A Hometown Hero Could Be Gone In 51 Days
In the 2023 offseason, two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings said “bye” to the poster boy of hometown heroes. Everyone knows the pictures of little Adam Thielen wearing a Randy Moss jersey. Compared to him, fullback C.J. Ham has been almost flying under the radar.
A Hometown Hero Could Be Gone In 51 Days
Ham, born in Duluth, Minnesota, will turn 32 this month, and his role has diminished in recent years. In the final year of his contract, the Vikings could simply decide to move on after the season and either opt to install a younger fullback or, like many other organizations, scratch the position entirely.
However, they could also just close the chapter when August’s cutdown day arrives. August 26 might be a sad day for Skol Nation.
Why? Well, as always, there’s a financial aspect. The fullback has a cap hit of $3,516,668. Of that, the club can recoup $2.75 million by moving on prior to the season. Considering the franchise is already roughly $60 million over next year’s cap, and cap space carries over from one season to another, it could make sense to show the Minnesotan the door and get a head start on fixing next year’s cap.
The Vikings have options to clear next year’s cap by restructuring some contracts, such as those of T.J. Hockenson, Brian O’Neill, and Javon Hargrave. It’s too early and the contracts are too flexible to ring any alarm bells, but the front offensive undoubtedly is aware of the fact that every little saving could make next year’s job way easier.
The runner went undrafted in 2016 out of Augustana and was signed following a tryout at the rookie minicamp. At that point, Ham was still viewed as a running back. After his first training camp, he was cut but signed with the practice squad.
His switch to fullback was announced in 2017, and he made the roster this time. Since then, Ham has appeared in 130 games with Minnesota, catching 82 passes for 670 yards and two touchdowns while adding 114 yards and four scores on 39 rushes.
Besides the financials, another reason to move on is the lack of involvement in recent years.
The current regime has barely used him as a rusher, and his receiving chances have dipped, too. Under Mike Zimmer’s watch, the fullback was in action way more. Between 2019 and 2021, Ham averaged 378 snaps and over 20 touches per season. In the last three campaigns, those numbers dropped to an average of under 10 touches and 215 snaps per season.
When Kevin O’Connell arrived from the Sean McVay tree, it was expected that the fullback’s importance would be lowered. Surprisingly, they have kept him for three years, and they might keep him for the fourth, too. Ham is a priceless member of the locker room, having served as team captain for multiple years, and his special teams contributions are just as valued as his offensive play. That’s surely on his plus side.
Still, it is a league that no longer values the running game nearly as much as it used to, leading to the decline of the position. Furthermore, it should be noted that O’Connell doesn’t seem particularly interested in implementing a dominant rushing attack. He might put more focus on it than he used to, but after three seasons with high pass percentages, it’s fair to assume that slinging it is just what he likes to do.
And if he needs an extra blocker in the running game, well, tight end Josh Oliver is making over $7 million a year and just received a contract extension because blocking is his specialty.
Is a Ham departure likely? The odds probably still favor him staying for the 2025 campaign, and even another contract extension can’t be ruled out. Yet, it would be foolish to dismiss the conversation entirely.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.