2025 Free Agency

MaroonBells wrote:

When I say mid-tier I don't mean cheap. As I've said before, there's a big gap between what would be an upgrade for us at IOL and the crazy money at the top of the market. For example, Trey Smith's market value is estimated to be $20M per. He's a great run blocker, but Teven Jenkins is the same age, has a higher overall grade and a better pass blocking grade and his est. market value is $10M per. That's what I'm talking about. Or Matt Fries at $14M. Mekari at $10M. It's looking for the Greenards and the Van Ginkels and avoiding the crazy money at the top (see Danielle Hunter). And on a line where you're already paying Darrisaw and O'Neill big money, signing a guy like Smith to a long-term contract doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Fair argument. I guess my counter would be Jenkins has been moved from tackle, to right guard, to left guard to find a spot for him in his short career. The Bears line has continued to be a mess during that time. I would bet if you take the accumulation of PFF grades over the four year careers of both Jenkins and Smith, Smith gets the nod by a large margin. Give me the guy who was a day one starter and two time Super Bowl Champion. Give me that guy on the field and in my locker room, even if it costs an extra 9 or 10 million a year, especially if you have no intention of bringing back Byron Murphy. You have to spend the money somewhere and KOC and the front office would look pretty foolish after the way they finished the season and his proclamation of prioritizing getting the interior offensive line fixed this offseason to not be willing to spend when we finally have the money to do so. I would be shocked if the Vikings aren't one of the favorites to land Smith in free agency.

supafreak84 wrote:

Fair argument. I guess my counter would be Jenkins has been moved from tackle, to right guard, to left guard to find a spot for him in his short career. The Bears line has continued to be a mess during that time. I would bet if you take the accumulation of PFF grades over the four year careers of both Jenkins and Smith, Smith gets the nod by a large margin. Give me the guy who was a day one starter and two time Super Bowl Champion. Give me that guy on the field and in my locker room, even if it costs an extra 9 or 10 million a year, especially if you have no intention of bringing back Byron Murphy. You have to spend the money somewhere and KOC and the front office would look pretty foolish after the way they finished the season and his proclamation of prioritizing getting the interior offensive line fixed this offseason to not be willing to spend when we finally have the money to do so. I would be shocked if the Vikings aren't one of the favorites to land Smith in free agency.

I think Smith will be in play for the Vikings. I just don't think it's the smartest play for us. Same with Byron Murphy and his ridiculous $22M MV. 

Think about it this way: Smith will cost $20M. Great, RG fixed. But we still have Bradbury and Brandel. Or for $23M, you could add Jenkins, Dalman and Scherff and replace all three. Actually, when you consider the $3M or so you'd save in releasing Bradbury, it would be roughly the same. That's the route I take and save the big expenditures for CB and DT.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think Smith will be in play for the Vikings. I just don't think it's the smartest play for us. Same with Byron Murphy and his ridiculous $22M MV. 

Think about it this way: Smith will cost $20M. Great, RG fixed. But we still have Bradbury and Brandel. Or for $23M, you could add Jenkins, Dalman and Scherff and replace all three. Actually, when you consider the $3M or so you'd save in releasing Bradbury, it would be roughly the same. That's the route I take and save the big expenditures for CB and DT.

Scherff will turn 34 this December and I'm not sure there's much left in the tank there. That would be another short term patchwork job on the line when I'm sure the goal is to fix it long term. 

Id be ecstatic solving the rotating right guard spot by signing Smith and having a young horse on the inside long term. The reports on Jurgens have been encouraging and we might have our answer at center already on the roster. At the very least he competes with Bradbury to start. I'm not totally down on Brandel at the other guard spot. I think he did some good things his first season starting but competition is the name of the game and maybe that's where you look to bring in some veteran competition in free agency or the draft. I'd be pretty optimistic going into next year with a line of;

LT- Darrisaw
LG- Brandel
C- Jurgens
RG- Smith
RT- O'Neill

We've heard nothing about CD rehab/time to return either...I suspect we may not have him back till after September?

supafreak84 wrote:

Scherff will turn 34 this December and I'm not sure there's much left in the tank there. That would be another short term patchwork job on the line when I'm sure the goal is to fix it long term. 

