Resign
WR K.J. Osborn
Kicking off the players who should be resigned is wideout K.J. Osborn. The Vikings have a young wide receiving core that all play so well off one another and Osborn is a perfect wide receiver three. When Jefferson went down, Osborn stepped up and in 2023, he caught 48 passes for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns.
OLB Danielle Hunter
The biggest All-Pro snub this season was Danielle Hunter as he racked up 83 tackles, 16.5 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. It feels like a no-brainer to resign Hunter, the only issue is what will he ask for? At 29, you can’t give him a four to five year deal. If he’ll settle for a two to three year deal with a low base and high incentives, then it’s a win-win for both Hunter and the Vikings. He has five seasons over 10 sacks and three over 14 sacks. As long as he can stay healthy, Hunter is a game-breaking pass rusher.
QB Kirk Cousins
In the same vein as Hunter, resigning Cousins depends on what he’ll accept or ask for. He seems to love playing for the Vikings, but at 35 and coming off a serious achilles injury, it’s risky to give him a lot of money. The contract that makes the most sense would be a 2 year deal worth 29 to 35 million. I’d love to see Cousins back, but if he wants a kings ransom, then they’ll need to cut ties.
OG Dalton Risner
Even though Risner had a low PFF score last season, he allowed 0 sacks and committed 3 penalties. He’s a strong run blocker in the Vikings zone scheme and is a good pass protector in three-step drop plays. If he’ll accept a 2 year deal worth 8 to 12 million, then it’d be great to see Risner back. He does have a history of holding out for the right deal as we saw this past season, so that’s also a huge factor.
OLB Marcus Davenport
The most difficult decision to make is resigning Marcus Davenport. They gave him a 1 year deal for 13 million last offseason and he only played two games. But when he played, he tallied 7 tackles and 2 sacks. I think they should bring Davenport back, but it can’t be for nearly that much money.
DE D.J. Wonnum
I’m a huge D.J. Wonnum fan. In 2023, he racked up 8 sacks and 62 tackles, but he did suffer a torn quadricep at the end of the season. Depending on his health, it makes sense bringing him back to rush the passer opposite of Hunter. On top of rushing the passer, Wonnum is an underrated player in coverage notching 6 pass breakups.
K Greg Joseph
Good kickers are tough to come by, and while Joseph was below average last season, I think Minnesota should bring Joseph back on a 2 year deal. He went 24-30 on field goals and 36-38 on extra points. There’s not much to it other than the fact that he’s typically reliable.
LB Troy Dye
Spoiler alert: I think Minnesota should let Jordan Hicks walk. With that being said, they should resign Troy Dye. Dye can play both outside linebacker in the pass game and inside linebacker in the run game due to his physicality. His 6’3 frame allows him to be a versatile player that contributes on many levels.
ILB Anthony Barr
While Barr is older, he does fit nicely in the Vikings defense. His role would be more as a mentor or coach to younger players like Dye, Pace, and Asamoah, but can also fill in and give Brian Flores meaningful reps in games. His deal would be on a 1 year, veteran minimum due to his age and declining play, but it makes sense to keep him around.
WR Brandon Powell
What I said about Osborn applies to Powell. Keeping him as the fourth option in the Vikings receiving core is vital. Injuries allowed him to play more and contribute catching 29 passes for 324 yards and 1 touchdown. He’s extremely quick and proves to be a big factor on short routes and screens.
RB Cam Akers
Injuries plagued this Vikings team, but Cam Akers, in his short time with the Vikings in 2023, was electric. A three-headed monster of Akers, Mattison, and Chandler in 2024 would make the Vikings a true dual- threat offense with weapons like Jefferson and Addison on the outside and an elite ground game of power with Chandler and Mattison and speed with Akers.
OL Austin Schlottmann
Keeping a backup like Austin Schlottmann in Minnesota is important. He can play all three interior positions which is good seeing the injury history of Garrett Bradbury and the possibility of Dalton Risner not being back. On 249 passes, he only allowed 1 sack. He’s a solid plug-and-play offensive lineman that I’d like to see back in Minnesota.
DE Jonathan Bullard
The Vikings defensive line has always had holes in it, so keeping Bullard feels important. He played all 17 games in 2023 and totaled 44 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. A 2 year deal worth 6 million would be a great deal for both parties involved as Bullard is a solid rotational player for the Vikings defense.
