A Vikings’ Free Agency Projection is Bittersweet
Just imagine if the interior of the defensive line picked up someone who can pressure the passer.
The Vikings’ free agency period will allow for precisely that possibility. Harrison Phillips will be sticking around as the rugged run stuffer while Jalen Redmond can hopefully snag a new deal to continue refining his craft. Jonathan Bullard may also be welcomed back, but getting a penetrating 3T would be huge for Minnesota’s defense. A recent piece on PFF points toward that precise outcome.
The Vikings’ Free Agency & The Pass Rush Along the DL
The player under consideration is Philadelphia’s Milton Williams.
After referring to Minnesota’s defensive line as “a void,” the piece offers these thoughts: “With $75 million to spend this offseason, Minnesota should go big along its defensive interior. Williams turned in a career season in 2024, producing 40 pressures, a 90.4 PFF pass-rush grade and a 17.7% pass-rush win rate — good for third among qualifying defensive linemen.” Not long afterwards, there’s an insistence that putting Williams alongside the edge rushers would be “nightmare fuel” for the other teams’ OCs.
Still only 25, Williams would arrive in the Twin Cities with plenty of productive football ahead of him. He stands at 6’3″ and weighs 290 pounds, pointing toward a defensive tackle who is better suited for lining up across from the guard to get penetration rather than being a run-first option who is directly across from the center.
The Eagles chose him at No. 73 back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since then, Williams has shown a decent bit of promise.
Consider, for instance, just his most recent season. Williams played in all seventeen games, starting seven while soaking up a career-high 501 snaps. The on-field opportunity led to the defender picking up 24 tackles, 5 sacks, 10 QB hits, 7 tackles for loss, 1 pass defended, and 1 forced fumble. Coming off of a rookie deal that came in a touch above $5 million, Williams is likely to be enthusiastic about snagging a hearty raise.
Now, what about the bittersweet component of free agency that the title promised? The same piece insists that Byron Murphy Jr. — the top corner for the Vikings — will take his services over to Michigan to become a Lion. A cruel, if-you-can’t-beat-’em-join-’em thing to do.
Consider some of the rationale: “The Lions have enough money (about $57 million) to make waves with a signing, and Murphy would qualify. The 26-year-old was at his best with the rival Vikings this year, notching a career-high 72.6 PFF coverage grade. Murphy’s 80.5 passer rating allowed when targeted is also the 23rd-best mark among qualified cornerbacks. Detroit will likely try to keep [Carlton] Davis after acquiring him before this year, but Murphy would be a strong consolation prize.”
Other notable projections from the same piece rest in the insistence that Camryn Bynum goes to Jacksonville, Stefon Diggs goes to Kansas City, Sam Darnold goes to Las Vegas, and Cam Robinson goes to Tennessee.
The Minnesota Vikings are projected to have somewhere around $65 million in cap space for free agency, at least according to a recent estimate.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and 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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.