All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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CBS Sports chimes in:

Winner: Vikings​

Minnesota continued to splash the pot in a big way on Tuesday, landing three high-priced free agents early in the morning. Importantly, all three deals continued the Vikings' fortification of the trenches: They are signing Jonathan Allen to a three-year, $60 million deal, Will Fries to a five-year, $88 million deal and will sign Javon Hargrave to a contract once he's officially released by the 49ers. This is the path the Vikings set themselves on when they moved on from Kirk Cousins and landed on J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future. They could potentially still get in the mix for someone like Aaron Rodgers (more on him later), but for now it seems like they're going to build out the rest of the roster around their rookie-contract quarterback.

www.cbssports.com

2025 NFL free agency Day 2 winners and losers: Vikings making big splash, Cowboys doing little with cap room

A look at which teams are standing out early on in free agency
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Skol Vikes!!
 

Vikings backup QB options?

- Carson Wentz
- Mac Jones
- Jameis Winston (please no)
- Minshew (please no)
- Mariota

I guess Andy Reid had all kinds of good things to say about Wentz in KC last year; Mac Jones could be a very serviceable backup, can't really think of anyone else at the moment
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Vikings backup QB options?

- Carson Wentz
- Mac Jones
- Jameis Winston (please no)
- Minshew (please no)
- Mariota

I guess Andy Reid had all kinds of good things to say about Wentz in KC last year; Mac Jones could be a very serviceable backup, can't really think of anyone else at the moment
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Funny, I would prefer both Winston and Minshew to your other listed options
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Vikings backup QB options?

- Carson Wentz
- Mac Jones
- Jameis Winston (please no)
- Minshew (please no)
- Mariota

I guess Andy Reid had all kinds of good things to say about Wentz in KC last year; Mac Jones could be a very serviceable backup, can't really think of anyone else at the moment
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Flacco

He's sort of washed up, but we need a mentor to McCarthy who would help him grow.
 

kg21 said:
Flacco

He's sort of washed up, but we need a mentor to McCarthy who would help him grow.
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This. I'm placing a higher priority on "good teammate veteran guy" at this point to coach up JJM than the guy that can help them win the most games. You pushed all your chips in on JJM, so you should be doing all you can to help him succeed.
 


Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Vikings backup QB options?

- Carson Wentz
- Mac Jones
- Jameis Winston (please no)
- Minshew (please no)
- Mariota

I guess Andy Reid had all kinds of good things to say about Wentz in KC last year; Mac Jones could be a very serviceable backup, can't really think of anyone else at the moment
Click to expand...
I know it was with back-ups but holy cow was Wentz awful in the game he started against Denver.
 

DinkyTownIsDead said:
Funny, I would prefer both Winston and Minshew to your other listed options
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I think about what KOC wants to do on offense, what's expected of the QB, and some of the last people I think of are Winston and Minshew; and I also watched Minshew throw up all over himself with the Raiders last season. Shitty team, yes, but he was absolutely horrendous.
 

kg21 said:
Flacco

He's sort of washed up, but we need a mentor to McCarthy who would help him grow.
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forever a gopher said:
This. I'm placing a higher priority on "good teammate veteran guy" at this point to coach up JJM than the guy that can help them win the most games. You pushed all your chips in on JJM, so you should be doing all you can to help him succeed.
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Flacco could work. If he even wants to play (I haven't heard how much he wants to play). Who knows what KOC and McCown are thinking about? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Mariota off the board now, if they were even thinking about him. He signed elsewhere
 

ESPN chimes in:

The QB-proof Award: The Vikings​

I think the Vikings are the winners of the free agent period. They double-dipped at defensive tackle with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, and they need just one of the two aging interior pass rushers to hit for them at one of the lone positions of weakness on the defense last season. Star corner Byron Murphy Jr. returns to the outside, and veteran running back Aaron Jones returns on offense.

Cover up the quarterback position, and the Vikings have built one of the league's most competitive rosters. Reveal that J.J. McCarthy is the current starting QB, and everything makes total sense. The Vikings got a first look at how their team would support an inconsistent, imperfect quarterback last season with Sam Darnold at the helm and have used that trial run to iron out the remaining wrinkles. Right guard was a big problem in pass protection, so they spent big money on ex-Colt Will Fries (five years, $88 million). Center Garrett Bradbury also often struggled when dealing with power one-on-one, so they signed another ex-Colt in Ryan Kelly (two years, $18 million) to provide competition.

There is no team better suited to incubate a first-year passer than the Vikings. They have an excellent, opportunistic defense that can create short fields. They have an excellent playcaller in Kevin O'Connell, who runs a QB-friendly system. They have an elite pass catcher in Justin Jefferson, along with excellent complementary pass catchers T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison. And now, they have an improved offensive line and likely improved running game as a result. If McCarthy is even an average first-year starting quarterback, the Vikings should win plenty of games.

