The Vikings’ Batch of FA Talent that Won’t Take Away their Compensatory Picks
For the most part, the Vikings’ free agency spending has been put to rest, at least for now. Things can heat up again following the 2025 NFL Draft since there will be no risk of losing compensatory picks.
Worth remembering, though, that Minnesota has the ability to preserve their precious compensatory picks if they constrain themselves to bringing back internal free agents. Indeed, the deals for Aaron Jones and Byron Murphy Jr., for instance, are large enough to factor into the mix, but they don’t since the contracts involve players staying home rather than departing. Any other in-house free agents worth keeping?
The Vikings’ FA Talent & The Comp Pick Conundrum
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the rest of Minnesota’s leadership understands these rules as well (or better) than anyone.
Look no further than the meaty deals for defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to help prove the point. Both demanded large amounts of money and yet neither is taking away a pick since each was cut by their previous team. The Vikings, very wisely, did deals with these players with the liberty of knowing that they won’t be forfeiting any future picks.
If there are other players who have been cut and who are of interest, then Adofo-Mensah could move in at any time with a contract with the confidence that his 2026 pick allotment won’t see a subtraction.
The other way to add talent without draining the picks is to simply retain one’s own players.
Consider, for instance, players like Shaq Griffin (recent meeting with the Seahawks), Brandon Powell, David Quessenberry, Jihad Ward, and Fabian Moreau as some examples. None of these players would be understood as total game changers and yet they each played a reasonably large role for the Vikings recently.
A couple more factors that Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings understand very well.
First, there’s the reality of still having some buying power. The word from OTC is that the Vikings’ budget is sitting at a reasonably rotund $17.25 million. Not earth shattering room, but enough to bring in some talent, especially if we’re talking about depth players. Keep in mind that the 2025 draftees will take a chunk out of the budget but the summer months will see some added room.
The other factor to consider is that the behemoth that is the 2025 NFL Draft is now two weeks away. Very likely, NFL teams will be quite tepid when flirting with free agents since there’s a desire to see who gets scooped up in that event (which is to say nothing of the UDFAs who get added afterwards).
Why pay a veteran decent money when a young, upside, cost-controlled option could be had in the draft? If, in the end, a team misses on a coveted player, then circle back around to the veteran free agent to patch up the roster hole. A lot of teams have that precise rationale at this time of the year.
The point, folks, is merely that Minnesota does have options to continue reinforcing the roster with proven veterans if there’s a desire to do so. Yes, players who have been cut make a lot of sense, but so, too, do those who called Minnesota home last year.
If the price is right and the comp picks don’t get dinged, adding a player or two before the draft won’t be totally surprising.
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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.