Vikings Offseason 2026

[TheLeviathan]

41 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

He's only 30 years old... Not bad for a safety. Or maybe he's a hybrid Mettellus type of player in a Brian Flores defense?

How the eff is he only 30?

[TheLeviathan]

No offense @Vanimal46 but I googled that because I thought you were wrong.  He seems like he's been around for 20 years.

[Mike Sixel]

I've said for years, more teams should play hybrid cover guys at LB. This might be the end of Pace. 

[Vanimal46]

31 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

How the eff is he only 30?

You and me both after I googled it. I figured he was closer to 35 than 30. 

[Vanimal46]

24 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I've said for years, more teams should play hybrid cover guys at LB. This might be the end of Pace. 

I've got to think Adams is his direct competition. They need to play the role of playing near the line of scrimmage and blitz more often than not. 

[Danchat]

Adams got moved to LB for the Raiders because he was shot at safety (he just couldn't cover anymore), he played 75% of his snaps at LB and another 25% at slot CB, only 2 snaps all of last year at safety. And he has a serious tackling issue. And he'll be 31 soon with an extensive injury history... probably not a guy who is going to make an impact on this team. He really fell off a cliff after having 3 straight All-Pro (1st or 2nd team) seasons, getting traded for 2 1sts and getting a 4/$70M deal, then at around age 26 he was never the same, probably injury related.

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

This might be the end of Pace. 

They gave Pace $3.5M when they didn't have to, presumably to play special teams. Golday getting drafted in Round 2 was already the deathnell for Pace playing any snaps. He already wasn't with just Cashman and Wilson ahead of him. That money is unguaranteed so he could get axed and that wouldn't be shocking, but the fact that they paid him that much in an offseason where they barely spent anything makes me think they believe he is a very good special teamer.

The only spot I see Adams makes sense is as the Metellus backup, but the defense was totally fine when Metellus hit the IR last year and Jay Ward picked up his snaps. Once upon a time he was an elite blitzer so I get why Flores would like that... but not now in the twilight of his career.

[Parfigliano]

12 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

How the eff is he only 30?

Accident of birth.

[Mike Sixel]

Brian O'Neill extended for four more years. He'll be in Minnesota for five more years. 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Brian O'Neill extended for four more years. He'll be in Minnesota for five more years. 

I'm happy to have the consistency, but he had a lot of moments last year where he struggled. I wouldn't be surprised if the contract was built so the Vikings could get out of it even as soon as next off season.

[Vanimal46]

A little more expensive than I would like, but you can’t gamble on the tackle position. Darrisaw has his durability concerns, and if you can’t protect the QB the offense swirls down the drain. 

[Mike Sixel]

Sounds like McCarthy is not good in practice so far. Sigh. 

[The Great Hambino]

On 7/28/2026 at 4:30 PM, nicksaviking said:

I'm happy to have the consistency, but he had a lot of moments last year where he struggled. I wouldn't be surprised if the contract was built so the Vikings could get out of it even as soon as next off season.

Looks like no guaranteed money past 2027 and a base salary that doubles in 2028

This is a two year contract

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, The Great Hambino said:

Looks like no guaranteed money past 2027 and a base salary that doubles in 2028

This is a two year contract

That sounds pretty good to me. Two years to find a replacement for what would be a 33-year-old RT. It would be great if that guy is already on the roster in Tiernan.

[nicksaviking]

11 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sounds like McCarthy is not good in practice so far. Sigh. 

I bet he's traded before the season starts. If KOC and the Vikings know he's bad and worse than Murray, they will not want him looming on the sidelines for the fans and media to speculate about every time Murray has a rough day.

[Mike Sixel]

30 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I bet he's traded before the season starts. If KOC and the Vikings know he's bad and worse than Murray, they will not want him looming on the sidelines for the fans and media to speculate about every time Murray has a rough day.

I'm fairly sure I hated the pick. But that might be wrong.

[nicksaviking]

5 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'm fairly sure I hated the pick. But that might be wrong.

I didn't care for the player but I agreed with the pick as I felt they had to finally take a shot at a QB. And originally I thought the odds were still good that McCarthy could turn into a good QB for the Vikings.

I just hate that this team can't/won't do what it takes to shoot for one of the best QBs in the draft. I know they tried to trade up for Maye, so I suppose I should give them the benefit of the doubt that adding more to the offer still wouldn't have worked, but I don't know. Adding Addison to the deal? Adding another 1st?

Of course with this looking to be another average Vikings team, they'll still likely be looking at the 4th/5th/6th best QB in this next draft class if they stay in their draft position.

[Mike Sixel]

13 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I didn't care for the player but I agreed with the pick as I felt they had to finally take a shot at a QB. And originally I thought the odds were still good that McCarthy could turn into a good QB for the Vikings.

I just hate that this team can't/won't do what it takes to shoot for one of the best QBs in the draft. I know they tried to trade up for Maye, so I suppose I should give them the benefit of the doubt that adding more to the offer still wouldn't have worked, but I don't know. Adding Addison to the deal? Adding another 1st?

