SIGNED | AGREED TO TERMS | RE-SIGNED | EXTENSIONS | TENDERED | UFAs | SIGNED ELSEWHERE | RELEASED
EAGAN, Minn. — One of the NFL's most exciting times of the year is here.
This Vikings 2022 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.
Signed
DT Jullian Taylora
- April 7: Vikings Sign DT Jullian Taylor
CB Nate Hairston
What It Means: Hairston entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft and spent his first two seasons in Indianapolis. He was traded in August 2019 to the Jets, where he spent that campaign and the beginning of the 2020 season. Hairston was released by the Jets in October 2020 and joined the Broncos, where he played all of last season. Hairston played all 16 games for Denver in 2021. In addition to contributing heavily on special teams, he totaled nine tackles and deflected four passes on defense while playing for new Vikings Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell, who held the same position with the Broncos from 2019-21.
OL Jesse Davis
What It Means: Davis has played in 80 games and started 72 of them for the Dolphins since 2017. He initially joined the NFL with Seattle as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho. Davis also spent time with the New York Jets in 2016 before joining Miami's practice squad in November of that year. The 30-year-old played all along the line with Miami, but mostly spent time on the right side. He played 1,863 snaps at right guard and 2,212 snaps at right tackle with the Dolphins.
CB Chandon Sullivan
What It Means: Another former NFC North rival has joined the Vikings. Over three seasons with the Packers, Sullivan started 20 of the 49 games he played and totaled 102 tackles, five interceptions and 16 passes defensed. Sullivan joins a young Vikings cornerbacks room currently led by Cameron Dantzler and Kris Boyd.
Agreed to Terms
G Chris Reed
What It Means: The Vikings added more depth along the interior of the offensive line in Reed, a guard who played collegiately at Minnesota State University Mankato. The 29-year-old most recently played 14 games for the Colts in 2021. He made six starts for Indianapolis. Prior to joining the Colts, Reed spent 2015-18 with the Jaguars and in 2019 split time between the Dolphins (five games) and Panthers (three games). He was on Carolina's roster for the 2020 campaign. Reed has started 29 of 61 career games.
CB Patrick Peterson
What It Means: The Vikings enter 2022 with their most experience cornerback returning to the roster. Peterson will start once again, and will also be tasked with helping younger players continue to develop. He started all 13 games he played for Minnesota in 2021, recording his lone interception in the season finale but returning it for a score. Peterson also recorded five passes defensed, along with 45 tackles (two for loss).
OLB Za'Darius Smith
What It Means: One of the Vikings biggest rivals in recent seasons has joined the squad, as Minnesota and Smith have agreed to terms on a three-year deal. Smith, a two-time Pro Bowler, spent the past three seasons in Green Bay.
The 29-year-old, who has 44.5 career sacks, has plenty of experience in a 3-4 defensive scheme. His arrival in Minnesota reunites him with Mike Smith, Minnesota's new outside linebackers coach who held that same role with the Packers from 2019-2021.
Smith played just 18 snaps in 2021 due to a back injury. Smith dealt with the injury in training camp and played in Green Bay's season opener, but didn't see the field for the rest of the season.
G/C Austin Schlottmann
What It Means: The former Denver Bronco (2018-21) is joining Minnesota with 42 career games of NFL experience, including seven starts since first taking the field in 2019. Schlottmann will join a room led by new offensive line coach Chris Kuper and assistant offensive line coach Justin Rascati, reuniting with the former Broncos assistants who have coached him the past three seasons.
DT Harrison Phillips
What It Means: The Vikings added some beef on the interior of their defensive line in Phillips, who essentially will file the role held by Michael Pierce, who was released earlier this week. Phillips is joining Minnesota after playing in 45 regular-season games (12 starts) for the Buffalo Bills since 2017. He also has appeared in five playoff games over the past two postseasons, starting both contests this past year. Since joining the Bills as a third-round pick (96th overall) in 2018, Phillips has totaled 51 tackles (28 solo), a sack, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery in regular- season games under Bills Defensive Coordinator and former Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier.
TE Johnny Mundt
What It Means: The Vikings added Mundt, a tight end, to the roster. He will bring great familiarity with Minnesota's new offensive scheme with him to Minnesota, having played for Head Coach Kevin O'Connell (as his offensive coordinator for two seasons) and Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips (as his tight ends coach for three seasons). Mundt was limited to six games in 2021 because of a torn ACL that landed him on Injured Reserve. After joining the Rams in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon, Mundt developed into a solid contributor, appearing in 47 total games primarily as a blocking tight end. He has caught 10 passes for 93 yards on 10 targets in those contests, including four receptions for 53 yards in 2020.
