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Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Saints Hosting Nick Easton, Vikings Still Interested

March 14th, 2019 at 5:49pm CST by Micah Powell

Free agent offensive lineman Nick Easton visited with the Saints on Thursday, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. A return to the Vikings, however, is not out of the question and the team still has interest in retaining his services, Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune tweets.

After starting 12 games with the Vikings in 2017, Easton suffered a season-ending injury when he fractured his ankle in late December. He signed a one-year restricted free-agent deal with the team in hopes of signing a long-term deal the following offseason. However, the Harvard product missed the entire 2018 season after having surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck in August.

Although he has seen time at center, left guard, and right guard, he was slated to be the team’s top LG in 2018. Kramer adds that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman says Easton fits the athletic type that team is looking for along the line.

Coming back from back-to-back season-ending injuries, Easton would likely serve as depth no matter where he signs.

Vikings To Keep Everson Griffen

March 14th, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings and pass-rusher Everson Griffen have struck a deal for him to remain on the team, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Griffen was set to have his $10.9MM salary fully guaranteed by tomorrow, which gave the Vikings pause. Instead, the two sides negotiated to find a workaround.

Griffen will accept a base salary cut from $10.9MM to $6.4MM in a move that will create $4.3MM in savings for the Vikings, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. However, his per-game roster bonus total will rise from $500K to $1.5MM, so he can make up some of that loss simply by staying on the field. Additionally, Griffen — who is currently under contract through 2022 — now has the ability to void the final three years of his pact by achieving incentives.

In order to void those seasons, Griffen must post six sacks while playing at least 56% of the Vikings’ snaps in 2019, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. Griffen can also collect $500K by producing eight sacks next year.

After a bevy of extensions in recent years, plus the massive free agent deal signed by Kirk Cousins last year, the Vikings are in a tough cap situation. Griffen, 31, signed a new deal with Minnesota just a couple of years ago, but releasing him would have saved them upwards of $10MM in cap space.

Last year, Griffen missed five games as he dealt with personal issues. Without confidence in Griffen’s status, the Vikings were unwilling to move forward under the previous terms of the deal, which runs through 2022.

But when he’s right, Griffen is excellent. Even in a 2018 season that saw him deal with apparently significant off-field matters, Griffen posted 5.5 sacks and graded out as an above-average edge defender.

After surprisingly re-signing Anthony Barr and finding a way to keep Griffen in the fold, the Vikings are bringing back all of their top defenders for at least one more season as they attempt to rebound from a disappointing 2018 campaign.

Contract Details: Thomas, Barr, Peterson

March 13th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted contract details from the around the NFL:

Vikings Receiving Trade Interest On CB Trae Waynes

March 13th, 2019 at 4:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings are fielding calls from clubs with interest in trading for cornerback Trae Waynes, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Waynes is scheduled to earn $9.069MM in 2019 under the terms of his fifth-year option. Now that he’s made it to the 2019 league year while still on the Vikings’ roster, Waynes will see that total become fully guaranteed. As such, he’s in no danger of being released, but it seems possible that could be dealt.

Waynes, the 11th overall pick in the 2015 draft, has become a full-time starter over the past two seasons, but it’s difficult to say he’s lived up to his draft billing. However, he’s been a serviceable corner, and Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 49 CB among 112 qualifiers last year. Football Outsiders charted Waynes as 27th in success rate and 37th in yards allowed per pass attempt.

Speculatively, Minnesota may believe it can reap draft pick compensation in a year in which the free agent market isn’t exactly overloaded with available options (Justin Coleman has secured the largest free agent total at $36MM). Additionally, the 2019 draft isn’t believed to be full of top-end cornerback talent, so Waynes should hold some appeal around the NFL.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/19

March 13th, 2019 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Here is the latest news involving restricted free agents and exclusive-rights free agents, with updates coming throughout the day:

ERFA

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

RFA

Tendered at second-round level: 

Tendered at original-round level:

Non-tendered: 

Contract Details: Joyner, Titans, Rams, Hart

March 12th, 2019 at 4:14pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts from around the NFL. Twitter links courtesy of Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, unless otherwise noted.

Lions To Re-Sign RB Zach Zenner

March 12th, 2019 at 1:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Zach Zenner is back. On Tuesday, the running back agreed to a new deal with the Lions, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. It’s a one-year agreement, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.

Zenner enjoyed the best season of his career in 2016 when he ran for 334 yards and four touchdowns off of 88 carries. He also added 18 catches for 196 yards. All of those numbers stand as career highs for the former UDFA out of South Dakota State.

Last year, Zenner played a much smaller role with 55 carries for 265 yards and three touchdowns. However, his yards per carry average of 4.8 yards per tote was strong and represents a career high (albeit, one with a limited sample size).