Of course, the Vikings might decide to hedge their quarterback bets. McCarthy was QB5 in last year's draft and is coming off a major knee injury, after all. But even if they sign a veteran such as Aaron Rodgers, the theory will be the same: that a quarterback can't help but shine on a team like this.

www.espn.com

Which teams overpaid? Panicked? Built a QB-proof juggernaut? Let's hand out free agency superlatives

The Colts might be doomed. The Bears and Patriots definitely overpaid in free agency. And the Saints are committed to their bit.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Skol Vikes!!
 



GopherGrit said:
Regardless, as I feared, both Darnold and Jones are gone. I just don't think you start McCarthy in week 1 after his injuries. You can't throw away the first 6-10 games while he comes up to speed.

McCarthy will have his time, maybe even later in this year.

A one year bridge guy is important and sounds like we have the money.
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My take on letting D Jones go is that the Vikings are confident that McCarthy will be ready by Labor Day. Ready to play. Ready to win.

This "throwing away the first 6-10 games" just isn't a thing.

Jones has a better shot to play in Indy. I think the Vikings brain trust signaled to him that he was going to be a back up.

Having said that, they do need a back up. Not as a bridge, but because that's the way the NFL works even though the QBs are protected more than ever.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Vikings backup QB options?

- Carson Wentz
- Mac Jones
- Jameis Winston (please no)
- Minshew (please no)
- Mariota

I guess Andy Reid had all kinds of good things to say about Wentz in KC last year; Mac Jones could be a very serviceable backup, can't really think of anyone else at the moment
Click to expand...
No way on Mac Jones after watching him vs. the Vikings last year. His body language looks terrible, especially towards his teammates. Doesn't appear to be a good leader or have any ability to handle adversity.

Mariota re-signed with Washington.
That leaves Wentz, Winston and Minshew from your list. I would put them in that order for who to get.
One other one I would consider would be Flacco, maybe bring back Case Keenum. :)
 








gophersfan said:
We got another one.

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Yes, staying healthy will be important but holy shit; this was a jarring statistic set that I saw today in The Athletic; Alec Lewis doing major work covering the Vikings there yet again...

"The difference Hargrave’s pocket pushing will make is potentially drastic. Among 277 qualified pass rushers in the last five years, Hargrave and Jonathan Allen rank 45th and 89th in pressure rate, respectively. Harrison Phillips and former Vikings defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard ranked 236th and 275th, respectively."
 

Any interest in Nick Chubb or Raheem Mostert to back up Jones? Both have injury concerns but could be signed pretty cheaply.
 

He back. Welcome back Harrison Smith.

For Harrison Smith: He gets $10.25M base with incentives up to $14.0M for his 14th season

 

Slim Tubby said:
Any interest in Nick Chubb or Raheem Mostert to back up Jones? Both have injury concerns but could be signed pretty cheaply.
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They are going to draft at least one RB, and honestly, I think it could be as early as later 2nd day, or very early 3rd day. They've plugged a lot of holes, but they are going to draft an impressive RB in what is an impressive class of RB's

They still need to find a Punt Returner. Heard a few weeks ago that they could target Greg Dortch from the Cardinals (who would have been a good pickup) but the Cards just tendered Dortch and offer; no word on if he's signed it
 


Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
They are going to draft at least one RB, and honestly, I think it could be as early as later 2nd day, or very early 3rd day. They've plugged a lot of holes, but they are going to draft an impressive RB in what is an impressive class of RB's

They still need to find a Punt Returner. Heard a few weeks ago that they could target Greg Dortch from the Cardinals (who would have been a good pickup) but the Cards just tendered Dortch and offer; no word on if he's signed it
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This is correct. They will draft an RB with the assumption he will be the starter in 2026.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
They are going to draft at least one RB, and honestly, I think it could be as early as later 2nd day, or very early 3rd day. They've plugged a lot of holes, but they are going to draft an impressive RB in what is an impressive class of RB's

They still need to find a Punt Returner. Heard a few weeks ago that they could target Greg Dortch from the Cardinals (who would have been a good pickup) but the Cards just tendered Dortch and offer; no word on if he's signed it
Click to expand...
Based on how well he did at the Combine, Hampton would be intriguing at 24. We plugged some huge holes in FA which should give us draft flexibility to grap the best talent regardless of position.

I still hope OG Tyler Booker falls to us to really solidify what should be a dominant OL.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Based on how well he did at the Combine, Hampton would be intriguing at 24. We plugged some huge holes in FA which should give us draft flexibility to grap the best talent regardless of position.

I still hope OG Tyler Booker falls to us to really solidify what should be a dominant OL.
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I think there's a less than zero chance of that happening. Booker will go high. If he makes it to the Cardinals at #16, they'll take him I would think
 

Back to back amazing free agent seasons by Kwesi.
Vikes have the best gm - head coach combo in the NFL. Easily.
 



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