Id be ecstatic solving the rotating right guard spot by signing Smith and having a young horse on the inside long term. The reports on Jurgens have been encouraging and we might have our answer at center already on the roster. At the very least he competes with Bradbury to start. I'm not totally down on Brandel at the other guard spot. I think he did some good things his first season starting but competition is the name of the game and maybe that's where you look to bring in some veteran competition in free agency or the draft. I'd be pretty optimistic going into next year with a line of;

LT- Darrisaw
LG- Brandel
C- Jurgens
RG- Smith
RT- O'Neill

Rather than signing Scherff, I would like to see them sign James Daniels currently with Pittsburgh. It seems like Daniels has been playing in the league for a decade but he's only 27. Has position flexibility including OC & probably will command about the same salary as Scherff.

purplefaithful wrote:
We've heard nothing about CD rehab/time to return either...I suspect we may not have him back till after September?

Good point. I wonder where he is at in his recovery. I'd also guess he won't be ready when the season starts and probably will start on IR for the first 4 to 6 weeks of the season. Not sure what the plan would be to get by until he returns. 

How great would it be to somehow keep Cam Robinson on the roster? Won't happen, but would certainly be nice

supafreak84 wrote:

Good point. I wonder where he is at in his recovery. I'd also guess he won't be ready when the season starts and probably will start on IR for the first 4 to 6 weeks of the season. Not sure what the plan would be to get by until he returns. 

How great would it be to somehow keep Cam Robinson on the roster? Won't happen, but would certainly be nice

Yah, someone is going to give Robinson a big bag and it's most likely IR for CD. 

They have to hope they can put someone out at LT who can hold-up; and not scramble too many other positions to do it. 

Quessenberry? 

Hopefully they can cobble something decent together, but it may be less than ideal with such a young QB starting.

supafreak84 wrote:

Scherff will turn 34 this December and I'm not sure there's much left in the tank there. That would be another short term patchwork job on the line when I'm sure the goal is to fix it long term. 

Id be ecstatic solving the rotating right guard spot by signing Smith and having a young horse on the inside long term. The reports on Jurgens have been encouraging and we might have our answer at center already on the roster. At the very least he competes with Bradbury to start. I'm not totally down on Brandel at the other guard spot. I think he did some good things his first season starting but competition is the name of the game and maybe that's where you look to bring in some veteran competition in free agency or the draft. I'd be pretty optimistic going into next year with a line of;

LT- Darrisaw
LG- Brandel
C- Jurgens
RG- Smith
RT- O'Neill

Those were just examples. I'm aware of Scherff's age, but there will have to either be an incumbent returning or one of the three will have to be a guy looking for a 1-year deal. A Zeitler type. He was 34 when the Lions signed him to a one-year, $6M deal last season. He had a fantastic year and is a free agent again. I think Scherff could be this year's Zeilter. 

If you want to fix all three, sign two 2nd tier free agents long term and bring in a short-term veteran on a 1-year deal. That's the position you backup with a '25 draft pick. 

I hope you're right about Jurgens. I've read that same hype. But there's absolutely no way the team goes into the season counting on Jurgens to be the guy snapping the ball to JJ. If the team is actually high on Jurgens (no idea), then that argues strongly for bringing back Bradbury.

Knucklehead wrote:
Rather than signing Scherff, I would like to see them sign James Daniels currently with Pittsburgh. It seems like Daniels has been playing in the league for a decade but he's only 27. Has position flexibility including OC & probably will command about the same salary as Scherff.

Would definitely prefer Daniels over Scherff. I just don't know if we're going to be handing out three long-term contracts to our IOL to go with the massive contracts on the outside. Our OL would be the highest paid OL in the NFL and it wouldn't be close. 

The more we sign, the cheaper we have to go. IOW, if we sign just one, I'm good with Trey Smith or Fries. If we sign two, I'd probably go Jenkins and Daniels. If we replace all three, then I think you have to pull the reigns back. Jenkins, Dalman, Scherff.