Of course with this looking to be another average Vikings team, they'll still likely be looking at the 4th/5th/6th best QB in this next draft class if they stay in their draft position.

Here is what I typed the day he was drafted.

No idea if he's going to be good, but they took a QB they believe in. That's what I wanted

[Vanimal46]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I bet he's traded before the season starts. If KOC and the Vikings know he's bad and worse than Murray, they will not want him looming on the sidelines for the fans and media to speculate about every time Murray has a rough day.

Yeah I don’t know why we’re delaying the inevitable. I can’t imagine he’s going to show anything this preseason that will move him above Murray on the depth chart. I’m not even sure JJ is better than Wentz at this stage. 

[Mike Sixel]

37 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Yeah I don’t know why we’re delaying the inevitable. I can’t imagine he’s going to show anything this preseason that will move him above Murray on the depth chart. I’m not even sure JJ is better than Wentz at this stage. 

sigh. I hate that I really didn't like him after actually watching him play. I continue to be amazed how wrong teams get this all the time (I get you have to keep trying....but still).

What would you need back to deal him? It's a PR disaster, but you can blame the previous GM.....unless he suddenly gets good elsewhere.

[nicksaviking]

28 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

sigh. I hate that I really didn't like him after actually watching him play. I continue to be amazed how wrong teams get this all the time (I get you have to keep trying....but still).

What would you need back to deal him? It's a PR disaster, but you can blame the previous GM.....unless he suddenly gets good elsewhere.

Seems fairly similar to the Purdy/Lance situation. Maybe you get a 4th for JJ?

But the coaches, GM and players would most likely see not having a (below average) QB controversy as more valuable than the draft pick.

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

sigh. I hate that I really didn't like him after actually watching him play. I continue to be amazed how wrong teams get this all the time (I get you have to keep trying....but still).

What would you need back to deal him? It's a PR disaster, but you can blame the previous GM.....unless he suddenly gets good elsewhere.

Agreed with Nick, 4th and I pull the trigger. I might even take a 6th just to move on from the situation. 

[Parfigliano]

On 8/5/2026 at 9:42 AM, nicksaviking said:

I bet he's traded before the season starts. If KOC and the Vikings know he's bad and worse than Murray, they will not want him looming on the sidelines for the fans and media to speculate about every time Murray has a rough day.

Injured and when not ineffective.  What could they even get for him?

[TheLeviathan]

I get the JJ feels...but Murray sucks right now too.

[Mike Sixel]

8 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

I get the JJ feels...but Murray sucks right now too.

Gonna be a lot of low scoring games.

[nicksaviking]

I think the offense will be fine. Maybe not elite, but they'll move the ball. I presume everyone here thinks Murray is better than Wentz? The Vikings averaged 24 point a game last year under Wentz even with that San Diego sack-fest debacle. And that included playing the excellent Browns and Eagles defenses too.

And during that non-McCarthy stretch, Jefferson was on pace for 115 catches on 170 targets for 1600 yards. So at minimum, I'm looking forward to the return of the original JJ.

[Danchat]

10 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

The Vikings averaged 24 point a game last year under Wentz even with that San Diego sack-fest debacle. And that included playing the excellent Browns and Eagles defenses too.

Picking nits here, but most of that came from the 48 point game against a decrepit Bengals team, they didn't cross 22 points in any other game with Wentz. Not to mention Isaiah Rodgers accounted for 14 of those 48 points on defense. That might go into why Wentz didn't get a QB2 deal out on the free agent market.

12 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

And during that non-McCarthy stretch, Jefferson was on pace for 115 catches on 170 targets for 1600 yards. So at minimum, I'm looking forward to the return of the original JJ.

Kyler has a history of feeding his top receiver plenty of targets, so I think it's safe to say Jefferson will rebound.

[TheLeviathan]

7 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I think the offense will be fine. Maybe not elite, but they'll move the ball. I presume everyone here thinks Murray is better than Wentz? The Vikings averaged 24 point a game last year under Wentz even with that San Diego sack-fest debacle. And that included playing the excellent Browns and Eagles defenses too.

And during that non-McCarthy stretch, Jefferson was on pace for 115 catches on 170 targets for 1600 yards. So at minimum, I'm looking forward to the return of the original JJ.

Clearing the Wentz bar isn't much of a statement.  That said...I'm a Murray skeptic.  I'm not sold on this path at all.

[Mike Sixel]

19 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Clearing the Wentz bar isn't much of a statement.  That said...I'm a Murray skeptic.  I'm not sold on this path at all.

11-6 and good luck getting a QB......

[nicksaviking]

16 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

Clearing the Wentz bar isn't much of a statement.  That said...I'm a Murray skeptic.  I'm not sold on this path at all.

Agreed. I was just trying to suggest this offense seems to still be at least somewhat functional with even the bare minimum at QB.

 

[TheLeviathan]

Just now, nicksaviking said:

Agreed. I was just trying to suggest this offense seems to still be at least somewhat functional with even the bare minimum at QB.

 

Don't underestimate Murray's ability to be hurt or awful.