EAGAN, Minn. — The free agency frenzy of 2021 will look different due to a decreased salary cap across the league, but there will be plenty of moves to track.
This Vikings 2021 free agency tracker page will serve as a one-stop shop for all official transactions made by the Vikings and will include updates and analysis on every move Minnesota makes.
We will also update the tracker with players who have been re-signed or acquired, plus players who have signed elsewhere this offseason.
Note: Vikings unrestricted free agents who sign with other clubs will only be updated here after the transactions are announced by the respective clubs.
Unrestricted Free Agents
LB Todd Davis
Davis played in 11 games (with six starts) in 2020. He played 281 snaps and recorded 34 tackles (15 solo), a sack, two tackles for loss and two passes defensed. Davis is a veteran who could provide depth entering his eighth season.
S George Iloka
Iloka initially joined the team in 2018 but played just 116 defensive snaps in 16 games. He didn't play in 2019 and returned to the Vikings in 2020, only to suffer a season-ending torn ACL in October.
C Brett Jones
One of the most popular players in the Vikings locker room, Jones provides quality depth and the ability to start on occasion if needed. Teammates and coaches raved about him when he started in Weeks 11 and 12 this past season. Jones, a native of Canada, could choose to return to the Vikings based on his options in free agency.
QB Sean Mannion
Mannion just completed his second season with the Vikings as Cousins' backup, a job he filled perfectly. He was another set of eyes for Cousins on the sideline in games and earned praise from teammates and coaches his football IQ in meeting rooms. There's a chance Mannion returns in the same role he has filled the past two seasons, but the Vikings could also give younger players a look here.
Restricted Free Agents
DE Eddie Yarbrough
Yarbrough was added on a future contract at the end of the 2019 season and spent time between the practice squad and roster in 2020. He could be back with the Vikings in a developmental role under Vikings Co-Defensive Coordinator Andre Patterson.
Signed/Agreed to Terms
G Dakota Dozier
How This Helps the Vikings:
Dakota Dozier is back for his third season in Purple. He spent the past two seasons with the Vikings, including all of the 2020 season as the starting left guard. Dozier could compete for that spot again and win the starting job, or he could provide depth at both guard spots and center if he is not in the starting five. The Vikings added an interior offensive lineman, Mason Cole, last week in a trade that sent a sixth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals. Dozier is familiar with Minnesota's offensive scheme. In addition to the past two seasons in the system, Dozier also ran the scheme in 2018 with the Jets when Vikings Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Rick Dennison was also in New York.
S Xavier Woods
How this Helps the Vikings:
The Vikings may have added a starting safety next to Harrison Smith, as Woods is a key addition after Anthony Harris signed with the Eagles in free agency. A sixth-round draft pick by the Cowboys in 2017, Woods has started 48 of 60 games in the past four seasons. In that time, he's totaled 243 tackles (league stats), five interceptions, four tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, 18 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The 2020 season marked Woods' first without a pick.
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CB Mackensie Alexander
How this Helps the Vikings:
Alexander spent the first four seasons of his career in Purple but left for the Bengals via free agency a year ago and spent 2020 with Cincinnati. His return provides an important depth piece in the Vikings secondary, as well as multiple years of experience, as the 27-year-old is now the second-oldest cornerback on Minnesota's roster. Alexander is also familiar with the ins and outs of Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer's defensive scheme. Minnesota might return Alexander to the slot, which would allow 2020 first-round pick Jeff Gladney to focus on the outside opposite fellow second-year pro Cameron Dantzler and recent addition Patrick Peterson. Gladney played inside and outside for a group hard hit by injuries last season.
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RB Ameer Abdullah
How this Helps the Vikings:
Abdullah's return provides depth at running back and on special teams. Has been Minnesota's kickoff returner in two-plus seasons since arriving in 2018, and has averaged 24.6 yards per return. He's also been used as a receiving threat out of the backfield with three touchdown catches in the past two seasons. With Mike Boone now in Denver, Abdullah could occupy the No. 3 running back spot behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison.
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CB Patrick Peterson
How This Helps the Vikings:
The Vikings have made a big splash in free agency by agreeing to terms with cornerback Patrick Peterson, a move that will add an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro to the roster, pending a physical. The 30-year-old Peterson was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2010s All-Decade Team that was announced in April 2020. The addition of Peterson means Minnesota now has an experienced cornerback to help mentor youngsters such as Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Mike Hughes. Peterson's presence adds extra depth and reliability in a cornerbacks group that was hit hard by injuries in 2020. Gladney played in every game (with 15 starts) while Dantzler played in 11 with 10 starts, but both endured ups and downs in their rookie seasons. He has 28 career interceptions since 2011, which is tied with new teammate Harrison Smith for the third-most in that span.
