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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/Gallade3 on 2026-03-04 13:56:21+00:00.

Team: Minnesota Vikings

Division: NFC North

Record: 9-8

Playoffs: You know the only two times where “close” counts

Warning: there are a lot of words in this write-up. For those who prefer a more succinct analysis, some sections have been translated into “TL;DR” pieces of just a few sentences. Hit “ctr+F” and type in “TL;DR” to find them. Also, in the positional analysis section, names are in italics, if you want to search for a specific player.

Key Departures:

A full list of departures can be found here under “signed elsewhere.”

S - Camryn Bynum

Perhaps best known as the man behind Minnesota’s elaborate turnover celebrations, Camryn Bynum was also a reliable run stuffer with ball-hawking instincts. The Cal product peaked in 2023 when he racked up an unthinkable 137 tackles with three forced fumbles and two picks; he graded out as the 20th-best safety in football, according to PFF.

Though he snagged four interceptions in 2024, his grades slipped across the board. With needs elsewhere, the Vikings made the painful decision to let a quality player, and their chief vibes counselor walk in free agency. He signed with the Colts.

QB - Sam Darnold

With veteran Kirk Cousins leaving after six productive, yet fruitless seasons, the Vikings suddenly had a gaping hole at the most important position in sports heading into 2024. They had drafted young J.J. McCarthy (plenty more on him later), but he tore his meniscus in pre-season, paving the way for Sam Darnold to walk unabated into the QB1 role.

He was brilliant. The 27-year-old cleansed himself of his “bust” stench, tossing 35 TDs and over 4,000 yards in one of the best QB seasons in Vikings history. His sublime arm talent in conjecture with Kevin O’Connell’s relentless explosive play philosophy turned Minnesota into a high-flying aerial assault, capable of multiple chunk-yardage daggers on any given drive. Darnold made the Pro Bowl, finished 3rd in Comeback Player of the Year Voting, and placed 10th in the MVP vote.

So, why in the world did the Vikings let him leave? Certainly, no one has asked this question yet. Darnold played well overall, but when he didn’t, he was downright dreadful: he had five games with a passer rating below 80 (every other game was above 100, figure that one out), and saved his worst play when it mattered most, melting down in a critical week 18 game against Detroit and in Minnesota’s playoff match against the Rams. The Vikings offered a competitive contract, but Darnold headed back west to lead the Seahawks.

QB - Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones never took a snap for the Vikings, yet ended up a crucial cog in their recent history. Minnesota scooped up the former 6th overall pick when the Giants scapegoated and discarded him near the end of his sixth year with the team. The Vikings figured they could use another pupil in Kevin O’Connell’s school for New York QBs Who Don’t Play Good, and they brought on Jones as a practice squad body who could step up if Darnold ever went down. Once the season ended, the Vikings pursued bringing back Jones to pair with McCarthy as veteran insurance, but the Machiavellian Duke product packed his bags for Indiana, which offered him a clearer path to start. C’est la vie. At least they got a comp pick for him.

EDGE - Pat Jones II

Patrick Jones II was a multi-year rotational pass-rusher who surprised with seven sacks in 2024, more than doubling his career total entering the season. The Vikings were appropriately skeptical that the production was real, and Jones II signed with the Panthers before the 2025 season.

QB - Nick Mullens

Nick Mullens is what you get when you combine the mentality of Brett Favre with the arm talent of Teddy Bridgewater. He put up some memorable games for the 2023 team—including a 411-yard, two-TD, four-pick game against the Lions, which speaks for itself—and completed two passes for 38 yards in 2024. The Little Rock native backed up Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville in 2025.

DT - Jerry Tillery

Fresh off a great season with the Raiders in 2023, Jerry Tillery was JAG for the Vikings, if we were to speak in the language of Steve Smith Jr. He was dead average as a run defender, and below average as a pass rusher. He moved to Kansas City in 2025.

C - Garrett Bradbury

At least he wasn’t Pat Elflein. Garrett Bradbury spent six seasons as a maligned symbol of the Vikings’ O-Line; a group that rarely matched the significant resources spent on it. Bradbury was largely average-ish as a Viking, with the all-too-often egregious pass-rush error magnifying his Achilles Heel, which is that DTs could force the North Carolinians on his ass more than you would like.

