2026 Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Tracker: News, Rumors, Signings, Trades, and More Part 2

On Wednesday afternoon, at the start of the new NFL league year, the Minnesota Vikings cut ties with two of their big free agent signings from last offseason. . .and one of them already has a new home that will give him a shot at the Vikings twice a year.

The team announced that they have officially released defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in moves that will net the Vikings around $21 million in cap space. Within minutes of the news becoming official, the word came down that Hargrave had agreed to a two-year, $23 million deal with the Green Bay Packers, with $13 million in guaranteed money.

Read Article >

When the new league year started in the National Football League just about two hours ago, fans of the Minnesota Vikings saw a sequence of words that they never thought they’d see:

“The Minnesota Vikings have released safety Harrison Smith.”

Read Article >

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Vikings fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Yes, it’s that time again, ladies and gentlemen. . .time for an SB Nation Reacts survey about our Minnesota Vikings!

Read Article >

The Minnesota Vikings have reversed course on their plans for one of their veteran running backs.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Vikings and running back Aaron Jones have agreed to a revised contract that will keep him with the Vikings for this coming season. Leading up to the start of free agency, the word had been that the Vikings were going to release Jones, an move that would have saved them nearly $8 million against their salary cap. Instead, Jones has agreed to reduce his base salary to $5.5 million to keep his spot on the Vikings’ roster.

Read Article >

While the Minnesota Vikings have stayed relatively quiet through the early stages of NFL free agency, they did make a move on Tuesday to keep an important part of their special teams around for at least one more season.

The team has agreed to a deal with long snapper Andrew DePaola. It’s a one-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $1.725 million.

Read Article >

Vikings free agency explodes (or at least fizzles): James Pierre signs, Jonathan Greenard trade buzz continues! Dive into Monday’s action, or relative lack of, shocks with Tyler Forness. In this episode of The Real Forno Show, host Tyler Forness and producer Dave Stefano dissect the Minnesota Vikings’ initial free agency moves, blending expert analysis with insider scoops. With guest Nick Farabaugh from PennLive providing former Steelers James Pierre intel, the show hooks fans on potential roster shake-ups, making it a must-listen for Purple faithful craving strategic breakdowns.

Forness opens with, “Free agency has begun and the Minnesota Vikings have made a single move outside of their roster,” highlighting the team’s restrained yet calculated approach. Farabaugh praises Pierre’s breakout: “This was like the breakout year for him… He’s a competitor. He’s a dog.” They explore his fit in Brian Flores’ defense, noting, “He’s a really solid run defender… teams were not able to hit the Steelers for swing passes.” Wilson’s re-signing draws mixed reactions, with Forness saying, “It’s essentially a two year, 12 and a half million dollar deal,” as a signal to free agents. Trade talks dominate, as Stefano asks about Greenard to Eagles, and Forness speculates, “If Greenard gets traded, it’s gonna create a big hole.” QB rumors swirl, including Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones, with Farabaugh quipping on Murray to Steelers: “Expect Aaron Rogers back.” In fact he put emphasis on it. Other highlights include Nailor’s Raiders deal and Ingram’s extension vindication.

Read Article >

The Minnesota Vikings were not big players in the first day of the ‘legal tampering period’ which has become essentially the first day of free agency as a torrent of deals are announced.

The Vikings did make some big splashes in free agency last year, and the dead cap hits to clear those moves is a big reason why they haven’t made any big splashes so far this year. That should serve as a useful reminder that often times the big splashes in free agency don’t work out and prove to be bloated contracts the team dumps in a couple years.

Read Article >

Even though the Minnesota Vikings haven’t made any big, splashy moves in free agency yet, we wanted to make sure you had all of the moves that they’ve made so far available to you. There were a few that happened that flew under the radar that we missed, so let’s get them all taken care of in one spot for you here, shall we?

First off, the Vikings tendered restricted free agent linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. at the lowest possible level. For restricted free agents, this means that if another team were to sign Pace to an offer sheet, the Vikings would have seven days to decide whether or not they wanted to match it. If they chose not to, Pace would then go to a new team. Under most circumstances, the losing team would then receive a pick equal to the round in which that player was drafted. However, since Pace was an undrafted free agent, the Vikings would get nothing in return if they chose not to match the offer sheet.

