5 Offensive Free Agents the Vikings Could Still Sign
The Minnesota Vikings have been one of the quieter teams in the entire NFL in this year’s free agent cycle, but at some point, they will have to acquire some new players.
Though most top players have been signed, there are still a few nice supporting pieces out there. Here are five options for Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Christian Kirk
As the Vikings are returning their entire offense minus wideout Jalen Nailor and center Ryan Kelly, this will be a wide receiver-heavy group, and the first one is Christian Kirk.
Kirk has, like the other WRs on the list, a history with new Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray, playing with him from 2019 to 2021. At 29, he’s no longer a WR1 or WR2, but he can still provide veteran experience in the slot and be an outlet for passers. Last year, Kirk caught 28 passes for 239 yards in 13 games.
Marquise Brown
Kirk met Murray in the NFL, but Brown’s roots with the two-time Pro Bowl QB go back to their college days at Oklahoma. An injury cost him most of the 2024 season, but he bounced back last year, catching 49 passes for 587 yards and five touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes.
Brown played with Murray in 2022 and 2023, and he will turn 29 in June. The top weapons aren’t available at this stage of the offseason, and they certainly aren’t within Minnesota’s budget. Finding a cheaper option that has experience with the presumed QB1 makes sense.
Ethan Pocic
The Vikings lost center Kelly to retirement and the in-house replacements — versatile guard and tackle backup Blake Brandel and 2024 draftee Michael Jurgens — lack experience.
Pocic has plenty of reps at center under his belt, having played over 5,000 of those for the Seahawks and Browns. He’s not a great center by any means, but he can provide average play for the season if the Vikings strike out in the draft and aren’t happy with their current option, providing a reliable veteran presence in the middle of their offensive line.
Greg Dortch
Back to the receiver room, the Vikings are still a pair of hands short. Dortch has never been a star in the NFL, but he can provide the lost production from the Nailor departure, having recorded between 200 and 500 yards in each of his last four campaigns. He spent the last five seasons on Arizona’s roster catching passes from Murray.
An added wrinkle is his experience in the return game, having 99 punt returns and 75 kick returns on his NFL resume. The Vikings employ Myles Price, who showed promise in his rookie season, but he undoubtedly made some costly mistakes.
DeAndre Hopkins
Among active NFL pass-catchers, Hopkins ranks at the very top with 13,295 yards. He might have a case for the best hands of this generation and with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison providing the explosiveness, having a refined veteran who’s catching the passes thrown his way, could be enticing.
Hopkins will be 34 by Week 1 and the Adam Thielen experiment didn’t go too well last year, but Hopkins still caught 22 passes for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns in Baltimore. He spent three seasons with Murray, including a 1,400-yard year in 2020, before injuries first slowed down Hopkins and then Murray.
The future Hall of Famer has been a role player for years and he might be intrigued by playing a role next to Jefferson in another Murray-led passing attack.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.