Promotion Is off the Table for Vikings’ Breakout Defender
The Minnesota Vikings have been busy in the first week of free agency, filing most of the apparent roster holes. Because he had a bunch of money to spend for the first time in his tenure, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired some big-time players like guard Will Fries rather than the usual one-year stopgap guard Vikings fans had been used to.
Promotion Is off the Table for Vikings’ Breakout Defender
His acquisition, however, led to Ed Ingram landing on the chopping block, and the Vikings have already shipped him to Houston for a late-round pick that, in addition to a late-round pick swap, turned into running back Jordan Mason.
On the defensive side, the GM didn’t find a younger star like Fries but added a pair of former Pro Bowlers, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.
Harrison Phillips aside, the entire defensive line depth chart was demoted. That includes last year’s breakout player, Jalen Redmond.
Redmond turned 26 last Wednesday but he didn’t get his birthday wish granted: a promotion to the starting role.
The purple team now has eight defensive linemen under contract for the 2025 campaign:
- Jonathan Allen
- Harrison Phillips
- Javon Hargrave
- Jalen Redmond
- Taki Taimani
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Jonathan Harris
- Travis Bell
Redmond stole the starting job from Jerry Tillery late in 2024 and became a much-needed playmaker along the defensive line. In 13 games (two starts), Redmond produced a sack, 18 tackles, six tackles for loss, and he batted two passes.
The first-year Viking earned the second-highest grade of all players on his team from PFF with at least 100 snaps, and there was reason to believe he might be in line for more work next to Phillips.
That reality seems far away at this moment. Allen and Hargrave struggled with injuries in 2024, but they had been stars before that. If healthy, they will undoubtedly log significant snap numbers.
Right after the season ended with the disappointing playoff loss, the Vikings re-signed Redmond, a pending exclusive rights free agent. His journey before the Vikings chapter was rocky, and it’s easy to root for him.
He had a productive college career, recording 14 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss over 36 games. However, it was also eventful; he missed almost an entire season due to blood clots and sat out the COVID season for the same reason. Ultimately, he entered the league as an undrafted rookie in 2023.
The Panthers waived him after the preseason, and he joined the UFL in 2024 where he recorded four sacks in four games. Minnesota’s front office noticed him and added him in the 2024 offseason, and he turned into a secret star after getting more run when Taki Taimani suffered an injury that landed him on IR.
Redmond will compete with 2024 rookies Taimani and Levi Drake Rodriguez for rotational roles behind the three big names on the defensive line depth chart. Rodriguez barely got any playing time in his debut season, but Taimani was ahead of Redmond when the season kicked off.
It will be a fun competition to watch, although they surely hoped it would be for a starting role.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt