A Pair of FA Fits for the Vikings as the NFL Offseason Hits the Quiet Period
According to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, building a roster is eternal. Even in the slower portion of the year, there’s a desire for ongoing improvement, making the FA fits for the Vikings an ongoing topic of interest.
To that end, there are still some notable free agents who have the capacity to help the Vikings in 2024. People can disagree with whether it’s realistic, but Minnesota’s goal is to compete in 2024. Don’t be surprised, then, to see Minnesota’s aggressive GM make another addition or two before it’s all said and done.
A Pair of FA Fits for the Vikings
1) DT/DE Calais Campbell
Could there really be anyone else to start off?
The veteran defensive lineman has been discussed as a Vikings target for a little while (Dustin Baker has mentioned him several times on Vikings Territory). He’ll be 38 on September 1st, so he’s unusually old for an NFL player. Even still, the 6’8″, 282-pound lineman can be an impact player.
Last year, Campbell picked up 17 starts for the Falcons, playing 712 snaps on defense. Along the way, Campbell had 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, 10 TFLs, 1 PD, 1 FF, and 1 FR. Impressive stuff.
PFF gave him a rock-solid 80.0 grade for his efforts last season. He picked up most of his snaps out wide in a defensive end alignment, but he also soaked up snaps as a 3T and a 5T. In Minnesota, Campbell would likely be tasked with shining at 3T/5T.
2) EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah
No such thing as too many pass rushers, right? Right now, the Vikings have an impressive top trio in Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner. What about a fourth to really push the group to the max?
Ogbah stands at 6’4″ and weighs 275 pounds; he’s 30 years old.
Last season, the veteran edge rusher picked up 5.5 sacks for the Dolphins while playing just 246 snaps for the defense (15 games with a single start). Otherwise, the veteran defender picked up 20 tackles, 9 QB hits, 3 TFLs, 1 INT, 2 PDs, and 1 FF.
PFF gave him a steady 57.2 grade for his season, but that’s a number that sees a dramatic difference between run defense and the pass rush. The run portion was down at 39.7; the pass rush portion was up at 67.1.
In other words, the team that signs Ogbah likely is doing so with a specific role in mind. He can be brought in as an assassin-for-hire, someone to get after the quarterback in obvious passing downs. From 2020-21, Ogbah was working alongside Brian Flores in Miami, picking up 9 sacks in each one of those seasons (which is to say nothing of a combined 45 QB hits within that time).
As of right now, the Vikings are sitting on more than $26 million in cap space. There’s more than enough room to add some more talent to Flores’ defense. We’ll see what Adofo-Mensah has up his sleeve.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, Spotrac, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
Kevin O’Connell Looks to Give Vikings Rumor a Knockout Punch
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.