OL Jeremiah Sirles To Visit Panthers
Jeremiah Sirles has his first (reported) visit. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the offensive guard is set to meet with the Panthers on Monday.
We heard earlier this month that the Vikings weren’t going to tender the former undrafted free agent out of Nebraska, making him a free agent. Previous reports indicated that the Vikings could retain on the lineman on a lesser deal.
Sirles has played mostly at guard throughout his career, but he made ten starts at right tackle for the Vikings in 2016. Categorized as a tackle by Pro Football Focus, Sirles was ranked No. 48 at the position with a poor 45.2 overall score. The 26-year-old has appeared in 28 games (14 starts) over the past two seasons.
The Panthers are currently rostering a number of lineman, so Sirles would certainly have some competition for snaps should he join the organization.
Vikings Interested In Bringing Back WR Jarius Wright
Receiver Jarius Wright‘s tenure with the Vikings may not be over, after all. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets that the organization is interested in bring back the 28-year-old. The team released Wright yesterday, freeing up $2.64 MM in 
cap space (while counting towards $2.12 MM in dead money).
In 2017, the slot receiver notched 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added another six catches for 107 yards in two postseason games. Drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2012, Wright logged 153 receptions for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Wright was a solid contributor with the Vikings and earned a 75.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. If Wright does return to Minnesota, he’ll likely regain his spot on the depth chart behind Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Laquon Treadwell.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claim: LB Jeremy Cash
- Waived: DT Josh Mauro
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed: OT Zach Banner
Chicago Bears
- Signed: QB Tyler Bray
- Re-signed: TE Daniel Brown
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: LB Lerentee McCray
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: DT Dylan Bradley
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: P Colby Wadman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Cameron Lynch
Vikings Cut WR Jarius Wright
The Vikings continued their offensive reshuffling on Friday, announcing the release of sixth-year wideout Jarius Wright (Twitter link). According to Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, part of the timing with the move is to allow the receiver time to find another team (Twitter link).
The move helps free up cap space to allow the Vikings to sign the likes of Kirk Cousins and Sheldon Richardson. Wright was due a $3.6 MM base salary in 2018, and the move frees up $2.64 MM in cap space. He will count $2.12 MM in dead money.
In 2017, the slot receiver notched 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added another six catches for 107 yards in two postseason games. Drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2012, Wright logged 153 receptions for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Wright was a solid contributor with the Vikings and earned a 75.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.
Vikings Sign Sheldon Richardson
The Vikings have now landed premier free agents on both sides of the ball. Sheldon Richardson has agreed to a one-year deal with Minnesota, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Richardson’s deal includes an $8MM base salary and $3MM more in available incentives.
The Vikings were the only team known to have met with Richardson and it didn’t take long for a deal to come together. The Vikings wined and dined Richardson a bit on Friday and pitched him with new quarterback Kirk Cousins in tow.
The Vikings used much of their cap space on Cousins, but they still had enough left to sign one of the most talented defensive linemen in this year’s free agent crop, thanks in part to the restructuring of Latavius Murray‘s deal. The 27-year-old (28 in November) had just one sack last season, but the advanced metrics showed that he was still starting caliber, even in a down year.
Richardson did his best work with the Jets, particularly in 2014 when he racked up eight sacks. His production was a bit up-and-down as he was moved at times from defensive tackle to the outside and even to linebacker, but he was a consistent threat.
Richardson, presumably, was after a multi-year deal, but the one-year pact with Minnesota will give him a chance to rebuild his value and potentially cash in next March. He joins an already stacked Vikings D and will pair with Linval Joseph in the middle. Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen will serve as the starting bookends with Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, and Ben Gedeon filling out the front seven.
The Seahawks have now lost two high-profile defensive linemen in Richardson and Michael Bennett (via trade with the Eagles), but Richardson’s departure should at least net them some return in compensatory picks.
[RELATED: Vikings Depth Chart]
Seahawks Interested In DT Tom Johnson
Vikings free agent defensive tackle Tom Johnson is scheduled to meet with the Seahawks on Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Johnson reportedly also has drawn interest from the Raiders and Bills. 
The Vikings are trying to hammer out a deal with Seahawks free agent Sheldon Richardson, but it has been said that they would like to retain Johnson as well. The Vikings and Johnson might not see eye-to-eye on his value, however. Johnson asked for a one-year, $4MM extension last season, but the Vikings refused. If Johnson can get an equivalent deal elsewhere, he might be a goner.
