3 Vikings who should return with JJ McCarthy in 2025, 3 Vikings who shouldn’t

while Minnesota Vikings There is still a lot of work to be done as it relates to this trend NFL A lot of talk about this team these days revolves around the upcoming offseason.

Most of that involves quarterback Sam Darnold, who was brought in to effectively act as a bridge before handing the reins to JJ McCarthy, whom the Vikings selected 10th overall last April. NFL draft.

Darnold’s role, of course, changed when McCarthy suffered a preseason knee injury. And through the first 15 weeks of this season, he has put Minnesota in a tough spot as one of the best signal callers in the league, completing 67.6% of his passes for 3,530 passing yards, leading the team to a 12-2 record. He has 29 touchdown passes, all career bests, and a passer rating of 104.9.

However, many still believe the Vikings will allow Darnold to become a free agent and stick to their original plan of turning the team over to McCarthy, who is expected to be fully healthy for the 2025 season.

That’s by no means a sure thing, but considering Darnold likely commands at least $40 million per season, Minnesota will likely stick with the cheaper option, which they clearly believe could perform just as well.

But we’re not here to debate Darnold vs. McCarthy. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume McCarthy will be the Vikings’ QB1 in Week 1 next September. Our focus here will be on some of the free agents currently on Minnesota’s roster and whether they will return to join McCarthy for the ’25 season.

While the vast majority of these free agents, at least the ones who are producing the most, are on the defensive side of the football, there is a list that includes Byron Murphy, Stephon Gilmore, Shaquill Griffin, Patrick Jones II and Camryn Bynum. We’ll focus on the offensive side of things here, starting with the most obvious player the Vikings need to bring back.

At this point this should be a no brainer.

Just like Darnold, who was a steal at $10 million, running back Aaron Jones got a bargain at $7 million for the Vikings this season.

In Minnesota’s first 14 games, the former Packer rushed for 979 yards with five touchdowns, averaged a solid 4.6 yards per carry, and added another 322 yards and two scores as a receiver.

In addition to being the farthest rushing player on the team with 1,301 total yards, they also have the ninth-most yards among players in the NFL this season. The Vikes will have to pay a few more dollars to retain his services, but it will be worth it.

While Cam Robinson was a solid acquisition for the Vikings ahead of the trade deadline, the only reason he was brought in was to replace Christian Darrisow, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8.

While Darrisow is expected to be ready for the 2025 season, Robinson, whose next deal will likely command around $20 million per season, will leave the team.

Whether the Vikings want to bring Aaron Jones back or not, they should re-sign Cam Akers this offseason.

Since I returned to Minnesota after starting the new year Houston TexansThe fifth-year veteran has been a solid RB2, rushing for 211 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries.

Akers shouldn’t demand much more than the $1.175 million he’s making this season, so the Vikings won’t have to stretch the budget to bring him back. He’s very comfortable on offense and provides great coverage and depth in case something were to happen to Jones or whoever he serves as the Vikes’ regular starter.

Although the Vikings re-signed guard Dalton Risner to a one-year contract last May, there were rumors that the 29-year-old could leave the team or be traded during training camp.

Obviously none of this came to fruition and he eventually went on injured reserve in late August, apparently due to the new rule allowing a team to place two players on IR as part of final cuts while retaining the right to designate them to return later. in the year.

Risner was activated ahead of the Vikings’ Week 9 game. Indianapolis Coltsand while he has shown flashes at times, his 62.0 overall PFF grade ranks just 48th among 75 eligible guards. He can easily be replaced in the draft, he will not return.

Assuming McCarthy is given the keys to the bullpen, the Vikings will need more solid support than Nick Mullens or Brett Rypien.

Therefore, they should keep Daniel Jones for another year, if not longer. Staying on the job for a season has clearly done wonders for Darnold, who spends 2023 as QB2. San Francisco 49ers Behind Brock Purdy.

Jones could very well find a starting job somewhere. But if that’s not an option for him, it might be good for him to go through what Darnold went through last year. And if McCarthy struggles or gets injured again, having Jones as a backup option isn’t the worst idea in the world.

While tight end Johnny Mundt stepped up nicely behind Josh Oliver in TJ Hockenson’s absence for the first few months of the season, his touches have decreased significantly in recent weeks, which makes all the sense in the world.

It’s nice to have a solid third-string tight end, but Mundt is making $2 million this season, which is too much. The Vikings could easily draft a tight end in the later rounds and get the same production for less.