At Least 3 Vikings Starters Have Publicly Expressed Their Desire to Return
K. Joudry
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Oftentimes, the focus since losing to the New York Giants has been on which Vikings will depart. It makes sense given team’s challenging cap situation and the underwhelming effort in the playoffs’ opening round. The decision to fire Ed Donatell further accentuates the need for change, and yet we’ve heard from at least 3 Vikings starters that they’d like to remain.
The 3 Vikings Starters
Count me among those who didn’t foresee the bounceback for Garrett Bradbury. Like seemingly everyone else, I believed that he was a bust, someone who wouldn’t live up to his status as a first-round center.
Things did improve in 2022, though. Under Kevin O’Connell’s tutelage, Bradbury was able to partner his strong run blocking with significant improvement as a pass blocker. Now, things weren’t pristine; the effort against New York’s impressive DT duo left a lot to be desired. One wonders how much of the struggle can be attributed to just coming back from injury.
Bradbury finished the season as the 11th-best center on PFF.
Defensively, at least two starters have expressed their desire to remain in a purple uniform.
Patrick Peterson – who had an excellent season – has reiterated his hope that he can continue being a Viking, as Josh Frey details in a recent piece. After expressing his willingness to keep playing for Minnesota, though, Peterson acknowledges the business side of things. Last year, he played for a very modest $4 million deal. Expect him to push for quite a bit more, especially since he’s getting near the end of his career.
P2 ended the season as the 12th-ranked corner on PFF. He had 15 PDs and 5 INTS to go alongside his 66 tackles. He ended up starting all 17 games and played 95% of the defensive snaps.
Unfortunately, Chandon Sullivan didn’t have quite the same level of success. He was the 96th corner on PFF, an indication that he often struggled to match the play of the veteran to the outside.
At just 26, Sullivan still has a lot of ball left in him. Perhaps he can be a solid contributor for several more years, but the Vikings will need to decide if that’s going to be in Minnesota. He had 60 tackles, 7 PDs, and a FR for Minnesota in 2022. Sullivan played 81% of the defensive snaps. Nearly 71% of passes thrown into his coverage were completed.
The Cap Crunch
Money isn’t infinite but things aren’t as dire as some assume. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has all kinds of options when it comes to creating cap space.
The team has at least 20 internal free agents. Many of them will be looking to stick around town if the option is there, but we know that football is a cruel business. Some players will inevitably need to play elsewhere.
Of the 3 Vikings starters discussed in this piece, I’d imagine Peterson is the most likely to return. He was one of Minnesota’s best players last season and he plays an ultra important position. Giving him a 2-year deal that kicks most of the compensation into the 2024 budget might be the way to go.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Expect a Kirk Cousins Extension