Today’s tender decisions from around the NFL:
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The Vikings have found their replacement for Patrick Peterson. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Vikings are finalizing a deal with cornerback Byron Murphy.
[RELATED: Steelers To Sign CB Patrick Peterson]
Murphy is inking a two-year deal, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). Minnesota will pick up Arizona’s No. 1 corner of the past two seasons on just a two-year, $17.5MM deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.
Going into his age-25 season, the fifth-year defender will see $12.5MM guaranteed. The deal includes $2MM in playing time and Pro Bowl incentives. Of Murphy’s 2024 salary, $4.5MM is already guaranteed for injury. That shifts to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2024 league year, per Wilson, giving the Vikings some options.
The former second-round pick emerged as one of Arizona’s most dependable defenders in recent years. The defensive back started only half of his games during his sophomore campaign but rebounded nicely in 2021, starting all 16 of his appearances and finishing the season with a team-leading four interceptions and 12 passes defended.
Murphy had a firm hold on the starting gig heading into the 2022 campaign. He started the first nine games for the Cardinals, compiling 36 tackles and four passes defended. A back injury forced him off the field for the second half of the season, and he was ultimately placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Despite the injury, Murphy still showed more than enough to establish himself as one of the top CBs available in free agency. While Pro Football Focus has generally graded Murphy as a slightly above-average cornerback, the site has always been fond of his run-stopping ability.
Murphy will fill in the void left by Peterson, who ended up signing with the Steelers. Peterson expressed an interest in re-signing with Minnesota, but it’s uncertain if the interest was reciprocated. With Peterson entering his age-33 season, it’s feasible that the organization preferred the 25-year-old Murphy.
Greg Joseph struggled at points early last season, but after submitting a better second half, he is on track to remain the Vikings’ kicker. Joseph is re-signing with Minnesota, per his agent (on Twitter). The one-year pact has a base value of $2MM and offers an extra $500K in incentives, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (on Twitter).
Joseph bounced around the league a bit before finding a home in Minnesota prior to the 2021 campaign. The kicker connected on 86.8 percent of his field goal attempts and 36 of his 40 extra point tries during his first season in Minny, but he took a step back in 2022.
The 28-year-old struggled a bit this past year, missing seven of his 33 field goal attempts (although six of those misses came from beyond 50 yards). He also missed six of his 46 XP tries, leading to some questions about his future with the organization. Ultimately, it sounds like the front office is willing to give him another go for at least the 2023 campaign, although it wouldn’t be surprising if the Vikings bring in some competition.
The Vikings are also bringing back their All-Pro long snapper, Andrew DePaola, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The veteran has been hanging around the NFL since 2014, and he’s spent the past three years with the Vikings. After getting into all 17 games for Minnesota in 2022, DePaola earned his first career All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod.
The Vikings will have continuity in the middle of their offensive line for the next few seasons. Minnesota has reached an agreement to retain center Garrett Bradbury, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). His colleague Ian Rapoport tweets that the new deal is worth $15.75MM over three years. 
[RELATED: Vikings To Retain QB Nick Mullens]
Bradbury entered the league with considerable expectations, after he was drafted in the first round following a strong college career. His level of play early in his NFL tenure, however, left plenty to be desired and left his Minnesota future very much in doubt. The team declined his fifth-year option last spring, which would have made him a free agent tomorrow in the absence of this new deal.
The 27-year-old has been a full-time starter throughout his career, one which saw him earn consistent but underwhelming PFF grades for three straight seasons. He took a step forward in that regard in 2022, though, generating an overall rating above 70 for the first time. Overall, he ranked 11th in the league amongst qualified centers, giving the team optimism that his ascent will continue.
The NC State product made it clear on multiple occasions that his desire was to remain with the Vikings. He will now get his wish, and give the team a familiar face at the position at a reasonable AAV, compared to other, generally older, options at the position around the league. Retaining Bradbury marks a more long-term commitment on the Vikings’ part than the one currently in place with their starting quarterback.
Signs are pointing to Kirk Cousins playing out the final year of his current contract in the absence of an extension. That will no doubt lead to speculation about the team’s plans under center, but regardless of who is in place at the quarterback position for the short-term future, Bradbury will be a constant on the offensive line.
The Vikings saw some notable departures on defense yesterday, but they will see continuity under center in 2023. Minnesota is expected to re-sign backup quarterback Nick Mullens, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
Mullens spent last season in Minnesota but arrived in the Twin Cities after initially committing to a Las Vegas stay. The Raiders ended up trading him to the Vikings, where he spent the season as Kirk Cousins‘ backup. The latter’s durability led to Mullens riding the bench throughout, after he had seen some action as a Browns reserve in 2021.
