Vikings offseason resumes: 10 questions to ask yourself before training camp

Vegas residents are skeptical about this year’s Vikings.

Skeptical, or above.

Minnesota’s win total typically hovers around 6 1/2. That’s what happens when you play in an up-and-coming division, lose your starting quarterback and, frankly, have holes at a lot of positions. Those holes create uncertainty, but also, potentially, opportunity. Places to surprise. Places to potentially take advantage.

With training camp starting later this month, why not explore some of the questions that could change the odds? Here are 10 important ones:

1. Will the Vikings spend their remaining salary space?

This is perhaps the most interesting macro question regarding the Vikings right now. The Vikings have about $26 million in salary cap room for 2024, according to Over The Cap. Will they spend that money on this year’s team, roll over most of it to 2025, or… both?

Navigating both worlds is probably the safest bet. A player like Robert Woods could be cut, and the Vikings could add him via free agency on a one-year deal. Likewise, Minnesota could part ways with a player like Lewis Cine, which would mean absorbing nearly $7 million in dead money. Make those moves, and the Vikings would be mostly acting for now.

The Vikings could also keep their current roster and then roll over their available cap space to 2025. They already have about $55 million in effective salary cap space for next year. A Christian Darrisaw extension would eat into some of that capital, but the Vikings don’t have any other outrageous contract obligations.

All of which brings us back to the question: should they tap into this money now or later? If the answer lies somewhere in the middle, how chief executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah approaches this challenge will be telling.

2. Will the Vikings consider trading defensive end Lewis Cine?

I mentioned Cine in the first answer, so why not dig deeper?

His rookie contract runs through 2025. If you cut him now, the Vikings would have to pay about $7 million in dead money. Wait until after this season and Minnesota would still have to absorb about $3.5 million in dead money. Cine is, at best, the sixth safety on the depth chart and hasn’t contributed more than 50 percent of Minnesota’s special teams snaps in either of his two seasons.

So why would another team seek him out? It’s a fair question. It’s possible (though probably not likely) that another front office, one that loved Cine before the 2022 NFL Draft, would be willing to take a prospect in exchange for cap space and a trivial pick. Ultimately, the Vikings may simply have to assess the value of an extra roster spot. Taking $7 million makes sense if you have a budding rookie with potential—say, Gabriel Murphy—that you’d rather not lose.

3. Are the Vikings ready to get rid of kicker Ryan Wright?

Looking for reasons to be optimistic about Adofo-Mensah’s 2022 draft is like looking for a bald eagle in the wild: You’ll be looking for a long time. Good luck, sir.

Wright, who the Vikings signed as an undrafted free agent that year, seemed like something in his rookie season. That year, the Tulane product ranked in the top half of all punters in most categories. Last year, however, he regressed in shocking fashion, placing near the bottom among punters in nearly every meaningful metric.

Earlier this spring, the Vikings signed Seth Vernon, a Portland State product who also went undrafted in 2022. Vernon arrived ready, impressed in organized team activities and provided a genuine competition. Kevin O’Connell’s view may reflect his approach to the offensive line: The best guy wins, regardless of previous connections.

4. How many quarterbacks will the Vikings keep?

Sam Darnold and JJ McCarthy are obvious roster members, so the number starts at two.

The Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall situation is less certain. If the Vikings want an experienced veteran who could protect McCarthy in the event of Darnold getting hurt, Mullens feels it’s necessary to do so. Hall, meanwhile, has been moving the ball well this spring. He’s five years older than McCarthy (which seems almost impossible), but the Vikings like his maturity.

Perhaps Minnesota will try to keep Darnold, McCarthy and Mullens, while sliding Hall to the practice squad.

Hockenson and Van Ginkel both jogged on auxiliary practice fields during mandatory minicamp at the TCO Performance Center. Hockenson is rehabbing a torn ACL and MCL suffered in Week 16, while Van Ginkel is returning from a Lisfranc foot injury suffered in January.

