Trey Smith (RG) – 4 yr 88M with one void year
(Salaries of 1.17M, 12.83M, 22M, 22M; 30M signing bonus)
.
Sign Jevon Holland (S) – 3 yr 63M with one void year
(Salaries of 5M, 15M, 23M; 20M signing bonus)
.
Sign Asante Samuel Jr (CB) – 3 yr 43.5M with one void year
(Salaries of 1.17M, 10.83M, 15.5M; 16M signing bonus)
.
Sign Tyrell Dodson (LB) – 2 yr 9M with one void year
(Salaries of 1.17M, 3.33M; 4.5M signing bonus)
.
Ending Cap Space
2025: $19,152,543
2026: $10,972,844
.
There is enough cap space remaining to sign some low level free agents which should not even affect the cap space because this is for the top 51 already.
In 2026, they could cut Harrison Phillips and Blake Brandel and they would get another 11M in cap space. They could do restructures on Greenard, Hockenson, and maybe Jets.
Yore Mock
Trades
Trade Partner: Raiders
Sent: Sam Darnold
Received: R3.73, R6.218
…
Trade Partner: San Francisco
Sent: R1.24
Received: R2.43, R3.75, R4.111
…
Trade Partner: Jacksonville
Sent: R4.111, R6.217
Received: R4.124, R5.142, R7.222
…
R2.43 Tyler Booker OG Alabama 6’5” 325
R3.73 TreVeyon Henderson RB Ohio State 5’10” 208
R3.75 Azareye’h Thomas CB Florida State 6’2” 198
R3.97 Jordan Phillips DT Maryland 6’3’ 320
R4.124 Aeneas Peebles DT Virginia Tech 6’1” 290
R5.142 Seth McLaughlin OC Ohio State 6’4” 305
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25874845/2171053506.jpg)
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
R5.159 Jackson Hawes TE Georgia Tech 6’5” 260
R6.198 Tahj Brooks RB Texas Tech 5”10” 230
R7.239 Malachi Moore S Alabama 6’0” 201
UDFA
David Gbenda LB Texas
Trey Wedig OT Indiana
Warren Brinson DT Georgia
Shaun Dolac LB Buffalo
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
- No discussion of politics or religion
- No feeding of the trolls
- Leave the gender hatred at the door
- Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
- Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
- No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
- If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
- While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
