Vikings Rumors: Striking Out at QB, Visiting with Players, and Losing 26.4% of Snaps
As we enter the portion of the year when Vikings rumors start heating up, we’ll be highlighting some of the purple rumblings.
The “Vikings Rumor Wrangle” is a series that keeps readers informed on what’s being whispered about in Vikings Land. In this iteration, we discuss striking out on a ton of backup quarterbacks, the Vikings doing a lot of pre-draft visits with prospects, and losing plenty of snaps in free agency.
Vikings Rumors: 04.16.2025
Rumor #1 — Striking Out at QB (Over and Over Again)
Another day, another dollar missed chance to sign a backup QB.
Lately, the news has covered some reasonably notable names. Gone are Joe Flacco, Case Keenum, Drew Lock, and Josh Johnson (read more). Some still maintain hope in a Teddy Bridgewater homecoming, but that’s the issue: all there is is hope.
To be sure, the NFL still has more capable passers to offer. One could certainly envision a world where Ryan Tannehill ends up venturing over to the Twin Cities, but he isn’t the only possibility still out there. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell will know what their options are. Any chance depth gets added in the 2025 NFL Draft or immediately afterwards within the UDFA haul?
J.J. McCarthy is the current top option and he’s being supported by Brett Rypien. Don’t be surprised if that twosome ends up leading the charge for the spring and summer before a more substantial add is made in August.
Rumor #2 — The Vikings are Visiting with Prospects Aplenty
Yes, without question. Minnesota is in lockstep with the rest of the NFL insofar as everyone is burning the midnight oil in an effort to prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Recently, there has been news about meeting with Michigan runner Kalel Mullings. Rostering Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason puts the RB position in a nice spot, but finding someone to develop as the RB3 would make a lot of sense. So, too, does the team’s flirtation with receiver Traeshon Holden make sense given the pass-catcher’s size.
Worth noting, perhaps, that the Vikings tipped their hand a bit by meeting with tight end Ben Yurosek, someone who could compete for the TE3 spot behind T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver. Goodness, the roster doesn’t even have a TE3 at the moment; currently, the tight end position has a TE1 in Hockenson, a TE2 in Oliver, and then … no one else.
Folks, these examples are merely the tip of the iceberg. There has been a lot of other meetings that have taken place due to the Senior Bowl, the NFL Scouting Combine, colleges putting on pro days for their prospects, and then Minnesota’s ability to meet with 30 prospects before the draft. Keep swinging by PurplePTSD to continue learning about some of the prospects who pique the Vikings’ interest.
Rumor #3 — The Minnesota Vikings Lost 26.4% of Their Snaps
Credit to Over the Cap, a spot that quantifies how much playing time has been lost during the most recent free agency.
Jason Fitzgerald, the proprietor at OTC, offers some thoughts on the Vikings: “Leading the way on offense are the Minnesota Vikings who need to replace about 24% of their offensive snaps. About a third of this will be covered by the returning JJ McCarthy who takes over for the departing Sam Darnold, but the team still has a high number of offensive snaps that will need to be filled.”
Now, a quick word. A lot of the snaps that are being replaced — the ones gobbled up by Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, and Dalton Risner — are getting kicked over to upgrades in Ryan Kelly and Will Fries. Less certain is who is going to fill-in for Johnny Mundt as the TE3 (Ben Yurosek?) or who will take over for last season’s WR4 and WR5 (Trent Sherfield and Brandon Powell).
Is there a similar issue going on with the defense? Fitzgerald notes that the “Vikings come in third at 28%” of their snaps lost. Most prominently, one thinks of the secondary. Gone are Camryn Bynum, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau. In theory, one (or more) of those corners could return, but that doesn’t look too likely at this stage. Kamu Grugier-Hill, a linebacker, also comes to mind, alongside defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard.
As per replacements, the Vikings seem quite enthusiastic about new corner Isaiah Rodgers and then there’s internal optimism about what Mekhi Blackmon is capable of doing. Plus, Jeff Okudah got brought to town, a low-risk move that could look very smart if the former No. 3 pick can stay healthy and begin fulfilling some of his potential. Eric Wilson seems likely to jump into the LB3 spot and then the DT position has been supercharged by the additions of Jonathan Allen alongside Javon Hargrave.
Add up all the missing snaps and Minnesota actually comes in at first in the NFL with 26.4% being lost from 2024: “With the NFL average at just 8% the Vikings and Dolphins both really stand out at 26.4% and 24.5% of all snaps needing to be replaced this year. Minnesota has a really low amount of draft capital so this may be a team that looks at summer signings and the trade market to keep building off of last season.”
Fitzgerald does good work, so his opinion carries weight. The only push back I’ll offer is that a lot of the work has already been done to replace lost snaps since Mr. Adofo-Mensah was quite aggressive in free agency.
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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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.