The Vikings Need to Keep an Eye on the Houston Texans This Offseason
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings are one of the 14 lucky teams that have not begun their offseason yet, but for the other 18 NFL franchises, the offseason is in full swing. In particular, the Houston Texans are a team that have made headlines for a number of reasons already, and the Vikings need to keep an eye on them moving through the winter and spring. Here are a few reasons why.
Laremy Tunsil Contract
The Houston Texans overall are not a very strong team right now, but they do have one of the very best left tackles in the NFL. Laremy Tunsil missed much of the 2021 season due to injury, but he bounced back in 2022 by playing all 17 games. He played 1061 snaps and earned a PFF grade of 80.0.
Due to his strong play, there have been rumblings that Tunsil could request a massive extension from Houston this offseason. Just ahead of the Texans season finale, the star offensive lineman confirmed these reports.
This impacts the Vikings because one offseason from now, they will be in a position to extend Christian Darrisaw, who has emerged as a top lineman in the league during his second NFL season. The amount of money he can justify could very well depend on how much money Tunsil earns towards becoming the “highest-paid tackle” in the NFL.
Currently, Tunsil carries a cap hit of over $35 million into 2023 because of a restructure prior to the 2022 season. However, Trent Williams has the most lucrative contract in the league after signing a 6-year/$138.06 million contract back in March 2021.
If Tunsil earns a contract worth more money than that, it puts pressure on the Vikings to give Darrisaw an equally lucrative deal, especially if he continues on his trajectory towards being arguably the best left tackle in the NFL.
Brandin Cooks Requests Trade
The Minnesota Vikings were connected to Brandin Cooks at the NFL trade deadline, but ultimately, they opted to go after T.J. Hockenson to fill their need at tight end. With Adam Thielen getting older, and K.J. Osborn not always being a consistent WR2 for the Vikings, could Minnesota dip back into the sweepstakes for the veteran?
It may be more likely that the Vikings try to fill their wide receiver need in the draft, especially depending on how things turn out in the playoffs. However, if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wants a veteran to fill the role that Thielen used to for this team, perhaps Cooks is still on the table.
Lovie Smith as DC?
Following their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18, the Houston Texans promptly fired their head coach Lovie Smith after just one season. Houston went 3-13-1 under Smith, but that largely had more to do with the talent on the roster rather than the coach himself.
Depending on how this playoff run ends, there’s a decent chance that the Vikings will be in the running for a defensive coordinator this offseason after ranking 31st in yards allowed and T-28th in points allowed. Prior to getting the head coaching job this season, Smith was the defensive coordinator in Houston during the 2021, and he began his NFL coaching career as a defensive coordinator with the Rams. If the Vikings have a void to fill at the DC spot, Smith could be a great fit.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.