MaroonBells wrote:

Those were just examples. I'm aware of Scherff's age, but there will have to either be an incumbent returning or one of the three will have to be a guy looking for a 1-year deal. A Zeitler type. He was 34 when the Lions signed him to a one-year, $6M deal last season. He had a fantastic year and is a free agent again. I think Scherff could be this year's Zeilter. 

If you want to fix all three, sign two 2nd tier free agents long term and bring in a short-term veteran on a 1-year deal. That's the position you backup with a '25 draft pick. 

I hope you're right about Jurgens. I've read that same hype. But there's absolutely no way the team goes into the season counting on Jurgens to be the guy snapping the ball to JJ. If the team is actually high on Jurgens (no idea), then that argues strongly for bringing back Bradbury.

Would definitely prefer Daniels over Scherff. I just don't know if we're going to be handing out three long-term contracts to our IOL to go with the massive contracts on the outside. Our OL would be the highest paid OL in the NFL and it wouldn't be close. 

The more we sign, the cheaper we have to go. IOW, if we sign just one, I'm good with Trey Smith or Fries. If we sign two, I'd probably go Jenkins and Daniels. If we replace all three, then I think you have to pull the reigns back. Jenkins, Dalman, Scherff.

I'll bring up another name that will be worth monitoring in free agency is Jedric Wills. Former top 10 pick has battled some injuries the last couple seasons and in my opinion has been playing out of position in Cleveland at tackle. His body type is more of a guard and there was a lot of talk about that when he was drafted. 25 years old. This is a potential low investment, high upside return type of player. Would hold added value to the Vikings as he could kick out to left tackle if needed until Darrisaw is ready. Tre Smith at right guard, Wills at left guard, and Jurgens at center would be a significant upgrade in physicality on the interior.

MaroonBells wrote:

Those were just examples. I'm aware of Scherff's age, but there will have to either be an incumbent returning or one of the three will have to be a guy looking for a 1-year deal. A Zeitler type. He was 34 when the Lions signed him to a one-year, $6M deal last season. He had a fantastic year and is a free agent again. I think Scherff could be this year's Zeilter. 

If you want to fix all three, sign two 2nd tier free agents long term and bring in a short-term veteran on a 1-year deal. That's the position you backup with a '25 draft pick. 

I hope you're right about Jurgens. I've read that same hype. But there's absolutely no way the team goes into the season counting on Jurgens to be the guy snapping the ball to JJ. If the team is actually high on Jurgens (no idea), then that argues strongly for bringing back Bradbury.

Would definitely prefer Daniels over Scherff. I just don't know if we're going to be handing out three long-term contracts to our IOL to go with the massive contracts on the outside. Our OL would be the highest paid OL in the NFL and it wouldn't be close. 

The more we sign, the cheaper we have to go. IOW, if we sign just one, I'm good with Trey Smith or Fries. If we sign two, I'd probably go Jenkins and Daniels. If we replace all three, then I think you have to pull the reigns back. Jenkins, Dalman, Scherff.

I'm not counting on Fries to hit the market. Indy has plenty of cap to resign him & they have their own young QB to protect. Why would they allow him to leave?

Knucklehead wrote:

I'm not counting on Fries to hit the market. Indy has plenty of cap to resign him & they have their own young QB to protect. Why would they allow him to leave?

I doubt they will. I've said before that I didn't think he'd ever hit the open market. Just playing with scenarios. 

One player who's not currently a free agent, but could be released in a Browns rebuild is Joel Bitonio. LG, 7X Pro Bowler, he'll be 34 in October and so can't command a long-term deal. Like Scherff, he might be ready to go down the 1-year road like Zeitler did last year.

