All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
on the OL - I know the Vikes have a decent amount of cap space going into next season, but the OL is not the only position on the team that needs attention.

I saw this statement online on a Vikings fan site:

More than 45 percent of their total non-special teams snaps in 2024 were played by pending free agents. On a basic level, that means they need to re-sign or replace nearly half of their lineup.

so the front office has to make tough decisions. signing 3 new OL would be nice - but what if that means they don't have enough space left to address the DL, CB or Safeties?

and don't forget, they have - at this point - only 3 draft picks - with a 4th likely as a comp pick for Cousins. so a 1st, maybe a 3rd, and 2 5th.
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I'm still hoping they can franchise Darnold and flip him for a 3rd or 4th

Maybe I'm dreaming, but so many teams suck at qb.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
on the OL - I know the Vikes have a decent amount of cap space going into next season, but the OL is not the only position on the team that needs attention.

I saw this statement online on a Vikings fan site:

More than 45 percent of their total non-special teams snaps in 2024 were played by pending free agents. On a basic level, that means they need to re-sign or replace nearly half of their lineup.

so the front office has to make tough decisions. signing 3 new OL would be nice - but what if that means they don't have enough space left to address the DL, CB or Safeties?

and don't forget, they have - at this point - only 3 draft picks - with a 4th likely as a comp pick for Cousins. so a 1st, maybe a 3rd, and 2 5th.
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That is correct. Drafting is important and has been subpar. Even Spielman's last few classes were unremarkable. Now a lot of holes on the team.
Fortunately we have hit on free agency and also picked up Pace as a post draft free agent.
Would certainly be disastrous to give Darnold big bucks at this point. Too many other needs.
 
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Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The league has a serious issue with the Chiefs/Mahomes games and the public perception of how those games are officiated.
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Star players get star treatment. All sports. All the time.

I don't like it, but it's probably good business.
 

Ope3 said:
Star players get star treatment. All sports. All the time.

I don't like it, but it's probably good business.
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No other QBs got calls like that this weekend. There are videos of all kids of hits on almost every other QB that played that weren't called. Allen and Jackson are clearly stars.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
No other QBs got calls like that this weekend. There are videos of all kids of hits on almost every other QB that played that weren't called. Allen and Jackson are clearly stars.
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Those guys are stars. Mahomes is the STAR.

Again, I don't like it, but it's human nature and I don't think deliberate. If there's any shadow of a doubt, he's going to get the call.
 



It’s funny to see Lions fans all pissed off because Ben Johnson took the Bears job so quickly after losing in the playoffs. As if he wasn’t really trying or something.

They’ve quickly become a very unlikable fan base.
 

GophersInIowa said:
It’s funny to see Lions fans all pissed off because Ben Johnson took the Bears job so quickly after losing in the playoffs. As if he wasn’t really trying or something.

They’ve quickly become a very unlikable fan base.
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Regarding intra-NFC Central/North Hires I can only think of 2 and both were Vikings:

- Neill Armstrong Vikes to Bears in 1978. He was nothing special but he did get them to a Wild Card once. More noteworthy was he took Buddy Ryan with him to Chicago, who stuck around under Ditka through their Super Bowl.

- Tony Dungy Vikes to Bucs in 1996. He got the Yucks turned around pretty quickly. Crazy he was let go after 3 straight Playoff appearances. It worked out well for everyone though with the Gruden trade/hire and then Dungy leading the Colts, both winning the Lombardi Trophy.

In essence both Armstrong and Dungy set the table.
 

While the Vikings have favorable salary cap situation $75 million possibly in 2025, it's not as good as Washington which I heard on the Tony Kornheiser Show is in the $100 million range. Yikes.

Plus their 2024 1st Round Draft Pick QB played this past season.

Crazy how much new ownership has affected the Commando's good fortune so quickly.
 
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Ope3 said:
While the Vikings have favorable salary cap situation $75 million possibly in 2025, it's not as good as Washington which I heard on the Tony Kornheiser Show is in the $100 millions range. Yikes.

Plus their 2024 1st Round Draft Pick QB played this past season.

Crazy how much new ownership has affected the Commando's good fortune so quickly.
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Washington is at 87,580,464 millions. the Patriots are the winner at 120,041,728 millions. wow.

NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

NFL salary cap space estimates for all 32 teams
overthecap.com
 




gophersfan said:
Washington is at 87,580,464 millions. the Patriots are the winner at 120,041,728 millions. wow.

NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

NFL salary cap space estimates for all 32 teams
overthecap.com
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Vikes finally will have mucho bucks in off-season. Last three yrs we were 26th, 24th, 26th in yards per carry. Jones was fine at RB this season. FIX THE OLINE. PLEASE.
 

golf said:
Vikes finally will have mucho bucks in off-season. Last three yrs we were 26th, 24th, 26th in yards per carry. Jones was fine at RB this season. FIX THE OLINE. PLEASE.
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The available money will help, but having money to spend doesn't mean spending recklessly. These Front Office folks clearly have a plan and are not just winging it.

On that note, whatever The Athletic is paying Alec Lewis for his Vikings coverage, it's not nearly enough. Another solid article from him today, his 10-step offseason plan for the Vikings to solidify the roster after a 14-win season.

Vikings 10-Step Plan

Some highlights:

1. Cut Ingram and Asamoah

2. Extend Metellus, CJ Ham, and Josh Oliver

3. Let Darnold walk, move on with JJM and a vet signing

4. Re-sign Aaron Jones (although I'm thinking Jones could receive some offers, already heard rumblings)

5. Sign FA's Teven Jenkins and Will Fries to beef up the Interior OL
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The available money will help, but having money to spend doesn't mean spending recklessly. These Front Office folks clearly have a plan and are not just winging it.