The team’s Mullens acquisition preceded a trade of 2021 third-round pick Kellen Mond, who spent the season in Cleveland. Mullens, 27, completed 21 of 25 passes during his initial Vikings season, which ended Sean Mannion‘s run as Cousins’ backup. Minnesota also released Mannion just before Week 1.
Best known for his work as a Jimmy Garoppolo fill-in with the 49ers, Mullens has 17 starts on his resume. Sixteen of those came with San Francisco, with which he sported a 25-to-22 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio. Kyle Shanahan turned to Mullens, despite the presence of former third-round pick C.J. Beathard, frequently in 2018 and 2020 — as Garoppolo dealt with multiple major injuries — and he completed 64% of his passes during the three-season Bay Area stay.
Mullens profiles as an inexpensive backup. While the Vikings could certainly land a higher-profile QB2 option on a crowded market here, Cousins has not missed a game due to injury during his five-season run in Minneapolis.
After getting waived by the Vikings earlier this week, Cameron Dantzler has found a new home. The defensive back has been claimed off waivers by the Commanders, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).
The 2020 third-round pick has a year remaining on his rookie contract. The cash-strapped Vikings created about $2.7MM by moving on from the defensive back, and Washington will inherit his $2.9MM cap hit.
Dantzler has found himself in and out of the starting lineup during his three seasons in Minnesota, starting 26 of his 35 appearances. Pro Football Focus graded Dantzler outside the top-60 at corner this past year, but the Vikings continued to rely on him despite the selection of Andrew Booth in the second round. Booth eventually suffered a season-ending injury, but he was unable to overtake Dantzler before the setback.
Dantzler also spent time on injured reserve last season with a high ankle sprain. His lack of production and Minnesota’s lack of cap flexibility ultimately made him a cap casualty, even with the Vikings losing a whole lot of depth at the position.
The Commanders will hope they can get more out of the defensive back during the 2023 season, and Dantzler will have one season to audition for his new squad before hitting free agency next offseason.
Josh Oliver‘s run-blocking ability will secure him a nice payday. The Vikings plan to sign the former Ravens tight end, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Oliver agreed to a three-year, $21MM Minnesota deal, one that Garafolo notes comes with $10.75MM guaranteed. Incentives could bump the contract up to $24MM. This represents a big commitment to the tight end position for the Vikings, who traded for T.J. Hockenson at the deadline last year.
Pro Football Focus graded Oliver as the NFL’s second-best run-blocking tight end in 2022, behind only fellow Raven Isaiah Likely. Oliver will now have a chance to supplement Hockenson and bolster the Vikings’ ground game. While the Vikings won’t be overly reliant on their acquisition in the passing game, it’s worth noting that Oliver finished the 2022 season with a career-high 14 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The 25-year-old tight end was a third-round pick by the Jaguars in 2019. He spent two seasons in Jacksonville before getting traded to Baltimore in 2021.
While Oliver started nine of his 17 appearances for Baltimore last season, the Ravens won’t miss him too much considering their depth at the position. Likely can easily fill in for Oliver’s blocking role, and the 2022 fourth-round pick also had more offensive upside as a pass-catching backup to Pro Bowler Mark Andrews.
As we prepare for the madness of free agency at the opening of the new league year, the Vikings are also attempting to keep their quarterback off of the free agent market for next year. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, it’s looking more and more likely that Kirk Cousins will be testing free agency a year from now. 
A year ago, the Vikings ensured they would have Cousins under contract through the 2023 season by extending his existing two-year deal an additional season. In each of the two years of that original deal, Cousins held a cap hit of just over $31MM. The additional season sees him once again with an egregious cap hit of $36.25MM.
With those hefty hits on the salary cap, the Vikings are attempting to work with Cousins to figure out an extension that could benefit both parties, earning Cousins a payday while relieving some of the cap pressure on the team. Garafolo’s reports indicates that, as of right now, no deal appears to be imminent.
The team is working with a soft deadline by which they would prefer to have an extension done. Cousins’s current contract includes a 2023 roster bonus of $20MM that becomes guaranteed this week. He’ll be paid $15MM of the bonus next week with the remaining $5MM to be paid out in September. The existing deal also holds two automatically voided years that carry $18.75MM of cap hits into 2024 and 2025.
