https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/onsi/news...ering-2026

Despite this week's Vikings-Packers regular season finale not having any postseason stakes, there are still plenty of reasons to tune in. One of those is to watch three young Vikings defenders whose arrows are pointing directly upward heading into the 2026 season.

OLB Dallas Turner (22 years old)
Much has been made of Turner's second NFL season, which has been largely a positive for the former first-round pick. With one game left, he's already more than doubled his playing time from his rookie campaign and has seen the statistical results follow. Turner has 60 tackles, 40 pressures, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 pass breakups through 16 games. He's coming off one of the best games of his career last week against the Lions, when he had five pressures, a half-sack forced fumble, and a tackle for loss.

Turner has spent much of this season showing flashes but searching for consistency and play-to-play impact. Lately, he's found that more and more often. The splash plays have been there as a pass rusher, and Turner has also impressed as an edge-setting run defender. The raw talent is off the charts for a guy who hasn't even hit his 23rd birthday. Turner's ceiling remains extremely high heading into 2026, and that'll be true even if Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel remain on the roster next year.


DT Jalen Redmond (26)
Redmond stretches the definition of "young player" a bit, as he'll be 27 and in the heart of his athletic prime next season. He also stretches the idea of being an ascending player, as he fully put together a breakout 2025 campaign. But it's worth talking more about him here anyways. Redmond is sixth among all Vikings defensive players with 766 snaps and is tied with Turner for third on the team with 6 sacks, one behind clubhouse leader Andrew Van Ginkel. The former undrafted free agent and UFL standout has had a remarkably great year, ranking 14th out of 55 NFL DTs (min. 500 snaps) in PFF grade.

And while it's possible this is the ceiling for Redmond, it's also not crazy to think that he could reach another level from a statistical standpoint, considering this was just his second season in the league. He's looked unblockable at times, most notably in his nine-pressure game against the Chargers in October. Redmond has established himself as a critical building block in this defense and earned a major pay raise on his next contract.


S Jay Ward (25)
Whereas Turner and Redmond are wrapping up year two, Ward is in his third season and will enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2026. But after spending most of his career on special teams, stuck behind three excellent safeties, Ward has finally gotten a real shot to play in recent weeks due to Josh Metellus landing on IR — and the talent has been evident. He saw a career-high 44 snaps against the Giants and chipped in six tackles and two pressures in a strong outing. Ward then played 39 more snaps against the Lions and have five more tackles, earning an outstanding 84.2 PFF run defense grade.

There's a lot to like about Ward heading into a contract year. He's a versatile athlete who can line up at a variety of spots in Brian Flores' defense. He's currently handling the Metellus role as a blitzing, run defending box safety, but he can play as a deep safety or line up in the slot as well. And with Harrison Smith potentially retiring, Ward could be in line for a major 2026 role. Even if Smith elects to play one more year, Ward may have surpassed Theo Jackson on the organizational depth chart at safety.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4745...lt-charges

Allegedly choked out one of his own employees. Dude is just so incredibly unstable

you feel like a weight has been lifted off your fan shoulders as the season end nears. 

Thats how I'm feeling about 25, relieved its almost over

Hate seasons like that. 

Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow - and we aint getting any younger. Be nice if it all fell into place in 2026

It appears we will draft outside the Jeremiah Love zone, so how about Singleton from Penn State? Decent size, very good speed, great hands. Definite 3 down back that could be such a weapon in the pass game as well. Not sure where he'll go in the Draft. Need to pair up a nice RB1 with JJM moving forward.

1 Las Vegas Raiders (2-14)
2. New York Giants (3-13)
3. New York Jets (3-13)
4. Tennessee Titans (3-13)
5. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)
6. Cleveland Browns (4-12)
7. Washington Commanders (4-12)
8. New Orleans Saints (6-10)
9. Kansas City Chiefs (6-10)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)
11. Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta - 6-9)
12. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)
14. Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1)
15. Detroit Lions (8-8)
16. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
17. Minnesota Vikings (8-8)
18. New York Jets (via Indianapolis - 8-8)
19. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
21. Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay - 9-6-1)
22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
23. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
24. Buffalo Bills (11-5)
25. Chicago Bears (11-5)
26. Houston Texans (11-5)
27. Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
28. Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville - 12-4)
29. San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
30. New England Patriots (13-3)
31. Denver Broncos (13-3)
32. Seattle Seahawks (13-3)

Sweeping the Lions didnt help our cause lol! Strength of schedule either.

Some really, really entertaining games like last night's Bears - 49ers matchup and then some crazy QB stat lines like Bryce Young throwing for 54 yards in a loss. I've mentioned this in the recent past but the week to week boxscores for various QBs has been so weird. Speaking of QBs, looks like some teams have some guys worth hanging onto and watching develop possibly (i.e. Tyler Shough in New Orleans). And the bad teams that are tanking are SO bad. A few quick observations:

• Just when the media had re-crowned Pittsburgh, they shit the bed against Shedeur and Cleveland. Bad looking loss there.
  
• Malik Willis: you just made yourself some money this offseason, good for that kid.
  
• Drake Maye is ridiculous, just in total control of it all as QB for New England. Smooooth.
  
• Green Bay is so overrated....seriously. I don't know what Minnesota does this offseason, but the NFCN isn't an insurmountable task to win for any team to take in 2026.
  
• I really like Tyler Shough's game, not bad at all for a 2nd round QB. I think they might have their man.
  
