Vikings Week One Free Agency Recap

Needless to say, the past four days in the NFL have been absolutely hectic. With players signing at all hours of the day, and contract details not being released until hours or days later, it can be tough to keep track of it all.

Well luckily, all free agency information for the Vikings after this week has been compiled here, just for you! All current Vikings, signings, departures and rumors are all gathered here, as well as a look at where the Vikings should go from here!

 Returners

Matt Cassel, QB: Two years, $10.5 million

Everson Griffen, DE: Five years, $42.5 million

Larry Dean, LB: Two years, $2 million

Joe Berger, OL: One year, $985,000

Fred Evans, DT: One year, $1 million

Jerome Simpson, WR

New Faces

Linval Joseph, DT: Five years, $31.5 million

Jasper Brinkley, LB: One year, $830,000

Captain Munnerlyn, CB: Three years, $11.25

Derek Cox, CB: One year, $570,000

Departures

John Carlson, TE – ARI: Two years, $4.65 million

Toby Gerhart, RB – JAX: Three years, $10.5 million

Chris Cook, CB - SF

Interested in

Henry Melton, DT

Vlad Ducasse, OL

Daryn Colledge, OG
Larod Stephens-Howling, RB

Vikings Still out There

Jared Allen, DE

Desmond Bishop, LB

Greg Childs, WR

Josh Freeman, QB

Letroy Guion, DT

Erin Henderson, LB

Charlie Johnson, OG

Marvin Mitchell, LB

Seth Olsen, OL

J’Marcus Webb, OT

Joe Webb, WR

Kevin Williams, DT

Vikings Remaining Cap Space: $15.47 million

Note: All contract figures are courtesy of spottrac.com. Contracts that have been agreed to but who have not made their terms available (Simpson), do not show up in  their figures

When all their remaining contracts are added to the books, the Vikings will still be sitting pretty well under the cap. Don’t expect them to spend too much more though, as the team’s will save a little of their cash to try to extend Kyle Rudolph in the summer or the beginning of the season.

What the Vikings have gotten out of Week One:

While the Vikings moves haven’t received a lot of national attention, Rick Speilman and his staff have done a great job addressing the team’s biggest needs in the opening days of free agency. Matt Cassel will serve as a nice bridge option for the Vikings at quarterback, and Simpson provides solid depth at wideout. The Vikings have been searching for a nose tackle since Pat Williams left, and it appears they finally have one in the form of Linval Joseph. Fred Evans should provide nice depth behind him as well. Cornerback was arguably the team’s biggest need this offseason, and the team’s depth chart already looks a lot better with a prove nickel corner in Munnerlyn and a young player in Cox who will come in and compete for a role on the team. Finally, the team took a gamble on Everson Griffen and his potential, and it’ll be up to Griffen and Mike Zimmer to help the Vikings cash in.

What they still need to get:

The Vikings are done making major moves in free agency, according to Rick Speilman, but they’ll still be looking to add bargain players in the coming weeks. The team still has a void at left guard, which is why Daryn Colledge and Vlad Ducasse will be visiting Winter Park shortly. The team could also add a depth player on their defensive line or a backup running back before the draft begins on May 8.

For now, the Vikings look a lot better at a number of positions, and look for them to address their remaining major needs at CB, LB, DL and QB in the draft.

Of course, free agency is still far from over, and we'll be with you every step of the way! Keep coming back for all the latest Vikings news and analysis!