The NFL’s FA Position with Several Options to Boost the Vikings
A lot of mocks went with a corner for the Vikings. A lot of mocks ended up being wrong. In fact, the GM left the 2025 NFL Draft without a single addition to the secondary.
True, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has vowed confidence in the current corner cluster, but is part of the plan to sign just one more from the NFL’s FA pile? There are, after all, several within the group who could likely be an improvement (see the list). Adding a veteran with some size wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, especially within a year when Minnesota appears ready to make a strong push.
The NFL’s FA Corners & The Vikings’ Defense
Start off with the exchange that has been taking place at corner.
Last year, Stephon Gilmore (34), Fabian Moreau (31), and Shaq Griffin (29) were part of the solution. And, to their credit, they collectively offered Minnesota solid football. All have been allowed to linger within free agency as Minnesota pivoted toward Isaiah Rodgers (27) and Jeff Okudah (26). Keep in mind, as well, that an internal addition has been made simply by seeing Mekhi Blackmon (26) get back to full health.
See the trend in the age?
The concern, at least from the outside looking in, rests in what occurs if there happens to be an injury. Perhaps the team would then make a move to shore up the depth, but everyday that passes opens the possibility of losing out on a coveted player.
So, there’s some sort of balance that needs to be struck. No need to panic and yet there could be some reason to get ahead of the sticks, perhaps by onboarding an accomplished veteran who offers some size.
Names that jump off the page are ones that are familiar to fans: Gilmore and Griffin, in particular. But then one thinks of someone like Rasul Douglas, a well-experienced player who offers good size as a boundary corner. Might he be helpful over the course of a long, gruelling season?
Previously, Mr. Douglas has found work around the NFL, putting in time with the Eagles, Panthers, Packers, and Bills. He stands at 6’2″ and weighs 209 pounds, equipping him to wrestle with the NFL’s bully receivers along the outside (think Mike Evans as a great example). At 29, he’s likely closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but one could see the appeal of a long-and-strong outside corner in a game that’s often predicated on being able to matchup well.
If the team wanted to be bold — has Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ever made a bold move? — then there could even be a trade. One wonders about throwing caution to the wind, making a move for a high-end (albeit older) corner in Jalen Ramsey. So, too, does Greg Newsome II make a lot of sense.
The overarching point, folks, is merely to insist that the Vikings’ corner position isn’t so well-stocked as to write off the possibility of bringing in someone else. A veteran could make a lot of sense.
The team is sitting on somewhere around $17 million in cap space, at least per the estimate on Over the Cap. Keep in mind that we still need to see the draft class signed, Garrett Bradbury’s money come off the books (June), and the effects of the Andrew Van Ginkel extension.
The money is still going to get pushed around a lot in the coming days and weeks, but a creative GM can always carve out more room.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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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 Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.