• Purdy's scramble and TD throw toward the end of that game was SICK. Broke out a nice dance after that pass, lol. 
  
• I can't help but like Jaxson Dart, but not sure what kind of QB he'll end up being.....smashed into the turf is likely if he doesn't learn to stop running.
  
• Caleb Williams is just a crazy magician in getting out of tight spots in the pocket and making some great hero throws. Still needs work on his accuracy, but well worth the effort now to go all in on his development if you are Chicago. 
  
• Buffalo.....damn. The way has been paved for you and now you are pissing away wins. New England sure as hell isn't scared of you.
  
• In the WTF Department: Tampa Bay.....zoinks. But the NFCS is SO bad, they'll be playing for the title in next week's matchup with Carolina, who looked horrible against Seattle.
  
• Finally, Jax and Lawrence look legit. Not sure what Indy was trying to do with Rivers, but his arm is weak sauce. 0-3 with him starting. 
  

Largest $ fraud EVER perpetuated vs govt, fed or State?  

https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https...4862961123&widget=Tweet

The scene looked like a continuation of Snoop Dogg’s lavish halftime show. Vikings safety Harrison Smith stood next to teammates wearing Santa-like red robes. A large dollop of fake snow rested on Smith’s head. He tore into a large chunk of meat provided by the Netflix hosts, and gazed around U.S. Bank Stadium, knowing he might have only one more game remaining in his career.

On Dec. 25, in a 23-10 victory over the Lions, Smith didn’t just turn back the clock. He might have reset it.

In the penultimate game of what has been a quietly effective season, Smith made loud noises, producing a sack, two tackles for losses, an interception and three passes defended. He looked like he was 25 instead of 36. He looked like the kind of guy you’d want around for more than a few days of the 2026 calendar year.

So as Smith fought back tears during an emotional postgame interview, I asked him if recent events could persuade him to play one more season. He knocked down the question as if it were a pass from Lions quarterback Jared Goff, saying he wanted to stay “in the moment.”

I think Smith should come back.

Am I a prisoner of the moment?

When the moment is this good, yes.

Smith had an undisclosed ailment that robbed him of preparation time this summer and in training camp, and he wasn’t much of a factor early in the season. I figured the Vikings should have spent their money elsewhere, instead of providing a farewell tour for a great player.

Smith has changed my mind. He has helped what appeared to be an overmatched secondary improve dramatically over the course of the season. He remains by far the team’s best safety. If he is still capable of the kinds of explosive plays we saw from him against Detroit, why wouldn’t you bring him back?

When his coaches and teammates speak about him, you can tell they’re not offering mere platitudes.

“We wanted to once again give Harrison the ability to win the pre-snap,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “And then what I think he did tonight was win the post-snap in many ways.”

Translating to common English: Smith is able to read offenses and adjust the defense before the ball is snapped. And after the ball is snapped, Smith looks like a player who should wind up in the Hall of Fame.

The Vikings’ four-game winning streak has come in virtually meaningless games, but that doesn’t mean it’s meaningless.

Smith has given himself reason to consider playing another season, which would be a coup for the Vikings.

Linebacker Dallas Turner has become much more productive.

J.J. McCarthy looks like a winning, if developing, quarterback.

Aaron Jones Sr. has proved he is not merely a quality running back but that he will play through injuries in games of little consequence.
In a remarkably unpredictable league, it would not be surprising to see the Vikings become a force in the NFC North again next year, especially considering they are one Bears kickoff return away from being 4-1 in the division this season.

When they were 4-8 and one of the most disappointing teams in the league, the Vikings could have splintered or sagged. Football is a hard game to play without obvious motivation.

They have won four in a row, and on Jan. 4 Harrison Smith will play against the Green Bay Packers in U.S. Bank Stadium in the year 2026.

Returning for “one more year” is always a risk. Sports can’t guarantee a happy ending. Maybe Smith wants to go out playing like a star, with his limbs and lobes intact.

The guy we watched against Detroit — and the guy who teared up talking about Vikings fans after the game — should linger on this stage.

Strib

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootbal...ian-flores

Vikings work to re-sign free-agent defensive coordinator Brian Flores

Brian Flores picked the perfect time to create chaos for the Detroit Lions.

Flores, in his third season as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, is in the final year of his contract. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Vikings are currently working toward extending his deal.

The Vikings wanted to do it before the 2025 regular season. Flores decided to wait. If he was betting on himself, he won.

Minnesota’s defense has been the strength of a team that started 4-8 and worked its way back to .500, despite an underperforming offense. Thursday’s 23-10 win over the Lions featured six turnovers created by Minnesota’s defense. It was a continuation of the prior meeting between the two teams, during which the Vikings generated heavy pressure on quarterback Jared Goff — often sending players up the middle and forcing Goff from his preferred spot of operating in the pocket en route to a 27-24 win.

The Vikings currently rank fifth in yards allowed per game, at 292.7. They’re tenth in points allowed, with 20.6.

The stout Week 17 defensive showing allowed the Vikings to become the first team in 47 years to win by 10 or more points while generating fewer than 10 net passing yards.

Without a new contract, Flores becomes free to join a new staff elsewhere. With a new contract, he’d remain eligible to leave for a head-coaching job elsewhere.

Whether and to what extent he’ll be a viable candidate for a second shot as a head coach remains to be seen. His pending arbitration and litigation against the NFL and multiple teams (Giants, Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans) will be a practical impediment — even if federal law mandates that it not be.