Vikings Free Agents

The Minnesota Vikings draft class of 2011 comes due this spring. Only three players from that 10-member class are still on the roster. Quarterback Christian Ponder, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and guard Brandon Fusco. The Vikings have already signed Rudolph and Fusco to 5-year contract extensions. Ponder will likely opt to take advantage of free agency to find a team that might give him a shot start. He's, at best, a career backup in Minnesota. This is Teddy Bridgewater's team going forward. The Vikings still have some free agents beyond those completing their rookie contracts. Here they are:

Christian Ponder, QB
Corey Wootton, DE
Cullen Loeffler, LS
Tom Johnson, DT
Jasper Brinkley, LB
Vladimir Ducasse, G
Joe Berger, G-C
Mike Harris, T
Dom DeCicco, LB
Matt Asiata, RB
Josh Samuda, OL
Justin Trattou. DE
Ahmad Dixon, S

There isn't a must sign player on this list but I'm sure that the Vikings would like to have a few of them back. Cullen Loeffler has held down the Vikings long snapping duties for a decade. He's the longest tenured player on the team. The Vikings have gone with youth at kicker and punter in recent years. Unless the Vikings are looking to do the same thing with their long snapper, Loeffler should be back. Corey Wootton and Tom Johnson were signed to one-year contracts last spring. Both provided terrific depth on the defensive line. The Vikings substituted liberally on the line. Johnson, in particular, took advantage of his playing time with 6.5 sacks. Neither should be too expensive to retain. Johnson might have earned a contract of more than a single year. Joe Berger, Mike Harris, and Vladimir Ducasse have all seen starting time this year due to an excess of injuries on the offensive line. That playing time gave the Vikings real good look at what they have in these linemen. Berger is the most likely to return. He's a solid backup and can play all three interior line positions. Harris is a restricted free agent. If the Vikings want him back, he should be back. Ducasse's return is probably the most questionable of the linemen. Running back will probably be the Vikings most watched position this offseason. Will Adrian Peterson return to the team? The guess here is that he'll be welcomed back with arms wide open. Peterson's presence likely won't impact the decision to retain Matt Asiata. He's not shifty or particularly fast but he's a bull. He's a restricted free agent and his return to Minnesota is fairly certain. Dom DeCicco and Josh Samuda are also restricted free agents. Both spent the season on injured reserve. At the very least, the Vikings thought enough of them to keep them rather than release them with an injury settlement. They should be back to fill out the training camp roster. Ahmad Dixon is an exclusive rights free agent. His return is fairly certain. Justin Trattou doesn't have any restrictions to his free agency but he shouldn't be too difficult to retain if the team is interested in doing so.

Fullback Jerome Felton's contract includes an option for him to void the final year of his contract. That likely means that he will join the above players as an unrestricted free agent. Zach Line plays the same position. He's younger, cheaper, and fullback isn't an every down position in the Vikings lineup.

Christian Ponder, Jasper Brinkley, and Vladimir Ducasse are the current players on the free agent list most likely to be wearing a uniform other than the Vikings next season.

Since the Vikings have no must-sign free agents this could be a good year to extend the contracts of players with contracts set to expire in 2016. They have a few. Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Josh Robinson. Jarius Wright, Robert Blanton, and Blair Walsh. Thanks to the CBA, the Vikings hold the 5th-year option on Kalil and Smith as first round picks. So, they really become free agents in 2017. Smith is priority signing #1. That likely gets done this summer despite the option year.

The Minnesota Vikings are in good shape with their own players. They have to keep it that way.