Vikes thread!

[glenn57]

  when did they get of bradbury?

[Gunner55]

  They haven't........................yet!!  Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Thursday that the team will release Bradbury if they cannot find a trade partner for him. The team was able to net a return of a sixth-round pick for Ed Ingram, which has shocked some folks that no one is offering much for the proven center with none left on the market.                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 If they release him, the move will create $5.25 million in cap space, but a dead-money amount of $2.442 million will counter it.             

[Gunner55]

The Ingram trade saves ~ $3.4 million in cap space too, is what I just read.

[Steve-o]

I wonder how much money they have left to spend.

[Gunner55]

I wonder how much money they have left to spend.

They rarely agree completely but they usually have slightly different parameters, but here's 2 that I found to be the most accurate. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/minnesota-vikings & the other https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/_/year/2025/sort/cap_active There looks to be about $2 million discrepancy but I'm not exactly sure why. 

[Steve-o]

I guess my question is... assuming they are talking to Erin, how much money is left and how many other key/depth roater spots do they have to fill with whats left?

[Gunner55]

  I read somewhere that they could save about $20 million of cap space on a restructure of O'Neill's deal, if they wanted. They had a meeting with a WR on Friday but there's been no word about a deal there yet, that I know of. I'm sure they'd like to get some more help at CB yet too, but they still have to decide about both Gilmore & Griffen 1st probably. 

[Gunner55]

https://www.espn.in/nfl/story/_/id/44305815/sources-patriots-reach-2-year-deal-center-garrett-bradbury They sign a depth CB & WR/special teams' guy today as well. https://www.dailynorseman.com/2025/3/18/24388717/minnesota-vikings-agree-terms-wr-tim-jones-jacksonville-jaguars-nfl-free-agency

[Gunner55]

 This just out.....................https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-vikings-not-pursuing-aaron-rodgers-reject-trade-offers-for-j-j-mccarthy.

[LPS]

Thank gawd.  I wonder what kind of offers they got for JJ?  Just curious. 

[Gunner55]

  According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, Michael Silver and Alec Lewis, Rodgers is asking for a contract similar to that which former Vikings QB Sam Darnold received from the Seattle Seahawks (three years, $100.5 million). 

[LPS]

Good luck with that.  Darnold is a good guy and people wanted to work with him. 

[Steve-o]

I spose you always have to answer the phone as a GM.  If some team is willing to pay a Hershel Walker-esque randsome for McCarthy... you have to listen, don't you?

[Gunner55]

Good luck with that.  Darnold is a good guy and people wanted to work with him. 

I agree, no way was Erin going to get that kind of money from the Vikings. If they let Darnold, who is 27 & had the best year of his career leave for that kind of money why would they give that same deal to Erin, who is 41 & had the worst year of his career?

[LPS]

Plus Darnold has integrity and is fun to be around.  Karen none of the above. Pretty much.  Yes I can see the thrill of him coming in and lighting it up.  BUT if they won the SB with him there should almost be an asterisk that it was a team effort not just Erin Rodgers.  The media would 10 fold the sting by making it an Erin thing.  Better than Favre etc.  Would make me puke.  Wouldn't even count as a SB win to me.

[dutchboy]

Erin not a Viking???????     I'm shocked. 

[fishwidow]

I’d much rather have Flacco than Erin.

[Steve-o]

With the flurry of free agency signings calming down, the talking heads are still grading the Vikings offseason well.

CBS Sports gives them an A-. (They also gave 'A' grades to 'da Bears an A, Patriots A-, and Commanders A+)  CBS Sports: 2025 NFL free agency team-by-team grades

Pro Football Focus gives 'em an A+!  (PFF gave the Bills A-, Bears A-, Broncos A, Rams A-, Bucs A-, and Commanders A-) PFF: 2025 NFL free agency grades for all 32 teams

This is good, because there were only three teams on both lists:  Vikes, Bears, Commanders.  And we know the Vikes had to make their move in free agency, because they don't have much to work with on draft day.

[Gunner55]

Jameis Winston signed a 2-year deal with the NYG yday & I've seen a couple reports of the Vikings having talks with this guy. https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/vikings_have_discussed_deal_with_qb_ryan_tannehill/s1_14819_41940693 Personally, I was hoping to hear that they were having talks with Flacco & maybe they still will. With a little help from KO'C, Tannehill could be a good fit IMO too. A cool item is that Tannehill doesn’t count toward the compensatory pick formula after taking a break in 2024. Currently, the Vikings could land an extra third-rounder for Sam Darnold’s departure and another mid-round pick for Daniel Jones. However, signing another compensatory free agent would cancel out the Jones pick. 

[LPS]

That is kind of confusing but I am so glad we don't have any interest in thug Winston.  He is the last one I would want here. 

[Steve-o]

Tannehill might work.

To me the wildcard will be McCarthy's durability.