The Seahawks would like to keep Richardson, but it appears that they will not be able to keep up with the outside bidding for him. Johnson can help fill that void, though he can’t personally replace his production.
Johnson has 16 sacks to his credit over the last four seasons. He’ll celebrate his 34th birthday in August, so he’s probably looking at a one-year deal.
Vikings Restructure RB Latavius Murray’s Deal
The Vikings have restructured the contract of running back Latavius Murray, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Murray agreed to a reduced base salary for 2018, though his salary is guaranteed, according to Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the last year of his contract was wiped out. He is now due to be a free agent in 2019.
In 16 games (11 starts), the 28-year-old ultimately finished the campaign with 842 yards and eight touchdowns on 216 carries (3.9 yards per carry). Pro Football Focus ranked Murray 26th among 58 eligible running backs. The former sixth-round pick has proven to be reliable in the red zone, as he rushed for 12 touchdowns with the Raiders in 2016.
The adjustment helped Minnesota clear some cash in order to sign Sheldon Richardson.
Agent: Kirk Cousins Had Better Offer
Kirk Cousins made history when he inked a three-year, fully-guaranteed $84MM contract with the Vikings. However, it sounds like the quarterback may have left some money on the table. Agent Mike McCartney told Chad Graff of The Athletic that Cousins didn’t take the best deal before signing with Minnesota.
“We didn’t take the best offer,” McCartney said (via Twitter). “Not even close.”
It’s unknown who Cousins specifically rejected. The Jets, Cardinals, and Broncos had all expressed interest in the quarterback. Considering New York’s cap space, it’s easy to assume that the Jets may have had the highest offer on the table, but that’s just my speculation.
The $28MM annual salary for Cousins was a bit shy of what we expected, but the guaranteed money ultimately proved to be unprecedented. Our own Zach Links had previously speculated that Cousins could have had better offers on the table, but surmised that he leaned towards the Vikings since they would give him an opportunity to win right away.
The 29-year-old Cousins finished last season having completed 64.3-percent of his passes for 4,093 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
Vikings Officially Sign Kirk Cousins
The worst kept secret in football is no longer a secret. The Vikings have officially inked quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year, fully guaranteed deal. 
Cousins now takes the reins of a Vikings team that came one win away from a Super Bowl appearance. Last year, Case Keenum transformed from an NFL afterthought to a legitimate NFL starter. Cousins comes in with a much stronger resume and, frankly, a sharper skillset.
Cousins’ three-year contract is worth a reported $84MM. The $28MM average annual value is less than anyone expected, but the deal is revolutionary in that it is 100% guaranteed. Cousins’ deal figures to shape the future deals of other quarterbacks, including upcoming extension talks for Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, and other star signal callers.
There were plenty of clubs interested in Cousins – including the Jets, Cardinals, and Broncos – but Minnesota wound up being Cousins’ first and only free agent visit. The Jets had the most cap room of the bunch to work with, by far, but Cousins apparently valued the opportunity to win right away with the Vikings. The Jets wound up going to their Plan B by re-signing Josh McCown and adding Teddy Bridgewater. The Cardinals inked Sam Bradford to a short-term deal that will cost less than Cousins’ deal, but is still fairly hefty with $20MM coming to him in 2018. The Broncos, meanwhile, were the first of the group to sign a QB by inking Keenum.
[RELATED: Vikings Depth Chart]
Sheldon Richardson To Visit Vikings
The Vikings’ reported Sheldon Richardson interest turned out to be very real. They are bringing the UFA defensive lineman in for a visit on Thursday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (on Twitter).
This is the first known visit for Richardson, who is one of the best players still on the market. And the Vikings have a need at defensive tackle. Linval Joseph‘s 2017 running mate, Tom Johnson, is also a free agent and will be 34 this year.
Richardson, 27, is entering his sixth year and should be a costly free agent. The 2013 defensive rookie of the year graded as the No. 27 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus, last season. He wasn’t able to make the kind of statistical impact in Seattle that he did during some of his best Jets seasons, registering just one sack, but he would stand to be an upgrade for a Vikings team that’s shown it’s ready to make the payments necessary to put itself in top Super Bowl position.
Minnesota technically still has $50MM in cap space, but once the expected Kirk Cousins deal is finalized, that number will shrink dramatically. But the Vikings did not have many needs coming into this offseason. And adding Cousins and Richardson would stand to improve one of the league’s best rosters.