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Every offseason for each team can feel like a franchise-altering one, but for the Minnesota Vikings in the coming months, they certainly will have multiple decisions to make that may end up changing the landscape of the team for years to come.
The Vikings head into the upcoming offseason with a notable dilemma on just which route to take the franchise. As they are set to be over $14 million in cap space, they could simply throw in the towel and trigger a rebuilding period in the first year under new head coach Kevin O’Connell. On the other side, they could retool a roster that just missed out on the playoffs in an effort to make another postseason run in the Kirk Cousins era.
In the big picture, the Vikings will have numerous issues to address once the offseason gets going. Overall, they do have multiple positional needs that may need to be shored up in the draft or the free agency period. More so, they must enter the offseason with their sights set on addressing three areas of concern.
Three moves the Vikings must make during the 2022 NFL offseason
3. Find a short-term replacement for Tyler Conklin
Due to the departure of Kyle Rudolph in free agency coupled with Irv Smith Jr.’s season-ending meniscus injury, now-former Vikings offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak opted to feature Tyler Conklin as the team’s starting tight end on offense.
After years of being a backup tight end, Conklin posted multiple promising showings over the campaign. Overall, he featured in all 17 games in the regular season and recorded 593 receiving yards. From the three red zone touchdowns to his growing development as a pass-blocker, Conklin emerged as a focal point of Kubiak’s pass offense system.
Conklin will become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Vikings also provided snaps to tight ends Chris Hendron and Luke Stocker in the campaign, and they each will also be out of a contract in the coming month.
With the Vikings currently over the cap, they could opt to take a conservative route by letting Conklin walk in free agency in order to instead sign a low-risk, high-reward replacement for him.
The likes of Jared Cook and James O’Shaughnessy could possibly be such options for the Vikings at the tight end position. Either of the two can tag along with Smith whenever the Vikings opt to roll with 12 personnel on offense, which O’Connell called on 12 percent of total snaps during his final season as Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator.
Cousins could see a new face or two at the tight end position next season.
2. Rejuvenate the cornerback position
The Vikings may also see much turnaround at the cornerback position in the offseason.
The Vikings front office elected for a short-term fix at this position last year. For one, the team signed Patrick Peterson to a mere one-year deal.
Overall, the team did not see much efficiency from its pass defense, as it wound up ranking 28th in passing yards allowed per game with a 252.9 average.
With the Vikings’ cap space complications coupled with the fact that Cameron Dantzler and Kris Boyd are currently the only notable cornerbacks on the roster from last season that are set to return for the 2022 campaign, it would be far from a surprise to see the team select a cornerback or two in the 2022 NFL Draft.
1. Resolve Kirk Cousins’ future in Minnesota
The Vikings are set to face quite a dilemma in the offseason regarding the future of quarterback Kirk Cousins, as he has a mere one more season remaining on his contract deal.
Cousins will hold a $45 million cap number for the 2022 season, which will count on 21.4 percent of the team’s cap. The Vikings may not opt to consider cutting him ahead of June 1, as they would then carry an astounding $45 million in dead cap space. However, if they are able to find a suitor for him via a trade, the dead cap space would amount to a mere $10 million.
If it were up to Cousins, as he noted in his post-game press conference following the Vikings’ Week 18 win over the Chicago Bears, he would much be open to staying put in Minnesota.
“I know that I want to be a Viking, and that’s kind of the foundation of it all,” Cousins said. “From there, it’s pretty easy to make those conversations happen when you want to be a Minnesota Viking.”
Unless the Vikings can find a team willing to take on $35 million for Cousins next season, it may seem that extension talks could be on the horizon between both sides in the offseason. Still, in the unpredictable world of the NFL, it would not come as a shocker to see another quarterback instead start for Minnesota in Week 1 of the 2022 season.
A pivotal offseason sure is looming ahead for Minnesota.