Before re-upping with Detroit, the Vikings expressed interest in the Eagan, Minn., native, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). Zenner could have replaced Latavius Murray after he left for the Saints, but they’ll have to go in another direction.

Everson Griffen’s Roster Spot Uncertain?

March 12th, 2019 at 12:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thought to be the high-profile member of the Vikings’ defensive core that received his money elsewhere, Anthony Barr is staying in Minnesota. The linebacker’s $13.5MM-AAV deal, however, may force another homegrown talent out.

Everson Griffen‘s deal may soon be under consideration for a restructure, but if the veteran defensive end does not agree to do so, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets it is likely Griffen will be released.

As could be expected given the bevy of extensions in recent years and the fully guaranteed contract for Kirk Cousins, the Vikings are up against the cap. Griffen, 31, and the Vikings agreed to an extension in 2017. That deal runs through 2022, but if the Vikings moved on, they would save more than $10MM in cap space.

Griffen’s stock is also not at an especially high level, given his five-game stint away from the Vikings last season. Minnesota also re-upped Danielle Hunter, who is only set for his age-25 season, last year. The Pro Bowl sack artist will be a priority to retain over Griffen. The latter, though, has played nine seasons with the Vikings and was a Pro Bowler from 2015-17. Griffen has 66.5 career sacks and would figure to generate some interest on the market.

While Rick Spielman has managed to squeeze many veterans’ high-end contracts under the cap, it appears the Vikings are not interested in bringing Griffen back on a $10.9MM salary for 2019.

Anthony Barr Cancels Jets Deal, Re-Signs With Vikings

March 12th, 2019 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

Anthony Barr won’t be signing with the Jets after all. The linebacker’s contract has been called off, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Instead, he’ll re-sign with the Vikings.

The Vikings gave Barr a five-year deal worth $67.5MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, with $33MM of this pact being guaranteed. Incentives can raise Barr’s earnings to $77MM. 

This is pretty shocking news, as the contract with New York was reported as having been a done deal last night. His deal with the Jets was reportedly going to pay Barr over $14MM annually, so it sounds like he took slightly less to stay in Minnesota.

Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News tweets that the Vikings sweetened their initial offer, which helped sway Barr to change his mind. Barr’s desire to remain in Minnesota helped make up for the slight disparity between the two proposals, Mehta adds (on Twitter).

As for the money Barr did receive, it will make him the second-highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the game. The Jets’ C.J. Mosley deal tops the list, by a considerable margin. Both of this week’s deals set a new high bar for what had been a stagnant market, with Jamie Collins‘ 2017 Browns deal being non-rush linebackers’ high-water mark for nearly two years — prior to Cleveland cutting Collins.

While it certainly caught the Jets by surprise, it might not end up being all that bad for New York. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that the Jets have taken some of the money they were going to pay Barr, and used it to make “a last and final big offer to Le’Veon Bell.”

Rapoport writes that it’s now “decision time” for Bell, as the Jets appear to have made their final offer. The Jets have been saying for months they were going to be aggressive in free agency, and they’ve certainly delivered on that promise. The Jets have been the team most consistently linked to Bell, and they seem to be the frontrunner for his services as of now.

Barr has spent his entire five-year career with the Vikings, earning four Pro Bowl nods along the way, and had always maintained that he wanted to stay a Viking. The former first-rounder had another standout season in 2018, finishing with 55 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble. The Vikings ultimately decided to pass on franchising Barr, a move that would have cost $15.9MM.

This represents another major Vikings investment in their homegrown core, with Barr joining numerous defensive starters in being signed to long-term deals. This also figures to scratch a possible move to more of an edge-rushing role. The Jets were planning to incorporate more of Barr’s college-years edge work into their scheme, but with the Vikings, the five-year veteran has consistently worked as an off-ball linebacker. It appears he is comfortable in this role and will not be leaving the Twin Cities.

Vikings To Bring Back DT Shamar Stephen

March 11th, 2019 at 7:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shamar Stephen spent the 2018 season with the Seahawks but will return to the Vikings next season. The free agent defensive tackle will sign a three-year deal with Minnesota, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.

The Seahawks used Stephen as a starter for most of their playoff-qualifying campaign. Stephen was a full-time starter for the 2016 Vikings but was used as a backup prior to his free agency defection.

This move may be a more cost-effective option than retaining Sheldon Richardson, but it’s not certain the high-profile interior defender is out of the picture for the Vikings just yet. Although, Minnesota is low on cap space.

Stephen’s impending Twin Cities return will continue the Seattle-to-Minnesota defensive line pipeline. Richardson joined the Vikings in 2018, and after a short Seahawks stay, Tom Johnson returned to the Vikings after being cut last year. Johnson is also a free agent.

A seventh-round Vikings pick in 2014, Stephen registered a career-high two sacks last season. He played 538 snaps with the Seahawks, grading as Pro Football Focus’ No. 98 overall interior defender in 2018.

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