Let Walk
ILB Jordan Hicks
I teased it above, but Jordan Hicks, while he was productive, is getting too old to give a contract to. He’s been a good mentor to Pace and Asamoah, but I think it’d be wise to let him walk. His stats warrant a larger contract, but his age doesn’t.
OL David Quessenberry
Even though it would be nice to have an okay backup for O’Neill and Darrisaw, I can’t justify bringing Quessenberry back. He’s 33 years old and isn’t as productive as you’d want him to be to give him a 1 or 2 year deal.
QB Joshua Dobbs
It was fun for a game or two, but I don’t want to see Dobbs back in purple and gold for 2024. He’ll most likely want a decent contract which would take away from resigning guys like Hunter or extending Bynum or Jefferson. Mullens is probably a better backup than Dobbs so rocking with him is better than paying Dobbs.
OL Oli Udoh
Udoh got hurt last season and on 45 plays, he allowed 1 sack. He hasn’t played extensive and meaningful snaps since 2021 when he committed 16 penalties. With that being said, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shouldn’t think twice about letting him walk.
TE Johnny Mundt
Don’t get me wrong, I like Johnny Mundt. My issue is he wasn’t healthy for all of 2023 and the Vikings have both an elite pass catcher in Hockenson and an elite blocker with Oliver. Mundt is a solid third tight end, but I want to see new blood in the tight end room. That unfortunately means Mundt won’t be back in purple in gold.
DT James Lynch
In his four years with the Vikings, James Lynch hasn’t played a full season, including missing all of last season. Lynch does a lot of things efficiently, but doesn’t excel really anywhere. There is no benefit of bringing Lynch back. That’s the long and the short of it.
OL Blake Brandel
By bringing back Austin Schlottmann, there’s no point of having Blake Brandel back. Brandel only played 163 snaps in 2023 and allowed 1 sack and committed 2 penalties. It’s great that he can play both guard positions, but he’s a human turnstile when he’s been playing.
DT Khyiris Tonga
Much like Lynch, Khyiris Tonga isn’t a negative or a positive for the Vikings defense, but that almost becomes a negative when he’s in the game because he isn’t productive. He appeared in six games in 2023 and totaled 15 tackles. There’s better options for cheap in free agency or even in the later rounds of the draft to be rotational defensive tackles for Minnesota.
S Theo Jackson
Theo Jackson was okay in 2023 for the Vikings as he played in fifteen games making 21 tackles and picking off 1 pass. But with players like Smith, Bynum, Metellus, and Cine at his position, getting rid of Jackson is the best option.
DT TJ Smith
Playing in only two games and tallying 4 tackles in 2023 in your third season doesn’t justify a deal. Smith, Tonga and Lynch all fall in the same category of not proving anything and not really adding anything to the Vikings defensive line rotation. Trim the fat.
TE Nick Muse
If the Vikings are letting Mundt walk, then they need to also let Muse walk. He hasn’t been very productive, and like I mentioned, I want new blood in the tight end room to go with Hockenson and Oliver.
Extend
Minnesota has three players eligible for extension this offseason and in my mind, there’s no doubt that they should extend all three of them before they’re available to sign elsewhere. They’re all cornerstone players of the franchise and truly are the future of Minnesota football.
WR Justin Jefferson
Does this need any explanation? Even though he played in only ten games, Jefferson went for over 1,000 receiving yards. This was his fourth straight NFL season over 1,000 yards. No matter who is playing quarterback for the Vikings in 2024, they need a guy like Jefferson to succeed. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s main priority should be to keep Jefferson in Minnesota for the entirety of his career.
OT Christian Darrisaw
An equally important player to the Vikings offense as Jefferson is Christian Darrisaw. The 6’5, 315 pound pass protector had a PFF grade of 82.4% this past season and is the perfect bookend to play opposite of Brian O’Neill. Like I said with Jefferson, it doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback next season, they need Darrisaw in order to succeed.
S Cam Bynum
An unsung hero of the Vikings this past season was safety Cam Bynum. Him paired with Harrison Smith was a dynamic duo and Bynum shined all year as he tallied 137 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 9 pass breakups, and 2 interceptions. With Smith aging, that secondary needs a true leader and Bynum should be that guy. They need to keep him in purple for the next few seasons.