Minnesota Vikings Pending Free Agents Entering 2025 NFL Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings’ season is now officially over. It ended not long after the opening kickoff on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. Sam Darnold’s carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and now it’s offseason mode.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has plenty of work to do this offseason. The Vikings need to decide on the quarterback position, and they’ll need to use their ample cap space to address other areas of the roster. They also have a boatload of free agent decisions to make.
Counting down the Minnesota Vikings free agents
Each season the NFL sees a significant amount of turnover across league rosters. Guaranteed contracts don’t always happen in the sport. The aging process happens at a much more significant pace given the game’s physicality. The Vikings have some key spots held down, but there’s a laundry list of guys to replace or retain. The starters are in bold.
| Player Name | Position |
| Sam Darnold | Quarterback |
| Cam Robinson | Left Tackle |
| Harrison Smith | Safety |
| Byron Murphy Jr | Cornerback |
| Stephon Gilmore | Cornerback |
| Aaron Jones | Running Back |
| Shaq Griffin | Cornerback |
| Jerry Tillery | Defensive Lineman |
| Dalton Risner | Offensive Guard |
| Jonathan Bullard | Defensive Lineman |
| Johnny Mundt | Tight End |
| Brandon Powell | Wide Receiver/Punt Returner |
| Nick Mullens | Quarterback |
| David Quessenberry | Offensive Tackle |
| Dan Feeney | Offensive Guard |
| Jihad Ward | Edge Rusher |
| Trent Sherfield Sr | Wide Receiver |
| Fabian Moreau | Cornerback |
| Kamu Grugier-Hill | Linebacker |
| Patrick Jones II | Edge Rusher |
| Cam Akers | Running Back |
| Daniel Jones | Quarterback |
| Brett Rypien | Quarterback |
| Camryn Bynum | Safety |
| Theo Jackson | Safety |
| Ryan Wright | Punter |
| Jalen Redmond | Defensive Lineman |
| Henry Byrd | Offensive Guard |
Related: What We Learned About the Minnesota Vikings in Yet Another Demoralizing Playoff Loss
If you counted them all, I’m sorry, since I did the work for you. That’s 28 players potentially leaving the Vikings. The quarterback position has just a single player committed to the roster in rookie J.J. McCarthy. The cornerback position is losing almost everyone.
NFL team cap space for the 2025 NFL season
— Stat Acccount (@AcccountStat) January 13, 2025
x = Effective cap space
y = Cap space that can be restructured
Upper right = good | Bottom left = bad pic.twitter.com/vETNIyivPN
Key decisions to make
Running the football isn’t a focal point for Kevin O’Connell. He still needs to sort out that position for next season. Ty Chandler is the only candidate with a level of NFL experience. This year though, he was just a depth piece.
Three important decisions to be made are on Darnold, Jones, and Cam Robinson. They are projected to earn salaries of $40.1 million, $5.6 million, and $14 million, respectively. Jones had a career year running the ball despite battling injuries, but his average rush was the lowest it’s ever been at 4.5 yards per carry. Some of that falls on the offensive line, of course.
If the Minnesota Vikings are going to run, they’ll need to be better on the interior offensive line. Dalton Risner again hits the open market, and we’ve seen Ed Ingram is not the answer. The defensive line also has turnover on the interior, and that’s an opportunity for the team to take a step forward.
Minnesota has more than $70 million in cap space, so Kwesi will have plenty of opportunity to cook. What exactly he does with all of that cash remains to be seen, but it should be an exciting offseason of movement.
Related: Justin Jefferson Doesn’t Care Who Plays QB for the Minnesota Vikings Next Season
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