Bradbury was still under contract for 2025, meaning the Vikings effectively DFA’d their longtime starter after the off-season started. He signed with the Patriots.

DT - Harrison Phillips

Like Bradbury before, Harrison Phillips was under contract by the Vikings heading into 2025. In fact, the team held onto the veteran through late August, dealing him to the Jets on the 20th for minor draft capital.

Phillips had marked the start of the Kevin O’Connell era. He joined the team in 2022 as a leader and run defender so vociferous that he could alter an entire opposing team philosophy. Still, the team felt their interior presence was strong enough to make Phillips redundant; they even covered half of his salary in 2025 to make the deal work.

CB - Stephon Gilmore

No longer of DPOY quality, Stephon Gilmore nonetheless handed the Vikings admirable production given his age and the lateness of his signing before the 2024 season. His most memorable moment was picking off Aaron Rodgers to seal an overseas win against the Jets.

CB - Shaq Griffin

Like Gilmore, Shaq Griffin performed at an average level for Minnesota in 2024; the team felt comfortable in letting him go back home to Seattle for the 2025 season.

G - Dalton Risner

Dalton Risner started multiple years for the Vikings, but didn’t crack the lineup in 2024 until week 11, as the team prioritized snaps for the younger Ed Ingram. Risner played well, however the team decided to move on from the veteran.

T - Cam Robinson

Minnesota made a big mid-season deal for Cam Robinson after their franchise tackle, Christian Darrisaw, went down with a season-ending injury. Robinson was merely ok—and with Darrisaw set to return in 2025—the Vikings let him walk in free agency.

Key Departures TL;DR

Minnesota moved on from Camryn Bynum at safety, and came up empty trying to re-sign either Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones at QB. Their losses otherwise were largely depth pieces and rotational players.

Key Additions:

WR - Rondale Moore

Rondale Moore hit the Big Ten in 2018 with a thunderous and divine rapture. He caught 114 passes for 1,248 yards and 12 TDs, adding over 200 yards and two more TDs on the ground in one of the most electric debut seasons in recent CFB memory. He was so good that year that two injury-plagued seasons didn’t dissuade the Cardinals from spending a top-50 pick on the dynamic playmaker in the 2021 draft. His production was meager in Arizona, and he didn’t play a snap in 2024 as he suffered a season-ending knee injury with the Falcons.

Unfortunately, history repeated itself in the purple and gold, as the receiver hurt his knee in pre-season and was ruled out for the year. On February 21st, Moore was found dead in his garage from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death was a tragic reminder that athletes—easy targets for ridicule and hate—can suffer the same mental malaise that infects any of us. Reach out to others if you aren’t feeling well.

CB - Jeff Okudah

A former 3rd overall pick, Jeff Okudah suffered an infestation of the injury bug as a pro and hadn’t developed in coverage like Detroit hoped when they selected him out of Ohio State. The Vikings would mark his fourth team in four years.

LB - Eric Wilson

An NFL stalwart, Eric Wilson was actually a Viking as far back as 2017, and he spent four years on the team mostly as a rotational player before jumping organizations, again, largely as linebacker depth.

DT - Javon Hargrave

Javon Hargrave epitomized Minnesota’s free agency strategy leading into 2025: banking on talent, bouncebacks, and breakouts. Hargrave, a multiple-time Pro Bowler, played just three games in 2024, but had been one of the best pass-rushing inside presences in all of football since entering the league; the upside was tremendous, especially for a team that received merely adequate play from their DTs in 2024. The Vikings inked him to a two-year $30 million deal.

DT - Jonathan Allen

Not long ago, Jonathan Allen was one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the NFL. The former 1st-rounder from Alabama turned in back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons with the Commanders in 2021 and 2022, grading out as an elite pass-rusher, one of the few DTs who could threaten double-digit sacks. His play slipped in 2023 and he missed half the 2024 season, leading the Commanders to non-tender him in the off-season. Minnesota signed Allen to a three-year $51 million deal.

CB - Isaiah Rodgers

Reportedly, when he learned Isaiah Rodgers was a free agent, DC Brian Flores stormed into GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s office and demanded him to sign the veteran. Rodgers had played as a rotational corner for Philly in 2024 after being suspended for gambling in 2023…

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