Inside The Vikings

Ex-Vikings All-Pro LB Released After One Season With New Team

Eric Kendricks was let go by the Chargers on Tuesday.
Will Ragatz|
Ex-Vikings All-Pro LB Released After One Season With New Team
Ex-Vikings All-Pro LB Released After One Season With New Team

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Minnesota Vikings

Former Vikings All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks was released by the Chargers on Tuesday after one season with the team. He was signed to a two-year deal last offseason, but this move saves $6.5 million in cap space for Los Angeles.

Kendricks started 14 games for the Chargers in 2023, recording solid box score numbers: 117 tackles, 7 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 6 passes defended, one forced fumble. The 32-year-old also earned his best PFF grade (72.3) since the 2020 season. Despite his productive season, this move isn't too surprising when considering the cap savings for the Chargers and the presence of a new regime. Jim Harbaugh is the new head coach in LA, and he brought along Jesse Minter from Michigan to be his defensive coordinator.

Originally drafted in the second round out of UCLA in 2015, Kendricks spent his first eight seasons with the Vikings. He was a first-team All-Pro after his incredible 2019 season, and he was consistently quite good from 2016-2020 despite only making one Pro Bowl. After his play slipped a bit in 2021 and '22, the Vikings released him last spring. That move worked out just fine, as they got strong play from Jordan Hicks and rookie Ivan Pace Jr. at inside linebacker last season.

Hicks is now a free agent — as are Troy Dye, Anthony Barr, and Nick Vigil — but a reunion with Kendricks in Minnesota seems unlikely. If the Vikings are going to sign a veteran LB, they'd presumably just bring back Hicks for another year or two to play alongside Pace. Brian Asamoah II could also be a factor in his third season if he takes a big step forwards.

Even at 32, Kendricks should still have a solid market to go compete for a starting job somewhere.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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