Vikings have more snaps entering free agency than any other NFL team

Here's the bad news: The Vikings, coming off a 14-win season, have a higher percentage of snaps (between offense and defense) entering unrestricted free agency than any other NFL team.

Here's the good news: They also have the requisite cap space to address that problem.

A chart posted by Over The Cap contributor Nick Korte shows the fascinating and somewhat unique position the Vikings find themselves in this offseason. More than 45 percent of their total non-special teams snaps in 2024 were played by pending free agents. On a basic level, that means they need to re-sign or replace nearly half of their lineup. But at the same time, they have nearly $56 million in estimated "effective cap space," the fifth-most in the league.

In other words, they have lots of moves to make — and the means to make them.

2025 Effective Cap Space vs. 2025 Snaps Entering Unrestricted Free Agency

Top left: locked in rosters that could expand
Bottom left: all in rosters for 2025
Top right: cap dollars to burn to fill looming roster holes
Bottom right: might have to let some free agents leave pic.twitter.com/Xi3Hvb2kKK
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) January 20, 2025

For a refresher, here's a look at the Vikings' 19 UFAs who played at least 100 snaps from scrimmage in the regular season, ranked by snaps:

QB Sam Darnold: 1,110
CB Byron Murphy Jr: 1,056
S Camryn Bynum: 1,028
CB Stephon Gilmore: 860
RB Aaron Jones: 700
LT Cam Robinson: 632
CB Shaq Griffin: 572
DT Jonathan Bullard: 571
DT Jerry Tillery: 467
DT Jihad Ward: 467
OLB Pat Jones II: 459
G Dalton Risner: 537
TE Johnny Mundt: 435
WR Brandon Powell: 213
RB Cam Akers: 186
LB Kamu Grugier-Hill: 182
WR Trent Sherfield: 179
CB Fabian Moreau: 103
OT David Quessenberry: 110

Eight of the top 11 are defensive players. That doesn't include Harrison Smith (1,009 snaps), who could potentially retire after 13 NFL seasons. So while there are big questions on offense at quarterback and running back, it's the defense that faces the most uncertainty, particularly in the secondary and the interior of the defensive line.

Any new or increased contributions the Vikings could get from young players would be helpful. That obviously could include J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, as well as players like CB Mekhi Blackmon, OLB Dallas Turner, S Theo Jackson, and DT Jalen Redmond, among others. They'll have a couple top-100 draft picks that could factor in the playing time mix, too.

Regardless, the Vikings will be very busy in free agency for the second consecutive spring. They may need to sign 7-10 starting-caliber players between QB, RB, CB, S, DT, and IOL. That's where having a lot of cap space will be key — which is why it simply might not make sense to pay market price to bring Darnold back. It's also worth noting that they can add quite a bit to their cap space by restructuring or extending contracts of players already on the 2025 books. That would become a necessity if they tag or re-sign Darnold.

This is going to be quite the offseason for Minnesota.

Related:

Interior offensive linemen the Vikings could target in free agency

7 defensive tackles the Vikings could target in free agency this spring

Stay up to date on all things Vikings by bookmarking Minnesota Vikings On SI, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and signing up to receive our free Vikings newsletter.