LB Jordan Hicks
What It Means: The linebacker spent the past three seasons with the Cardinals but was released by Arizona last week, meaning he was free to sign with any team ahead of the official start of free agency at 3 p.m. (CT) Wednesday. Hicks started all of the 49 possible regular-season games for the Cardinals over the past three seasons, and his streak of 51 consecutive starts is the third-longest active streak among NFL linebackers.The 29-year-old Hicks should slot in as a middle linebacker next to Eric Kendricks in the Vikings new 3-4 defensive scheme.
Re-Signed
CB Tye Smith
What It Means: Smith will return to the Vikings after spending 2021 on the team's practice squad. He appeared in five games after elevations by Minnesota last season, contributing with 40 snaps on special teams and 17 on defense. Originally a fifth-round draft pick by Seattle in 2015, Smith spent the 2016 season on Washington's practice squad and then played for the Titans from 2017-20. He signed with the Vikings last spring and landed on the practice squad.
QB Sean Mannion
What It Means: The news of Mannion re-joining the Vikings comes on the heels of starting quarterback Kirk Cousins signing a one-year contract extension earlier this month. Minnesota also has second-year quarterback Kellen Mond, a 2021 third-round pick, on its roster. Mannion could be Cousins' backup for the fourth straight season, although Mond could challenge him for that role.
- March 22: Vikings Re-Sign Quarterback Sean Mannion
P Jordan Berry
What It Means: Berry is back with the Vikings, which means continuity for Minnesota's trio of specialists. Minnesota placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Greg Joseph, so the kicker will be back, as will long snapper Andrew DePaola. So, too, will Berry, who claimed by the Vikings just before the start of the 2021 season. Berry tied for 11th among qualifiers with a net punting average of 46.5 yards per punt and placed 26 of 78 punts inside the 20-yard line for the Vikings.
Extensions
QB Kirk Cousins
What It Means: The Vikings and Kirk Cousins agreed in principle to a one-year contract extension that will tie the quarterback to the Vikings through at least the 2023 season. The contract extension presumably lowers his 2022 cap hit, and also lengthens the Cousins era in Minnesota, which began when he signed with the Vikings in March of 2018 as a free agent. Cousins will get a chance to work with Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell, an offensive-minded coach who was hired in February. The two were together in Washington in 2017, when O'Connell was Washington's quarterbacks coach.
Tendered
K Greg Joseph
What It Means: The Vikings have put a right-of-first-refusal tender on Greg Joseph, a move that means the kicker will likely hold down that spot for Minnesota for the second straight season. The 27-year-old Joseph was a restricted free agent entering the offseason, but he would have become an unrestricted free agent at 3 p.m. (CT) Wednesday with the start of the NFL's New League Year. The tender is for one season, meaning Minnesota now has the right to match any other contract offer Joseph receives from other teams. However, this move by the Vikings likely means Joseph will be the team's kicker again for the second straight season.
Unrestricted Free Agents
RB Wayne Gallman
Gallman joined Minnesota for the final month of the 2021 season. He appeared in two games on special teams (10 total snaps). He did not play on offense after spending the first portion of the season with Atlanta.
WR Dede Westbrook
Westbrook generated some buzz when he joined the Vikings as a free agent in training camp, but produced limited results on offense in 2021. He caught 10 passes for 68 yards with no scores this past season, primarily making an impact on special teams instead. Westbrook handled 22 punt returns for 183 yards (8.3 average), with a long return of 45 yards. The former Jaguars fourth-round pick will turn 29 years old in November.
TE Luke Stocker
Stocker was signed to Minnesota's practice squad on Oct. 13 and played 10 snaps on offense four days later. The veteran tight end played in 12 games for the Vikings, contributing on offense and special teams, but he was only targeted two times and never after Nov. 7.
DE Everson Griffen
Griffen's return to Minnesota after spending the 2020 season in Dallas and Detroit brought a spark to the Vikings. Initially intended to thrive in specific situations, Minnesota turned to Griffen for six starts and 457 snaps before he needed to step away from the game for personal reasons. He recorded 5.0 sacks to give him 79.5 in his career with Minnesota.