With no momentum towards a new deal getting done, it’s looking like Cousins intends to play out the last year of his contract, flirting with the idea of free agency this time next year. Minnesota will likely continue to try to work something out, as they are currently near the bottom of the league in cap space for the 2023 season. A failure to reach a new extension with Cousins will make things difficult for the Vikings as we approach the start of free agency.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently stopped short of guaranteeing that RB Dalvin Cook would be back with the team in 2023, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com says multiple clubs believe Minnesota has entertained trade discussions on the four-time Pro Bowler (subscription required).
Cook, 27, is under club control through 2025 thanks to the five-year, $63MM extension he signed in September 2020. That accord makes him the fourth-highest-paid RB in the league in terms of AAV, but his production has justified the splurge on a generally devalued position. Over the past four seasons, which all culminated in Pro Bowl acclaim, the Florida State product has averaged 1,256 rushing yards per year while maintaining a YPC rate over 4.6. He has also added roughly 350 receiving yards per season, and he amassed 30 total touchdowns across the 2019-20 campaigns.
On the other hand, the Vikings are in a difficult salary cap situation despite the recent cuts of Cameron Dantzler, Adam Thielen, and Eric Kendricks, and trading Cook would result in a cap savings of nearly $8MM (though it would also come with a dead cap charge of over $6MM). Plus, Cook’s YPC dropped to 4.4 in 2022, which is a solid mark but which nonetheless represents the lowest single-season average of his career. He did suit up for all 18 of Minnesota’s games in 2022 — the first time he ever enjoyed perfect attendance — though he typically misses at least some time due to injury and could be sidelined for much, if not all, of the offseason program and training camp due to shoulder surgery.
Longtime Cook backup, Alexander Mattison, is eligible for free agency for the first time in his career. As Fowler notes, Mattison is in line for a role as a full-time starter somewhere, and that might just be in Minnesota. The 2019 third-rounder would doubtlessly be much less expensive than Cook, but he has shown promise as an understudy and is obviously already familiar with the team’s offense. Fowler reports that the Vikes are indeed attempting to re-sign Mattison.
Cook is the second high-profile, well-compensated back whose name has surfaced in recent trade rumors. Last week, we heard that the Titans were shopping Derrick Henry, though a subsequent report suggested otherwise.
9:05pm: In the aftermath of Beckham’s workout, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the three-time Pro Bowler is seeking a deal worth up to $20MM per season, as was the case at one point during the 2022 campaign. His injury absence makes that ask one which is highly unlikely to be met, though the attendance at yesterday’s showing points to a number of suitors still being keenly interested in signing him.
1:38pm: The rare free agent to skip a season and still be expected to generate extensive interest on the following year’s market, Odell Beckham Jr. is believed to be fully recovered from the ACL tear that altered his 2022 hopes.
Beckham is now 100%, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. He attempted to showcase that form in a workout attended by nearly half the league. OBJ did not work out for teams during his late-season push to land a multiyear deal — evidently contingent upon a playoff-only role with a contender last season — but he attracted a nice audience Friday.
Twelve to 14 teams attended the workout, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. Representatives from the 49ers, Bills, Browns, Cardinals, Chiefs, Giants, Jets, Panthers, Patriots, Rams, Ravens and Vikings were at the event, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes (Twitter links). Perhaps the most notable Beckham suitor, the Cowboys, were not believed to be one of the teams observing Beckham’s form.
The Cowboys certainly should not be described as out of the Beckham mix, and the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins notes the team remains comfortable signing the eight-year veteran if his health and price demands are right (Twitter link). They are widely expected to revisit the pursuit they scrapped in December. The Rams and Giants are also among the teams expected to go after OBJ again. Sean McVay confirmed, via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, the Rams are “absolutely” monitoring their former receiver. Before falling out of contention, the Rams were viewed as the favorites to land him last year. But Beckham’s knee ended up needing more time to heal.
Beckham, 30, missing last season means he can sign with a team at any point. Though, every unrestricted free agent wideout can begin talking to teams at 3pm CT Monday, when the legal tampering period starts. The former Giants, Browns and Rams pass catcher is now nearly 13 months removed from his second ACL tear. He returned to action 10 months after his first and ended up making an impact for the Rams, a stretch that concluded with a Super Bowl LVI touchdown.
This year’s iffy wide receiver market should help Beckham’s value, but because of his age and the injury-induced full-season absence, this stands to be one of the more unusual free agencies for a player in recent memory.