Through one day, and a few hours, of the “legal tampering period of NFL free agency, the Minnesota Vikings have done some stuff. They signed three new players and retained one of their own.
Signed:
Isaiah Rodgers, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
2 years/$15 million
Ryan Kelly, C, Indianapolis Colts
2 years/$18 million
Jonathan Allen, DT, Washington Commanders
3 years/$60 million
Re-Signed:
Byron Murphy Jr., CB
3 years/$66 million
The Minnesota Vikings were fairly busy on the first day of the league’s tampering period. The first news of the day was that recently released, former Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was visiting the Vikings. That was huge news as the Vikings clearly needed to bolster the interior of their defensive line. He arrived at TCO Performance Center in the afternoon. Late in the day, it was reported that negotiations were progressing and that Allen was spending the night in the Minnesota. Then came today’s early morning news that he was signing a three-year deal. There are a few nice things about the signing of Jonathan Allen. 1) As a released player, he can sign right away. There’s no waiting until Wednesday for this deal to be made official. 2) As a released player, the signing doesn’t factor into the formula for Compensatory Picks. And 3) He’s an excellent interior defensive lineman. The Vikings haven’t had one of those for a long time.
The first signing of the first day was the signing of cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. He’s coming off a Super Bowl-winning season with the Philadelphia Eagles. At 5’10” and 170 lbs, he isn’t big but he is fast. When needed, Rodgers played starter quality snaps. If the Eagles hadn’t selected corners with their first two picks in last year’s draft, Rodgers might’ve started the entire season and re-signed with the Eagles. Instead, he’s an under-the-radar signing of the Vikings. The only real blemish on his NFL resume’ is that he was suspended for the entire 2023 season for gambling. That shows some very questionable decision-making. Hopefully, he’s learned from it.
It was in the afternoon that the Vikings addressed their significant need of strengthening the interior of the offensive line. This was the signing of center Ryan Kelly. He had an outstanding nine-year run with the Indianapolis Colts. This signing throws in serious doubt the future of Garrett Bradbury. He’s been the Vikings starting center since he was drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. I’ve seen a mention that perhaps he can shift positions and compete with Blake Brandel for the left guard spot. Who knows? What is known is that Kelly improves the Vikings interior offensive line. Now, the Vikings need to sign a right guard. Kelly’s Colts teammate, Will Fries please.
The signing of Isaiah Rodgers and Ryan Kelly won’t be official until Wednesday afternoon.
Signing your own free agents doesn’t generate the heat of signing new free agents. The re-signing of cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. was the Vikings biggest deal of the first day. This was a priority re-signing and the Vikings got it done.
Now, it’s on to Day 2. The early morning signing of Jonathan Allen was an outstanding start.