DT Sheldon Richardson
Richardson also returned to the Vikings in the offseason and was expected to thrive at the 3-technique as a situational pass rusher in 2021. A bevy of circumstances led to Minnesota experiencing an extreme lack of depth at defensive end, so the veteran kicked to the outside and started the final seven games at defensive end.
CB Mackensie Alexander
Alexander, a Vikings 2016 second-round pick, returned to Minnesota on a one-year deal after spending a season with Cincinnati. He started five games and played 690 total snaps as Minnesota's nickel cornerback, but struggled at times last season, much like the entire defense did as a whole.
Signed Elsewhere
LB Anthony Barr
Barr's social media posts (and postgame press conference) indicated that he was approaching Minnesota's 2021 season finale as his last game in a Vikings uniform. Many thought Barr's time with the Vikings was going to end when he hit free agency in spring 2019, but he opted to return for less money than the Jets offered.
Update: Anthony Barr agreed to terms with Dallas on Aug. 3.
TE Chris Herndon
The Vikings acquired Herndon in August in a trade with the Jets. The fourth-year tight end started five of the 16 games he played for Minnesota but didn't make much of an impact on the surface. Herndon finished the season with four catches for 40 yards and one touchdown.
Update: Chris Herndon signed with New Orleans on Aug. 3.
T Rashod Hill
Hill has provided versatility for Minnesota, who signed the tackle off the Jaguars practice squad mid-season in 2016. In 2021, Hill played 15 games and made five starts. The Jacksonville native opened the season as a starter and then transitioned back to the role of swing tackle once Christian Darrisaw hit the field.
Update: Rashod Hill signed with Washington on July 30.
WR Chad Beebe
Beebe has been a bit of an enigma in his four seasons in Minnesota. He's been among the standouts almost every offseason but has dealt with injuries in all but one of those four years. The 27-year-old was injured in training camp and missed the entire 2021 season. He has played in 20 career games in four seasons, including 14 in 2020.
Update: Chad Beebe signed with Houston on June 8.
DE Tashawn Bower
Originally an undrafted signee in 2017, Bower returned to Minnesota in November and played in four games as the Vikings tried to solidify their depth at defensive end.
Update: Tashawn Bower signed with Las Vegas on April 11.
G Dakota Dozier
Since joining the Vikings in the spring of 2019, Dozier has filled multiple roles for the team. He spent most of the 2021 campaign on practice squad after starting all 16 games at left guard in 2020. Dozier battled COVID pneumonia last winter but made a full recovery. He was promoted to the active roster for Minnesota on Dec. 21.
March 23 update: Dozier signed with the Chicago Bears.
LB Nick Vigil
Vigil's signing was somewhat unheralded across the league, but he started 12 of the 16 games he played for Minnesota and recorded 85 tackles, a sack and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown.
March 22 update: Vigil signed with the Arizona Cardinals.
TE Tyler Conklin
Since being drafted by Minnesota 157th overall in 2018, Conklin has taken on a bigger role in the offense each season. Conklin stepped up in a big way in 2021, becoming the Vikings starting tight end in the absence of Irv Smith, Jr. The 26-year-old started 15 of the 17 games he played, recording 61 catches for 593 yards and three touchdowns. Conklin also continued to make an impact for Minnesota's offense as a blocker.
March 18 update: Conklin signed with the New York Jets.
S Xavier Woods
Woods bounced back in a positive way in 2021 after signing a one-year deal with Minnesota. He said his 2020 season in Dallas was a disappointment, but he showed more consistency and playmaking ability with the Vikings. Woods started all 17 games and was the only defensive player to stay on the field for all 1,208 snaps last season. He also recorded three interceptions and a sack.
March 16 update: Woods signed with the Carolina Panthers.
C Mason Cole
The Vikings received Cole from the Cardinals via trade last March. The 25-year-old started four games at center, then started at right guard for three games before suffering an elbow injury in Week 15. The Vikings placed Cole on Injured Reserve on Dec. 24.
March 17 update: Cole signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Released
DT Michael Pierce
March 15: The Vikings have moved on from Michael Pierce, ending the defensive tackle's time in Minnesota after just two years. His release helps the Vikings save money for their salary cap situation. Minnesota announced the move Tuesday. Pierce was heralded as one of the Vikings top free agent signings in the spring of 2020, but he endured an up-and-down tenure with the Vikings. The mammoth defensive tackle signed a three-year deal, but voluntarily opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. He then played just eight games in 2021 as he dealt with injuries in his first active season with the Vikings.
