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Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Vikings Release Josh Kline

March 18th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have released right guard Josh Kline, according to a club announcement. The move will save the Vikes $1.57MM against the cap while leaving $4.46MM in dead money.

Kline joined the Vikings on a three-year, $15.5MM deal in 2019, with $7.25MM of that sum guaranteed. He went on to play 71.7% of the team’s regular season snaps across 13 games, missing the other three due to injuries. This season also marked the end of his consecutive starts streak – he tallied 51, up until he missed Week 4 against the Bears.

Kline, who has also spent time with the Titans and Patriots, will likely find work elsewhere at a lesser rate.

Latest On Vikings’ Everson Griffen

March 18th, 2020 at 1:44pm CST by Zachary Links

There’s still strong mutual interest between the Vikings and free agent Everson Griffen, a source close to the defensive end tells Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). However, the defensive end market is still evolving and Griffen may have to wait for younger players to set the market price for the position. 

One league source familiar with Griffen’s situation tells Tomasson that the 32-year-old could be in line for a deal worth $8MM-$10MM, plus incentives. The veteran is coming off a four-year, $58MM extension he signed with Minnesota back in 2017.

The former fourth-rounder has spent his entire career with the Vikings, earning four Pro Bowl nods in 10 seasons. This past season, Griffen finished with 41 tackles, eight sacks, and an interception.

The pass rusher hasn’t compiled fewer than 5.5 sacks since 2011, and while he’s getting up there in age, he should still find himself with a long list of suitors.

Vikings To Re-Sign QB Sean Mannion

March 18th, 2020 at 1:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sean Mannion will stay on as Kirk Cousins‘ backup. The Vikings are re-signing Mannion, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes (on Twitter).

The parties agreed on a one-year deal, Goessling tweets. This will mark the second straight offseason Mannion agreed to a one-year Minnesota pact.

For the second time in three years, Mannion saw the NFC playoff picture produce a Week 17 starting opportunity. He filled in for a resting Cousins in last year’s regular-season finale. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions against the Bears. These marked Mannion’s only pass attempts last season.

A third-round pick in 2015, Mannion stayed with the Rams for four seasons before moving on. He replaced Trevor Siemian as Cousins’ backup last year. The 27-year-old QB2 has thrown 74 career passes in five seasons and has yet to record his first regular-season touchdown pass.

Browns Exploring Trade For Vikings S Anthony Harris

March 17th, 2020 at 5:58pm CST by Ben Levine

The Browns are exploring a trade for Vikings safety Anthony Harris, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. It would take at least a third-rounder to get a deal done, “and probably a second.”

The 28-year-old was slapped with the franchise tag on Monday, but there were whispers that the Vikings were going to try to tag-and-trade the defensive back. Harris is set to make $11.44MM next season. As Cabot points out, the Browns have the ammo to get a deal done. The team currently owns one second-rounder (#41) and a pair of thirds (#74, #97).

Harris has a natural connection to Cleveland, as he played under Browns pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Jeff Howard in Minnesota. Browns head coach (and former Vikings offensive coordinator) Kevin Stefanski is also familiar with the long-time Vikings safety.

The former undrafted free agent has evolved into a starter in Minnesota, as he started a career-high 14 games in 2019. He finished the campaign with 60 tackles, 11 passes defended, and six interceptions.

Dalvin Cook, Vikings Have Talked Extension

March 17th, 2020 at 2:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A handful of running backs have landed huge new contracts in recent years, and several of those teams have come to regret those deals. It’ll be very interesting to see what the next crop of running backs get, and a good test case will be Dalvin Cook. Cook is extension eligible, and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that extension talks have taken place between Cook and the Vikings. 

Sources told Tomasson that talks will “ramp up” after free agency dies down. We heard back in January that the Vikings were prepared to keep him in the fold, and it sounds like things are starting to move in that direction. The 41st pick of the 2017 draft, Cook will be playing out the final year of his rookie deal in 2020.

The Florida State product made an instant splash as a rookie, bursting onto the scene with an impressive first few games and 122 rushing yards in his pro debut. Unfortunately his first campaign was cut short, as he tore an ACL in Week 4. In 2018 he wasn’t quite the same as he dealt with nagging hamstring injuries, carrying the ball only 133 times in 11 games.

