The Vikings’ 3 Breakup Candidates
All relationships, eventually, come to an end. The NFL is certainly an area where that basic idea comes to fruition with great regularity.
Sometimes, the discussion focuses on who is likely to be cut; at other times, there is a focus on who could get traded (check out one consideration on PurplePTSD). Still other discussions will evaluate who is likely to be moving into a final season with a team (check out one consideration on The Vikings Gazette). The Vikings’ 3 breakup candidates doesn’t get that specific, instead opting to identify players who could plausibly be off of Minnesota’s roster by the time March of 2026 arrives. Or, put differently, the beginning of the next league year.
Basically, the hourglass has been flipped over and the sand is now dropping down, meaning several players could be working on limited timelines.
Now, a bit more information to clarify matters. Missing from the conversation will be players who are obviously on the roster fringe, such as cheap veterans and undrafted free agents. Seeing any of these players depart isn’t exactly shocking. More fascinating, perhaps, are the players making decent money and/or who are (at least somewhat) prominent in their role with the team.
The Vikings’ 3 Breakup Candidates
Candidate #1 — Blake Brandel, Offensive Lineman
Drafting Donovan Jackson created a problem: the offensive line now has its full five starters, shifting Blake Brandel to a backup job.
Of course, the conclusion isn’t ironclad. Brandel, quite possibly, could emerge as the top option at LG1, holding onto the starting spot. The best guess, however, is that Jackson will jump in as the main left guard, something that Kevin O’Connell has openly hinted at.
Partner the potential demotion alongside the team’s cap crunch. Mr. Brandel carries a $3,916,666 hit in 2025. Next year, the number goes to $4,166,668. Just hard to envision the Vikings carrying those low/medium hits for a backup given how snug the finances look next offseason.
A trade in August wouldn’t be shocking. At the very least, ongoing in employment in 2026 feels unlikely.
Candidate #2 — Ivan Pace Jr., Linebacker
A victim, perhaps, of his own success.
The linebacker has proven to be an excellent player. The simple fact that he slipped out of the 2023 NFL Draft is wild given what he has accomplished in his opening pair of NFL seasons. Not just a starter, Pace is a strong starter. Against the run, Pace is a menace when chasing down the ball carrier. Against the pass, Pace is a menace when blitzing the quarterback (Pace, however, does need to improve when dropping back into coverage).
Making plays behind the line of scrimmage isn’t uncommon for Mr. Pace. Every single NFL defensive coordinator — and, to be sure, at any level of football — wants a linebacker capable of making plays behind the line of scrimmage.
The problem is simply that Minnesota’s future budget is already showing significant debt. Pace currently carries a tiny cap charge sitting at $1,036,668. Can the team afford paying him a contract that could reasonably come in at eight-to-ten times as much annually? Or, perhaps, do they seek to trade him as an RFA, mirroring San Francisco’s strategy with Jordan Mason?
Candidate #3 — Josh Oliver, Tight End
Won’t be at all surprising, folks, if there ends up being a desire to keep the blocking specialist around. Won’t be at all surprising, folks, if there ends up being a willingness to move on from the blocking specialist.
Again, we come back to the simple reality that the NFL is a place where resources are finite.
Josh Oliver is a good football player. Josh Oliver is also a player who is getting older. He’ll turn 29 next March. Not ancient, no, but a factor that’s worth considering. So, too, does T.J. Hockenson’s ascending cap hit factor into the mix alongside the recent additions of Gavin Bartholomew, Ben Yurosek, and Bryson Nesbitt. Any sense that Minnesota will shift toward a single well-paid TE at the top — Mr. Hockenson — while then leaning into the youth movement?
Josh Oliver is carrying a $9,424,000 cap charge within the final season of his three-year, $21 million deal. Seeing him land a similarly large contract would be odd, especially in Minnesota. Sticking around as a Viking for 2026 and beyond, then, would likely involve accepting a decent bit less to do so.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap 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.