Read Article >

Shortly after losing wide receiver Jalen Nailor to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings suffered a second loss in the “legal tampering” period of free agency, and this one could be a bigger loss than a lot of people think.

Punter Ryan Wright, who may have had his best season in 2025, has agreed to a four-year, $18 million deal to join the New Orleans Saints in free agency.

Read Article >

The “legal tampering” period of NFL free agency is in full swing, and as many expected, the early stages have left the Vikings with a significant hole to fill on their wide receiver depth chart.

Wide receiver Jalen Nailor has agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Given what the Raiders currently have on their depth chart at the position. . .and, yes, I know it’s early in the offseason. . .Nailor could well be WR1 in Sin City as it stands right now.

Read Article >

The National Football League has released the list of compensatory draft picks for the 2026 NFL Draft, and the Minnesota Vikings landed exactly where everyone expected them to.

For the second year in a row, the Vikings were awarded the highest compensatory pick available, #97 overall, a third-round pick for Sam Darnold signing with the Seattle Seahawks during last offseason. They also got the 97th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2024 offseason.

Read Article >

The Vikings’ first reported move done during the legal tampering window is a two-year, $8.5 million deal for former Steelers cornerback James Pierre. The former undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic has spent his entire NFL career with the Steelers on top a short stint with Washington during the 2024 campaign.

The 6’2, 185-pound Pierre has 147 total tackles to his name to go with 22 pass breakups, four interceptions, five forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries with one of those returned for a touchdown this past season.

Read Article >

After a week that saw the Minnesota Vikings part with a number of veteran players, a late-night move on Sunday saw them retain one of their own on the eve of NFL free agency getting underway.

Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network is reporting that linebacker Eric Wilson will be staying in purple on a three-year, $22.5 million deal that contains $12.5 million in guaranteed money. The deal keeps Wilson from hitting unrestricted free agency when the legal tampering period begins in a little less than twelve hours.

Read Article >

The Minnesota Vikings continue to shift money around in order to get themselves prepared for the start of the 2026 NFL league year.

Numerous sources are reporting that the Vikings and tight end T.J. Hockenson have agreed to a restructure of his contract. While the full details of the new deal have not been released, the move will reportedly lower his cap figure for 2026, which was set to be around $21.3 million, by approximately $5 million and keep him on the roster for this coming season.

Read Article >

On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings and the National Football League saw the retirement of a player who was among the top at his position for much of his NFL career.

Center Ryan Kelly announced that he would be stepping away from the NFL on Friday. He spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Indianapolis Colts before spending his final year with the Vikings in 2025.

Read Article >

As the rumors and signs that Kyler Murray may sign with the Minnesota Vikings after he is released next week by the Arizona Cardinals heat up (the Vikings are the clear favorite to land Murray in betting markets), questions arise about Murray and his fit with the Vikings’ offense, his commitment to his craft, and ultimately whether he could have the type of success Sam Darnold had in Minnesota or whether he will be a disappointment.

Let’s take a closer look at what Kyler Murray would bring to the table for the Vikings.

Read Article >

One of the big stories that hit the NFL wires yesterday was the Arizona Cardinals officially informing former #1 overall pick Kyler Murray that the team would be releasing him at the start of the new league year. He is currently owed a ton of money by the Cardinals, so the assumption is that any team that’s interested in signing him will be able to do so for a minimal amount of money.

Naturally, Murray’s name has been immediately connected to the Minnesota Vikings. The connection makes sense if you’re of the belief that the Vikings are already willing to give up on J.J. McCarthy after just ten NFL starts, which would be a colossally stupid move and still, somehow, something that you could absolutely see this franchise doing.

Read Article >

The Minnesota Vikings have a little more than a week to clear out a whole lot of cap space so that they can be compliant with the NFL’s salary cap by the start of the new league year on 11 March. It sounds like they’ve made a couple of decisions towards getting there, and those decisions involve the contracts of a pair of veterans.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Vikings have informed running back Aaron Jones and defensive lineman Javon Hargrave that they will be released at the start of the league year if the team can’t find a trading partner for either of them.

Read Article >