Dustin Baker@DustBaker
The Vikings had $37 million in cap space at this time on the calendar last year. They signed these notable free agents:

— Jerry Tillery (DT)
— Aaron Jones (RB)
— Jihad Ward (OLB)
— Sam Darnold (QB)
— Shaquill Griffin (CB)
— Jalen Redmond (DT)
— Trent Sherfield (WR)
— Blake Cashman (ILB)
— Stephon Gilmore (CB)
— Kamu Grugier-Hill (ILB)
— Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)
— Jonathan Greenard (OLB)

This go-round, they have about $58 million.

That's why this free agency period will be quite fun.

The @Vikings will need a decision on Harrison Smith by March 14th (3rd day of the 2025 league year, per @BenGoessling.

“Smith… has a league minimum base salary of $1.255M for 2025. But here’s where it gets tricky to bring him back: If he’s on the roster by the 3rd day of the… pic.twitter.com/8Xu5IHUBlB

— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) February 16, 2025

StickierBuns wrote:
Harrison Smith is 36 years old, they have to try and move on from him. And I say this loving the guy. I think there's a strong chance his play will fall off the table this year.

I actually want him to retire. It's time. It would be good for him; it would be good for the team. Also, his play already dropped off the last couple years. Just a little but enough to make you fear that the cliff is near.

Kevin Seifert floating the idea that the Vikings could use the franchise tag on cornerback Byron Murphy and confirming they will not be tagging QB Sam Darnold.

You hear different things on Murphy from different people. I have a hard time seeing the Vikings letting him out of their building because he's part of the solution and not another position you have to try replacing.

Harrison Smith is 36 years old, they have to try and move on from him. And I say this loving the guy. I think there's a strong chance his play will fall off the table this year.

I would rather sign Bynum then Murphy if it comes down to that.

Murphy is going to want too much $$ for what I think his true capability is.

He is not a #1 db imo.

purplefaithful wrote:
I would rather sign Bynum then Murphy if it comes down to that. 

Murphy is going to want too much $$ for what I think his true capability is.

He is not a #1 db imo.

I have a hard time judging any of our DBs this year,  considering how pathetic our pass rush was most of the time,  how often they blitzed without getting pressure or a sack,  that left DBs on islands far to often with QB that wasnt seeing the pressure that they should have been under considering the blitzes.  We may have been high in sacks and pressures,  but I wonder what our success percentages look like because there we many times that our DBs were simply asked to cover for to long.

purplefaithful wrote:
I would rather sign Bynum then Murphy if it comes down to that. 

Murphy is going to want too much $$ for what I think his true capability is.

He is not a #1 db imo.

I agree. Murph had a great year but he is not an outside corner.  Why pay 20 mil?  I would take dj reed or chavarious Ward all day instead.OTOH, it’s tough to let a 27 yo pro bowler coming back to the same defense walk.

StickierBuns wrote:
Its funny about Murphy: he was a highly drafted (33rd, right at the beginning of round 2) corner and highly rated in the Draft the year he came out. Most had him the #1 or #2 ranked corner pre-Draft. Obviously the Cardinals let him become a FA and I wouldn't say he's a true outside, cover corner....but its not like he doesn't have some talent and athletic ability. But the thought of paying him a massive contract makes me a little queasy. He's in reality, he's a decent #2 CB on a team....not great, but decent.

That's where I'm at on Murphy.  I don't think he's a lock down #1 CB.  If he comes in below that in a new deal, let's re-sign him.  Otherwise let some other team overpay.  We'll have some options on the FA market to get a good CB like Murphy for a more reasonable rate IMO.

MAD GAINZ wrote:

That's where I'm at on Murphy.  I don't think he's a lock down #1 CB.  If he comes in below that in a new deal, let's re-sign him.  Otherwise let some other team overpay.  We'll have some options on the FA market to get a good CB like Murphy for a more reasonable rate IMO.

IMO he is one of the better slot corners in the league with the ability to kick outside. In today's NFL the slot corner position has become incredibly important with multi-receiver sets on offense and teams looking to exploit matchups by moving their best receiver into the slot. This is where Murphys value is at and I'd hate to lose him and have to replace yet another key player when the cupboard is pretty bare at corner as is. It's not as easy as just going bargain hunting and expecting them to simply replicate what Murphy could do..