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WR Chad Beebe
How This Helps the Vikings:
Beebe's return adds extra depth to the Vikings wide receivers and also gives the team versatile options on special teams. The former undrafted free agent battled a series of injuries over his first two seasons, tallying just six catches for 109 yards in six games. But he stayed healthy in 2020, as he played in 14 games and recorded 20 catches for 201 yards and two touchdowns. The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Beebe could also be in the mix as a punt returner in 2020. He has 16 punt returns for 88 yards (5.5 yards per return) over the past two seasons, with a long of 15 yards that occurred in 2020.
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LB Nick Vigil
How This Helps the Vikings:
Vigil adds depth to the linebackers group and on special teams. He was a 2016 third-round pick by the Bengals and spent the first four seasons of his career in Cincinnati. Vigil played three of those seasons for then-Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Geunther, who was hired as a senior defensive assistant by the Vikings in February. The linebacker spent the 2020 season with the Chargers, playing in 15 games with two starts. He will likely be asked to help shore up Minnesota's special teams, as the Vikings were among the league's worst overall units in 2020.
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DT Dalvin Tomlinson
How This Helps the Vikings:
Tomlinson is expected to team with fellow defensive tackle Michael Pierce (whose return is expected in 2021) to help boost a Vikings run defense that ranked 27th with 134.4 rushing yards allowed per game in 2020. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 318 pounds, was a 2017 second-round pick by the Giants. The 27-year-old was durable with New York, starting all 64 games in his first four pro seasons. The former Alabama standout has 207 total tackles, 8.0 sacks, five pass deflections and a forced fumble in the NFL. He tallied 3.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons and is capable of playing along the interior defensive line, potentially lining up alongside Pierce or filling in for him at nose tackle.
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T Rashod Hill
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How This Helps the Vikings:
Hill returns to the Vikings with a chance to compete for the starting job at left tackle. He has grown into a solid player in the swing tackle role since arriving in 2016 off Jacksonville's practice squad, but could be in line for a larger role depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out for the Vikings. Hill has appeared in 59 regular-season games with 17 starts in the past five seasons.
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DE Stephen Weatherly
How This Helps the Vikings:
Weatherly returns after spending the 2020 season with Carolina. A seventh-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2016, he had 6.0 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in 49 regular-season games from 2016-19. He could be a starter at defensive end, but also provides depth at that spot on a defense he knows well.
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Acquired via Trade
OL Mason Cole
How This Helps the Vikings:
Minnesota has added Mason Cole to the roster in a deal with Arizona. The Vikings sent a sixth-round pick (No. 223 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft to the Cardinals in return. The trade is pending a physical exam of Cole. He has played in 46 career games with 32 starts in three seasons since joining the Cardinals as a third-round pick in 2018. The addition of Cole provides solid depth along the interior of a Vikings offensive line that has undergone a bit of a makeover this offseason. Cole could be potentially slotted into a guard spot, a position where he has two career starts. Cole started all 16 games at center as a rookie in 2018, but then started just twice in 2019, both times at left guard. He returned to his center spot in 2020 and made 14 starts there.
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Contracts Terminated
DT Shamar Stephen
What This Means for Vikings:
Stephen spent six of the past seven seasons in Minnesota after he was a seventh-round draft pick in 2014. This move helps the Vikings add a bit more salary cap space but also means Minnesota's senior-most defensive lineman is off the roster. The 30-year-old played 83 career games in Purple (with 51 starts).
K Dan Bailey
What This Means for Vikings:
Bailey has a career success rate on field goals of 85.9 percent, but that accuracy took a hit in 2020. After making 27 of 29 field goals in 2019 (93.1 percent), he made 15 of 22 last season (68.2 percent) in 2020 as he endured a rough final month of the season. The Vikings added kicker Greg Joseph in February and will likely have a kicking competition during training camp.
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Signed with Other Teams
DE Eric Wilson (Philadelphia Eagles)
DT Jaleel Johnson (Houston Texans)
TE Kyle Rudolph (New York Giants)
What This Means for Vikings:
An impressive 10-season run with the Vikings that included 453 receptions and 48 touchdowns, which both rank fifth in franchise history, has come to a close. Minnesota saved money against the salary cap and tried to give Rudolph time to explore potential suitors before the market opens.
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S Anthony Harris (Philadelphia Eagles)
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T Riley Reiff (Cincinnati Bengals)
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RB Mike Boone (Denver Broncos)
