Minnesota Vikings disappoint once again in ‘24-‘25. What now?

U.S. Bank Stadium erupted as Cam Akers held onto the third down pass from Sam Darnold to seal the win against the Packers in Week 17, 27-25. Since I was sitting a couple stories up from where that final play happened, I was overly nervous for the majority of the fourth quarter as the Vikings’ lead slowly dwindled away. Eventually, they held on in the end. Maybe, just maybe, this team was different, I thought to myself. Well, I was wrong. After two heartbreaking losses to end the season, the Vikings are facing one of the most pivotal offseasons in recent memory. Many of the question marks are surrounding the most important position in football: quarterback. However, the Vikings have several significant holes across the roster that will need to be addressed in free agency or the draft.

First, the Vikings need to have money to be able to sign new players and retain current players without contracts. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), the Vikings are sixth in the NFL with 70,527,543 dollars of cap space. This gives them plenty of flexibility in who they want to pursue in free agency.

Everything in today’s NFL revolves around the quarterback position. Darnold had a great year and a career year for himself. It was wonderful to see someone who had such little success elsewhere lead his team to 14 wins. However, as fun as it was, the Vikings should not re-sign Darnold. The price tag that he will carry will likely be north of 35 million per year and with the young, 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy seemingly ready to take the field in 2025, it is important to spend the resources available on pieces to help McCarthy succeed.

There are many ways to help McCarthy this offseason. For the sake of this article, I decided to focus on four positions: interior defensive line, defensive back, interior offensive line and running back.

Let’s start with the defensive positions. The only significant interior defensive lineman the Vikings have currently signed is Harrison Phillips. Getting more pressure on the quarterback from the middle of the line would be beneficial for Brian Flores’ defense. Some free agents they could look to sign would be Milton Williams from the Philadelphia Eagles, Osa Odighizuwa from the Dallas Cowboys and Levi Onwuzurike from the Detroit Lions.

Vikings legend and should be Hall of Famer Harrison Smith is not currently signed for the 2025 season, as is fellow safety and dance coordinator Cam Bynum. The starting three cornerbacks for the Vikings this season are also without contracts. While I would expect the Vikings to try to re-sign one of those players, Byron Murphy Jr., I would not rule out all of them finding new homes in 2025.

A safety I would like to see the Vikings add would be Jevon Holland. A former draft pick during Brain Flores’ tenure with the Miami Dolphins, Holland is the number one free-agent safety on PFF’s free agent list. A few corners I could see them adding would be D.J. Reed from the New York Jets or Charvarius Ward from the San Francisco 49ers.

As for the offensive line, finding stability at both guard spots should be the number one priority for this team in the offseason. The three-man combo of Blake Brandel, Ed Ingram and Dalton Risner did not do well enough to justify any of them starting next season. A few guards available that would make sense for the Vikings would be Will Fries from the Indianapolis Colts, Teven Jenkins from the Chicago Bears, and Mekhi Becton from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Running back will be crucial so that all the offensive pressure is not under J.J. McCarthy to perform perfectly. The Vikings could re-sign Aaron Jones, who had a good season, to a short-term deal, but I would like to see them go elsewhere based on how much Jones’ contract would cost. A free agent running back I could see the Vikings signing would be Najee Harris from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, all these positions could also be fixed through the picks the Vikings possess in the draft. While they only have four picks currently, the Vikings’ first round pick could provide a difference maker at one of these positions. A few players that could be available at the Vikings selection, pick 24, would be interior defensive lineman Walter Nolen from Ole Miss, running back Kaleb Johnson from Iowa, safety Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina or cornerback Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame.

Whatever the Vikings decide to do this offseason, I will be excited to see what moves they make. However, in my opinion, one move needs to be made for sure: Sam Darnold should not be re-signed. It is McCarthy time in Minnesota.