Vikings Free Agency Day 3: The 5 Remaining Needs
The Minnesota Vikings have been active in free agency. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made sure to address most of the main needs of his football club. His intention to bolster both offensive and defensive lines has made some noise.
Vikings Free Agency Day 3: The 5 Remaining Needs
But the GM isn’t done. He still needs to hire some more players for the remaining roster holes. There are five of them.
Quarterback
The Vikings lost a whopping three signal-callers in one offseason, which might be a record. Sam Darnold will throw passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Seattle, Nick Mullens is expected to hold the clipboard for Trevor Lawrence, and Daniel Jones hopes to snatch Anthony Richardson’s starting job in Indianapolis.
That leaves the Vikings with presumed starter J.J. McCarthy and last year’s QB3 Brett Rypien. After suffering brutal injury blows at the position in consecutive years and because McCarthy is an unproven commodity, the Vikings need a reliable backup plan. They reportedly wanted Daniel Jones to be that man, but they now have to look elsewhere.
Jameis Winston’s name has been rumored, and some popular analysts want to talk a purple-wearing Aaron Rodgers into existence. Joe Flacco, Gardner Minshew, Mac Jones, and Carson Wentz are just some of the remaining options.
Running Back
Aaron Jones returned on a two-year deal after tabulating over 1,500 yards from scrimmage in his first year with the right NFC North franchise. Cam Akers is a free agent, which means Ty Chandler is once again the RB2 on paper.
Make no mistake about it: the coaching staff has made it pretty clear that they don’t trust Chandler in that role. They traded for Akers in back-to-back seasons and left Alexander Mattison in the starting lineup when the running game was broken.
The RB1 role is taken care of, but a new RB2 is required. A veteran like Akers (or Akers) makes sense on Minnesota’s wishlist. They can then address the spot in the draft, too, but should make sure to enter the draft without any pressure.
Tight End
Another depth problem is that the Vikings currently only have two tight ends under contract. T.J. Hockenson is the unquestioned starter, and he is now fully healthy and can hopefully return to putting up elite numbers in 2025.
The other tight end is blocker Josh Oliver, who showed some flashes as a pass-catcher last season. Johnny Mundt, who joined the franchise with Kevin O’Connell in 2022, has left for Jacksonville.
It shouldn’t be too hard to find a veteran tight end.
Linebacker
Blake Cashman had a fantastic debut season in purple, while Ivan Pace Jr. showed that he wasn’t a one-year wonder. They both missed a few contests in 2024, and backup Kamu Grugier-Hill played a role in those games. Josh Metellus also regularly stepped into the linebacker role.
Grugier-Hill is a free agent and Metellus might be needed as a safety this year with Cam Bynum departing and Harrison Smith potentially retiring.
The Vikings need a backup linebacker who can also star on special teams.
Defensive Back
The Vikings lost Bynum, possibly Smith, and cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin are still unsigned; they hired only cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. Mekhi Blackmon will return from his injury.
Still, the Vikings need another starting defensive back, whether that man is a safety — allowing Metellus to deal with some of the slot cornerback duties — or a cornerback depends on Brian Flores’ plan and how much they trust Theo Jackson, Rodgers, and Blackmon to play a large number of snaps.
At this point, it is a numbers game, and the organization needs another starter in the secondary.
After Critical Loss, Vikings Show that they Couldn’t Lose
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt