Look For The Vikings To Retain A Handful of Their Internal Free Agents
The Vikings have quite a few internal free agents. Fortunately for the team, none of them are must-have players who will demand huge many. Rather, there are several role players and perhaps a starter or two in this list.
A full list of the Vikings’ internal free agents can be found over on Spotrac. The most notable names are Anthony Barr, Patrick Peterson, Sheldon Richardson, Greg Joseph, Xavier Woods, Nick Vigil, Mason Cole, Tyler Conklin, and Jordan Berry. In the past, I’ve written about several of these players. Conklin is likely going to be too expensive, Peterson would need to be brought back on a value deal, and Berry provides strong play as a punter.
There are several who seem like sure things to leave. Barr will almost certainly be in a different uniform, as will Rashod Hill. One wonders if Woods will try to leverage his reasonably strong play – especially since he played every snap – into a medium-sized contract.
Vigil is someone the Vikings ought consider retaining. Ideally, he can be the team’s LB3 or LB4, but it’s good to know that he’s capable of pinch hitting when the team needs him to take on a more prominent role. Zim – who wasn’t always forthcoming when it comes to compliments – commonly praised Vigil for his brains and work ethic. He could call the defensive plays when Barr was out. He played 64% of the defensive snaps and 43% of the special teams snaps.
The team should also think about bringing Cole back. The veteran iOL can play both guard and center, doing so at a reasonably competent level. Kenny Clark got the best of him in the Green Bay game, so it’s not like the team ought to be banking on Cole to hang with the NFC’s elite DTs. Nevertheless, there’s value in an interior o-lineman with starting experience and position flexibility. As always, it comes down to the dollars and cents.
Regardless, it’s safe to say that the roster will look a fair bit different next season. Several players will get cut, and even more won’t be brought back. The end result will be a whole new group of Vikings players.
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