He bounced back in a big way this past season, racking up 1,135 yards on the ground and another 519 through the air in only 14 games while scoring 13 touchdowns. The Vikings have been active this week, trading away Stefon Diggs and locking up Kirk Cousins with an extension. While they might not be looking to break the bank, it sounds like Cook is in their long-term plans.

Contract Details: JPP, Cousins, Weatherly

March 17th, 2020 at 12:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Deals are coming in quickly, so we’ve compiled some important contract details below:

Vikings Trade WR Stefon Diggs To Bills

March 16th, 2020 at 9:37pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ve got our second major wide receiver trade of the day. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reports (via Twitter) that the Vikings are trading star wideout Stefon Diggs to the Bills. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has full details on the swap (Twitter link):

  • To Minnesota: 2020 1st-round pick, 2020 5th-round pick, 2020 6th-round pick, 2021 4th-round pick
  • To Buffalo: Diggs, 2020 7th-round pick

A Diggs trade has felt inevitable for some time, as the wideout has bounced in and out of trade rumors. In fact, earlier today, the wideout hinted that “somethings going to happen” and “it’s time for a new beginning.” That led to whispers that the Seahawks and Vikings were discussing a trade. Well, after months of social media hints, it appears that the receiver finally got his wish.

During each of his five years in the NFL, Diggs has hauled in at least 50 receptions and at least 700 receiving yards. He finished the 2019 campaign with a career-high 1,130 receiving yards and six scores on 63 receptions. The 26-year-old still has four seasons remaining on his contract with a base value of $45.1MM (per ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter).

The Bills have been hunting for a big-name wide receiver to pair with quarterback Josh Allen for more than a year. Last offseason, it sounded like the team was set to acquire Antonio Brown, but the star ended up squashing that deal. Instead, the organization watched as John Brown reemerged into a 1,000-yard receiver, and Brown will team up with Diggs to form one of the top receiver duos in the league.

The Vikings will open up a chunk of cap space, which is (ironically) relevant after the team extended quarterback Kirk Cousins earlier today. The team will now move forward with Adam Thielen as their clear-cut, number-one wideout in 2020.

Earlier today, the Texans shocked the NFL when they sent star wideout DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals. In exchange, Houston received a package highlighted by running back David Johnson and a second-rounder.

Contract Details: Castonzo, Kirksey, Cousins, Jarwin

March 16th, 2020 at 3:37pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Vikings, Britton Colquitt Agree To Deal

March 16th, 2020 at 3:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings will bring back Britton Colquitt. Minnesota will re-sign its punter, per Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter).

Colquitt agreed to a three-year, $9MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He will receive $5MM guaranteed. Colquitt, 34, was a free agent so he is signed through the 2022 season.

The Browns featured Colquitt as their punter for three seasons but cut him just before the 2019 regular season, and he landed in Minnesota. He averaged 45.2 yards per punt last season. The former Broncos punter will attempt to become a long-term Viking on his latest NFL contract.

Vikings Place Second-Round Tender On LB Eric Wilson

March 16th, 2020 at 2:23pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Vikings aren’t going to let Eric Wilson get poached in free agency. Minnesota has tendered the restricted free agent at the second-round level, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).

As Tomasson notes, the second-round tender is going to be worth a little bit over $3.1MM for 2020. The move ensures that if any team signs Wilson to an offer sheet and the Vikings decline to match, they’d get that team’s second-round pick in return. Wilson has been a solid contributor the past two seasons, but it’s extremely unlikely any team would give up that kind of pick for him, so he’ll almost certainly be back in Minnesota next season.

The Cincinnati product signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent back in 2017, and mostly played on special teams as a rookie. He has since become a nice diamond in the rough find, starting ten games over the past two years and playing a big role on defense.

This past year he played around 35 percent of the defensive snaps while still playing a lot on special teams. He made six starts and racked up 62 tackles and three sacks. The original-round tender is projected to be a little over $2.1MM but since he was undrafted the Vikings wouldn’t have gotten any compensation had he left in that scenario, so they decided to pony up and pay the extra $1MM to make sure he stays put.

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