The Offseason Champions! (2nd Best Offseason)
Summary: After the Vikings unheralded 2024 season there were big decisions to make in free agency. They hit it out of the park. Signing Greenard got me out of my seat last offseason, but boy did I underestimate the Vikes in 2024. Now their GM is continually dealing.
Vikings Leadership Does it Again.
After a stunning season that yielded a 14-3 record the Minnesota Vikings had some decisions to make in free agency. The first of which was the Sam Darnold dilemma. Do you pay him? Let him walk? Is JJ McCarthy even ready to play at the NFL level? It’s hard to tell what the best move was for Minnesota heading into this offseason, but they went the route of betting on McCarthy. Or are they? There’s still no indication he is indeed the starter and for many that would be a point of contention. For me it isn’t really because the Vikings knew what selecting JJ meant. It means having patience to let a young quarterback who sparingly was called upon to carry U of M’s loaded roster in college find his footing. He probably had the least amount of passing attempts for a QB selected in the top 10 draft picks I’ve ever seen. What is enticing about his game is that he possessed elite accuracy in spurts at Michigan and alongside this tool he has a well above average arm. He’s an improviser that can use his legs to attack defenses which may be his most underrated tool for when he starts his NFL tenure. Minnesota’s belief in McCarthy’s potential is what led the organization to make a splash on their offensive front.
Headlining the Vikings free agency the team scooped up Will Fries at guard from the Indianapolis Colts. He was a key component of Indianapolis’ stout front and after spending $88 million over five years on him the Vikings are hoping he is the cornerstone on their interior offensive line. The guard spot was probably the weakest on the Vikings line and with the injuries the team endured on their front last season having stability at the position is paramount for their 22 year old QB. Fries was probably the top offensive lineman in the free agency pool of 2025. He will pair nicely with his former teammate on the interior, Ryan Kelly, who got a 2 year $18 million deal. This deal was great for Minnesota to get a center who has been at the pinnacle of the game, considering Kelly has been a four time pro bowler in his last six years played. When healthy he is very formidable in the run game and helped pave paths for Johnathan Taylor in Indy with consistency. Having this new look interior won’t only keep their QB clean, whomever that may be, but will help open up the run game that struggled to get going for the Vikings last season. Minnesota decided to bring in two running backs to show how much they want that component to be in their offense.
First they re-signed Aaron Jones on a 2 year, $20 million contract after being stellar in the backfield especially as a pass catching threat. His main downside is his inability to make it through a rigorous 17 game season and beyond moving into the postseason. He has a constant hamstring issue and wears enough tape and precautionary gear to indicate he might be held together by screws. The Vikings front office saw that and scanned an abysmal free agent running back pool for perceived talent. The guy they chose to sign was the standout backup running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Jordan Mason. Mason was unexpectedly thrust into the starting role once CMC went down and thrived in his opportunity. 5.2 yards per carry and almost 800 yards on 150 carries are promising statistics to look at when evaluating a running back. He has little tread on his tires and at 25 years old he’ll look to carve out a serious role in this Vikings backfield. Mason will form a two headed monster for the Vikings as a bruising, between the tackle, running back. An area that Aaron Jones doesn’t particularly excel at. This signing could be an unsung gem and giving 2 years $12 million to Mason reminds me of the Lions David Montgomery deal in 2023. Mason is more than capable at handling a large workload. As the season went on in 2024 the Niners strayed away from him creating an illusion that Mason had fallen off. He’ll be back with a vengeance and hunger to solidify himself as a starting running back or at the very least running back 1B on Minnesota’s offense. The best thing the Vikings did in free agency was on the defensive side of the ball though.
The first move the Vikings made in free agency was signing Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to a 3 year $60 million contract. When looking at Minnesota’s defense there was one glaring hole. The defensive tackle position. Allen is a premier pass rusher at defensive tackle nearing eight sacks a season in nearly every season he’s played in barring injury. You pair Allen’s ability to get to the quarterback and plug the middle in the run game with Jonathan Greenard’s otherworldly ability at edge and Minnesota becomes a whole different team on defense. Brian Flores doesn’t need to worry about sending blitzes because he knows Allen can handle inside runs with his running mate that the Vikings scooped up in free agency Javon Hargrave. Hargrave has been a proven dominant presence in the middle who does the same things as Jonathan Allen at a little bit of a lesser level. Hargrave can put up big sack numbers and will bolster the Vikings run defense significantly. He is 32 years old and coming off a season that was missed due to injury, but two years, $30 million for a stellar defensive tackle is more than worth it. Having all three defensive lineman I just mentioned should open up some opportunity for Minnesota’s first round selection last year, Dallas Turner. It’s easy to project a breakout year for Turner because so much of the opposing o line’s attention is going to be on Greenard, Hargrave, and Allen. Lastly you just have to mention how good of a move it was for Minnesota to bring back Byron Murphy Jr. after having a career year last season. He was by far their best secondary player on a secondary that was expected to be among the league’s worst prior to 2024, but ended up being steady.
Every gap this team had heading into the offseason, aside from their secondary, was filled which is why their free agency class in 2025 should be held in such high regard. The organization no longer needs to worry about Darnold’s play and none of these deals are too much of a long term commitment. The main thing that goes wrong here. McCarthy gets rushed onto the field and he fails to develop during Justin Jefferson’s prime and Jordan Addison’s rookie deal. Other than that the Vikings covered every base.