On that note, whatever The Athletic is paying Alec Lewis for his Vikings coverage, it's not nearly enough. Another solid article from him today, his 10-step offseason plan for the Vikings to solidify the roster after a 14-win season.

Vikings 10-Step Plan

Some highlights:

1. Cut Ingram and Asamoah

2. Extend Metellus, CJ Ham, and Josh Oliver

3. Let Darnold walk, move on with JJM and a vet signing

4. Re-sign Aaron Jones (although I'm thinking Jones could receive some offers, already heard rumblings)

5. Sign FA's Teven Jenkins and Will Fries to beef up the Interior OL
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I feel pretty good in the FA department with this staff/FO as far as making good decisions. Nothing is guaranteed of course but they did extremely well last year.
 

Saw a draft that gave us Defensive Lineman TJ Sanders in the first round. Said that our pass rush ranked 24th overall according to PFF advanced stats. A dlineman who could be a difference maker would make a lot of sense
 

golf said:
Saw a draft that gave us Defensive Lineman TJ Sanders in the first round. Said that our pass rush ranked 24th overall according to PFF advanced stats. A dlineman who could be a difference maker would make a lot of sense
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I'd be happy with a DT, CB or RB in the 1st.
 


TNGophfan said:
I'd replace RB with IOL, though I suspect they will try to deal with IOL via free agency. RB still not top of my list, though.
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Yeah I just don't like IOL in the 1st round. Definitely a high priority in free agency though.
 



GophersInIowa said:
Yeah I just don't like IOL in the 1st round. Definitely a high priority in free agency though.
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We'll see how it all shakes out but Booker at #24 wouldn't be terrible from what I've heard. They could easily trade back out of the 1st to get a few more picks.

Apparently there are some pretty decent economical IOL folks available that are a lot cheaper than the Chiefs OG that everyone wants so desperately to sign; $20M for a OG is not a great use of resources. There are some good players the Vikings can sign that won't break the bank.

They'll address CB in Free Agency I would think; adding to Blackmon, McGlothern, and hopefully Byron Murphy.

Luke Braun on Locked On Vikings has addressed Dallas Turner on a number of occasions, for anyone losing their minds over his contribution in Year 1; a 21-yr old playing behind 2 Pro Bowlers, what more could you expect. He also dives a lot into what they ask Turner (and that position) to do; Turner drops back in coverage, a lot, which would obviously also cut into his Sacks and Pressure numbers. Also didn't realize that while Turner was 21 yrs old, Jared Verse of the Rams was 24 yrs old. That's a massive gap for anyone screaming they should have taken Verse instead, not to mention the two teams ask those two players to do completely different things.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
We'll see how it all shakes out but Booker at #24 wouldn't be terrible from what I've heard. They could easily trade back out of the 1st to get a few more picks.

Apparently there are some pretty decent economical IOL folks available that are a lot cheaper than the Chiefs OG that everyone wants so desperately to sign; $20M for a OG is not a great use of resources. There are some good players the Vikings can sign that won't break the bank.

They'll address CB in Free Agency I would think; adding to Blackmon, McGlothern, and hopefully Byron Murphy.

Luke Braun on Locked On Vikings has addressed Dallas Turner on a number of occasions, for anyone losing their minds over his contribution in Year 1; a 21-yr old playing behind 2 Pro Bowlers, what more could you expect. He also dives a lot into what they ask Turner (and that position) to do; Turner drops back in coverage, a lot, which would obviously also cut into his Sacks and Pressure numbers. Also didn't realize that while Turner was 21 yrs old, Jared Verse of the Rams was 24 yrs old. That's a massive gap for anyone screaming they should have taken Verse instead, not to mention the two teams ask those two players to do completely different things.
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I've read that Booker could go as high as 10 and many scouts have him as their highest rated OG prospect since Quentin Nelson.

It will be interesting to see how far CB Benjamin Morrison could fall coming off his injury. He was a Top 10 lock before the season.
 


golf said:
I want a dtackle. Jones was fine and we probly have Murphy and Blackmon at CB so not bare at those positions.
Also not as much possibilities at dtackle in free agency.
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I have a feeling they will try to trade back to late 1st or early 2nd to get another pick. I hope they don't unless the return is really good. Moving back 10 spots for a 4th rounder doesn't make sense to me.
 

golf said:
I want a dtackle. Jones was fine and we probly have Murphy and Blackmon at CB so not bare at those positions.
Also not as much possibilities at dtackle in free agency.
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I would have no problem with them looking at an impact player at DT, although from what I understand, they really like Taki Taimani and Levi Drake Rodriguez; if even one of them takes another big step forward, that would certainly bode well for beefing up the DL. Not a DT, but I still have high hopes for Gabe Murphy to make an impact this year off the Edge.

I would guess they spend the most money on CB in Free Agency. Sounds like an extension for Cam Bynum is again in the works, which is great news. They kind of ran 3 Safeties most of last year out of necessity with how thin they were at CB; they could easily move back to more of a three CB approach.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I have a feeling they will try to trade back to late 1st or early 2nd to get another pick. I hope they don't unless the return is really good. Moving back 10 spots for a 4th rounder doesn't make sense to me.
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Given Kwesi's track record, I think a lot of Vikes fans would be very nervous about him trading.
We are all aware of his first draft, but also we gave up a lot of draft capital to grab Dallas Hunter last year. While I still feel good about Hunter, he is no sure thing at this point.
Don't get fancy, Kwesi. Three words: Best Player Available.

(Just a reminder: To move up 6 spots in the first round and grab Hunter, the Vikes gave up:
2024 1st rounder and 5th rounder
2025 3rd rounder and 4th rounder)
 
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