O’Connell has been very open about both players. The Vikings don’t want to rush either player back and would prefer a longer period of health over a quicker return. The early parts of training camp should provide some indication of whether either player could end up on the at-risk list.

6. How comfortable is Minnesota with the depth at its third wide receiver?

The clubhouse leaders are Brandon Powell, Jalen Nailor and Trent Sherfield Sr. Is that enough?

It depends on what O’Connell wants from the position. If it’s run-blocking prowess and separation ability when opposing defenses roll coverage toward Justin Jefferson, Powell could make sense. Nailor lacks run-blocking talent (and a consistent run of health), while Sherfield isn’t a proven separator against one-on-one coverage.

Powell’s presence might be enough, but what if he gets injured? While Minnesota can rely on its tight end cap space, receiver depth is necessary. It’s increasingly difficult to imagine a world in which the Vikings don’t add an outside option at that position, either to start or to bolster depth.

.@jjmccarthy09 ➡️ @Channel__10 🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/ras0cim6Cs

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) June 7, 2024

7. Can Khyree Jackson emerge as a viable option at No. 3 cornerback?

If I had to rank the players I’d most like to watch in training camp, Jackson would be at the top. He missed a few mandatory minicamp practices due to what the team called an “illness,” which only added to the uncertainty surrounding Jackson.

If all goes well and the 6-foot-4 cornerback faces Brian Flores’ defense, who knows what his potential is? Oregon coach Dan Lanning has described Jackson as the prototypical cornerback you’d want to create in Madden.

The flip side is the player who transferred to multiple junior colleges and failed to find his footing. The Vikings need him to be the first. While they are optimistic about Mekhi Blackmon’s progression heading into his second year, the more Jackson can contribute, the better it is for the defense as a whole.

The Vikings’ coaching staff has touted Brandel for more than a year. Last September, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said, “He’s a big interior player. We like to have those big, boxy backs. We love those boxy guys.”

We’ll see in camp how much they really like “rectangle guys.” Brandel has started five career games and Risner has started 73 — if O’Connell is looking to gain experience, it’s not a fair fight. But if the Vikings are looking to gain value, Brandel could have a chance.

Ultimately, O’Connell is serious when he says the top five options will play up front. No positional battle will be as fierce as this one.

9. How will the team’s racing pattern be different from last season?

The Vikings talked nonstop about the need to run the ball more efficiently last season. The question was: How? The answer, in hindsight, seems to be the belief that the offensive line would improve, that tight end Josh Oliver would help and that Alexander Mattison would be effective enough.

Insert a grimacing emoji.

The signing of Aaron Jones this spring offers some hope, but will his presence be enough? Or will O’Connell and his team implement new strategies? New moves? New formations, like, say, the pistol? Otherwise, it’s hard to envision a massive leap forward like last year.

10. How willing is Flores to play more man coverage?

The Miami Dolphins deployed more man coverage between 2019 and 2021 than any other team in the NFL. In fact, according to TruMedia, Flores’ teams played man coverage on more than 50% of snaps during that span.

Compare that reality to the 2023 Vikings: Minnesota ranked 23rd in the NFL in man coverage usage and played it on less than 20% of snaps. Personnel directly influenced the difference. When you have Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, you can leave your defenders on an island. The same can’t be said for Akayleb Evans, Byron Murphy Jr. and Blackmon.

The addition of Shaq Griffin should give Flores more confidence than he did in 2023, but how much? Griffin will soon be 29 and hasn’t been a consistent starter since 2021.

Flores’ willingness to fit into a more traditional defense could also depend on the Vikings’ ability to rush. Faster defenders like Jonathan Greenard, Dallas Turner and Ivan Pace Jr. can get in on the ball, meaning cornerbacks like Griffin, Murphy and Blackmon have less time to cover elite receivers.

(Photo by TJ Hockenson: Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)