Minnesota Vikings Roster Bookkeeping

The Minnesota Vikings approached the 2021 NFL offseason in a precarious salary cap situation. They were in the red. They had to do some roster trimming. They had to massage some contracts. It wasn’t fun but it was necessary. Sometimes you have to break something down to build it back up. Even an NFL roster. After a week of free agency here’s a roster bookkeeping of the Minnesota Vikings.

Signed

Dalvin Tomlinson, DT: 2 years/22M

Patrick Peterson, CB: 1 year/10M

Nick Vigil, LB: 1 year/1M+

Stephen Weatherly, DE: 1 year/2.5M

Re-Signed

Rashod Hill, OT: 1 year/2.3775M

Chad Beebe, WR: 1 year/990,000

Released

Kyle Rudolph, TE

Riley Reiff, OT

Dan Bailey, K

Shamar Stephen, DT

Signed With Other Teams

Kyle Rudolph, TE, New York Giants: 2 years/14M

Riley Reiff, OT, Cincinnati Bengals: 1 year/7.5M

Mike Boone, RB, Denver Broncos: 2 years/3.85M

Ifeadi Odenigbo, DL, New York Giants: 1 year/2.5M

Anthony Harris, S, Philadelphia Eagles: 1 year/5M

Unsigned Free Agents

Eric Wilson, LB

Todd Davis, LB

Hardy Nickerson Jr., LB

Jaleel Johnson, DT

Sean Mannion, QB

Ameer Abdullah, RB

Dakota Dozier, OG

Brett Jones, C

George Iloka, S

Chris Jones, CB

If I were to guess which unsigned free agents might still be re-signed by the Vikings I’d start, and probably end, with the following:

Brett Jones

Ameer Abdullah

Sean Mannion

Personally, I’d prefer that the Vikings not re-sign Sean Mannion. I’d rather that they go forward with Jake Browning, Nate Stanley, and a rookie as the quarterback competition behind Kirk Cousins. Going with inexperienced depth behind Cousins might be worrisome but relying on Mannion for more than a few snaps is as worrisome. I’ve heard that he’s terrific in the quarterback room and a strong resource for Cousins on the sideline but thinking of him taking more than a handful of snaps keeps me up at night. 

I still believe that Eric Wilson will get more than the Vikings can afford from another team. The longer he remains unsigned perhaps a return to Minnesota becomes more of a possibility. 

So far, all of the additions have been on the defensive side of the ball. That shouldn’t be a surprise as the defense was terrible last season. The offensive line wasn’t good. At some point, the offensive line needs to be addressed. There’s still the draft but a signing of a capable guard sure would be nice. Maybe a receiver too.