Who really knows what the Vikes and Erin talked about.  Now Erin doesn't seem to have a humble bone in his body, but if he did, maybe he should of told em, "I'll be the back up.  I'll mentor the kid.  But if he gets hurt, I go in, and the offense is better, you stick with my hot hand the rest of the season."  Which is kinda like what happened in Pittsburg last year.

[LPS]

I would be ok with Tannehill too.

[Gunner55]

That is kind of confusing but I am so glad we don't have any interest in thug Winston.  He is the last one I would want here. 

I'd forgotten about all of Winston's legal issues, so I had to look into it. There's a lot of stuff between 2013-2017 & most of it is on the nasty side. He's now 31 with 2 kids, after getting married in 2020.

[LPS]

Yup don't want to be anywhere near him. 

[Steve-o]

In summary...

#Vikings transactions in FA so far:

Re-signed:
• Aaron Jones
• Ryan Wright
• Byron Murphy Jr
• Theo Jackson

Signed:
• Isaiah Rodgers
• Will Fries
• Jonathan Allen
• Javon Hargrave
• Ryan Kelly
• Rondale Moore
• Jeff Okudah
• Bubba Bolden
• Justin Skule
• Eric Wilson
• Tavierre Thomas

Lost:
• Sam Darnold
• Cam Bynum
• Cam Robinson
• Patrick Jones
• Daniel Jones
• Nick Mullens
• Johnny Mundt
• Jerry Tillery
• Trent Sherfield

Released/Traded:
• Ed Ingram
• Garrett Bradbury

Traded For:
• Jordan Mason

[Steve-o]

Let the Mock Draft speculation begin!  Would you do this deal? 

Sporting News: Raiders predicted to pull off blockbuster draft trade with Vikings for elite cover CB

With their No. 6 pick, the Raiders add elite running back Ashton Jeanty to upgrade what was the league's worst ground game in 2024.

Then, they trade again into the first round, sending pick No. 37, No. 68, and No. 215 to the Minnesota Vikings for their No. 24 first round pick. With that pick, the Raiders select East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr.

The Raiders jump at the opportunity to add a cornerback of Revel's size and ball-hawking skill in Round 1. Without many picks entering this draft, the Vikings will be motivated to move back. In this deal, they net No. 37 (second round), No. 68 (third round) and No. 215 (sixth round).

OR...  Would the Vikes be better off just taking cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. themselves (if still available)?   

[Steve-o]

Or this one... 

Sports Illustrated: Bills predicted to make draft trade with Vikings to add cornerback Rasul Douglas replacement

The Buffalo Bills currently have a major void on the boundary at cornerback.  Chad Reuter of NFL.com predicts the Bills will make a trade up in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Florida State cornerback Azareye'h Thomas.

The trade sees the Bills send two fourth-round picks and their 1st round No. 30 overall selection to the Minnesota Vikings to move up to No. 24 overall for Thomas.

"Buffalo moves up to secure Thomas' 6-1 1/4, 197-pound frame, giving up their two fourth-round selections to Minnesota in the deal, " Reuter wrote of the proposed trade. "The Vikings could stay put and take a defensive back themselves, but they currently only have four selections in this draft, so adding two early Day 3 picks might be worth the risk of moving down the board a bit."

OR... would the Vikes be better off just taking cornerback Azareye'h Thomas (if still available)? 

[Gunner55]

 I've seen more than 1 pc talk about the Raider's/Vikings deal but I've also seen a couple say the Vikings have their eyes on the E. Carolina kid too. Since we only have 3 picks there'll be a lot of these stories in the next few weeks. Personally, I believe many of the draft day decisions are made in a team's last 5 to 10 minutes on the clock. They have to be ready for just almost anything & everything. There'll be a lot of people in on helping make those last-minute decisions too. https://www.vikings.com/team/front-office-roster/

[Steve-o]

AND I'm sure that includes a long list of contingencies of things they are and aren't willing to do - and it all depends on who is on and off the board.

Here is what they have this year...

Round 1: 24th overall
Round 3: 97th overall (compensatory)
Round 5: 139th overall (choice from Cleveland)
Round 6: 187th overall (choice from San Francisco)

Here is what they already spent.

The team traded it's second, third and fourth round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft in exchange for the pick the team used to take OLB Dallas Turner during the 2024 NFL Draft.

The team's sixth and seventh round picks were traded to the Cleveland Browns in the Za'Darius Smith deal which took place in May of 2023.

The Vikings are expected to be awarded one compensatory pick according to this NFL.com article based on free agency comings and goings this past year.  So I don't know if that means they'll get another compensatory pick, or they just get the one.

The Vikes lost 11 players to free agency/trades this offseason, but 3 of them were quarterbacks and 3 of them were offensive linemen, plus a backup TE.  It certainly seems like - on paper anyway - that the Vikes got back more than they gave up so far this off-season.  And they still need to figure out who the backup QB will be.

[Rookie]

 Most likely they will get a compensatory pick for Sam Darnold in 2026 draft.