5 biggest offseason priorities for Minnesota Vikings

A look at the 5 most pressing priorities for the Minnesota Vikings heading into this upcoming off-season

The Minnesota Vikings have the biggest off-season of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell era approaching them heading into the 2024 season. 

2022 was an overperformance of epic proportions as they pulled off 13 wins in O’Connell’s debut season, pulling off some of the best 4th quarter performances we will ever see. 2023 may have a significant asterisk on it based on the way that Kirk Cousins was playing in the games before his season came to a screeching end with his torn Achilles.

As Minnesota heads into 2024, there are far more questions than answers. What does year two of a Brian Flores defense look like? How can you maximize this roster while continuing to build toward the future? Who is playing quarterback?

Like the competitive rebuild mantra, we look to balance finding the answer to some of these questions with outlining the biggest priorities for the 2024 off-season.

Making a 53-man roster out of active ex-Buffalo Bills

Let’s have some fun:

The NFL is a league with plenty of turnover among players and staff. Every offseason, all 32 teams churn their roster through trades and drops, leading to recycling of personnel through free agency.

When Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott mentioned in his end-of-season presser to ‘not expect wholesale changes‘, it got us thinking: What if the entire roster was changed?

Well, as it turns out, we could.

Here are the ground rules we set for this exercise:

  • All players/coaches had to have been on a 90-man roster or practice squad at some point during the 2023 season (dating back to March 15, 2023) with one exception (below).
  • Players who weren’t in the NFL in 2023 were still considered if they were active in another league (CFL, XFL, etc.) this past season.
  • Players/coaches had to have been on the Bills’ 90-man roster, 53-man roster, or practice squad for at least one day at some point in their careers.
  • Construction of the 53-man had to be realistic and balanced in terms of numbers at each position (ie. we don’t have 1 running back and 15 wide receivers).
  • Players had to be listed at a position they’ve taken snaps in (ie. couldn’t put a TE along the OL, etc.).

This is what we came up with…

Harrison Phillips named finalist for Alan Page Community Award by NFLPA

The NFLPA announced Thursday evening that Minnesota Vikings DT Harrison Phillips was named as a finalist for the Alan Page Community Award.

The NFLPA announced Thursday evening that Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips has been named as one of the five finalists for the Alan Page Community Award. The award — formerly known as the NFLPA Community Award — is awarded yearly to players for their exemplary contributions within their community.

Phillips, nominated for his work through is foundation “Harrison’s Playmakers”, joins Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Washington Commanders offensive tackle Charles Leno, and Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Calais Campbell as nominees. This is Phillips’ second nomination for the award, previously being nominated in 2020 while with the Buffalo Bills.

Phillips faces some stiff competition for the award. Hamlin won the award last year after his annual toy drive raised millions following his on-field cardiac arrest event. Calais Campbell was the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award winner in 2019 for his impact in the community, and Charles Leno was a finalist last year for his “Leno Claus” initiative.

The award, now named in honor of former Minnesota Vikings defensive end and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, has previously gone to a Viking twice, with Cris Carter winning in 1999 and Chad Greenway getting the award in 2015. This year’s winner will be announced on February 7th.

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Vikings final defensive PFF grades for 2023 season

The final Pro Football Focus grades for the Minnesota Vikings defense shed light on a unit that over achieved due to scheme.

With the first weekend of the 2023 NFL playoffs now complete, we are looking back on the season that was for the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite a 7-10 record, the Vikings played well during the 2023 season. The defense improved from 31st in the National Football League to 16th in a very impressive turnaround. The scoring defense also improved to 13th in the NFL, which would have easily been top 10 in the league if it weren’t for the unit imploding at the end of the season.

There is a lot of hope for the future, as the unit was overall really good despite having a talent void.

The final grades from Pro Football Focus are in and reflect a unit that played well despite their late-season struggles.

Vikings vs. Packers: Defensive PFF grades in 33-10 loss

The PFF grades on defense reflect how poorly the unit played, especially in the tackling department

Dealing with a loss is never fun, but dealing with a loss to your biggest rival is significantly worse, especially when it ends a calendar year.

The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with just that, as they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 33-10. It was a brutal one for multiple reasons and it started with the poor play from the entire team. Pair that with the coaching staff not having this team ready to go and you have a loss that essentially knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs.

Nevertheless, there is still a small modicum of hope for the Vikings to make the playoffs. If they want to make it, they are going to have to show massive improvement.

The Pro Football Focus grades on defense are out and don’t reflect well on what was a really good unit.

Vikings final Week 17 injury report analysis: 4 out, 3 questionable

The final injury repot has seven Minnesota Vikings highlihgted

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on their NFC North division rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

Ahead on Sunday’s game, the Vikings released their final injury report on Friday afternoon. Here is everything you need to know.

Vikings Week 17 injury report sees minor changes

The injury report for the Minnesota Vikings in week 17 saw some minor changes on Thursday afternoon.

The Minnesota Vikings have released their second injury report of the week and all 12 names are still on it. However, there were some minor changes for the better.

  • S Theo Jackson (toe): Did not practice
  • CB Byron Murphy Jr. (knee): Did not practice
  • WR Jalen Nailor (concussion): Did not practice
  • DE Jaquelin Roy (ankle): Did not practice
  • WR Jordan Addison (ankle): Limited
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder/illness): Limited
  • NT Sheldon Day (ankle): Limited
  • ILB Troy Dye (wrist): Limited
  • RB Alexander Mattison (ankle): Limited
  • NT Harrison Phillips (back): Full
  • RT Brian O’Neill (ankle): Full
  • ILB Ivan Pace Jr. (shoulder): Full

The Vikings saw improvements from three key players in Addison, Blackmon and Phillips. If they can all go on Sunday, it will be a major impact on the Vikings chances to win against their bitter rival.

No Murphy and Nailor is a tough proposition, especially with the Packers’ receivers being explosive. They are young and inconsistent, but talented.

The final injury report will be released on Friday afternoon and it will tell us more about who will play on Sunday night.

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Vikings Week 17 injury report has a whopping 12 players

12 players grace the injury report on Wednesday

The Minnesota Vikings have released their first injury report for their week 17 matchup against the Green Bay Packers and it’s highlighted with 12 names.

  • WR Jordan Addison (ankle): Did not practice
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder/illness): Did not practice
  • S Theo Jackson (toe): Did not practice
  • CB Byron Murphy Jr. (knee): Did not practice
  • WR Jalen Nailor (concussion): Did not practice
  • DE Jaquelin Roy (ankle): Did not practice
  • NT Sheldon Day (ankle): Limited
  • ILB Troy Dye (wrist): Limited
  • RB Alexander Mattison (ankle): Limited
  • NT Harrison Phillips (back): Limited
  • RT Brian O’Neill (ankle): Full
  • ILB Ivan Pace Jr. (shoulder): Full

The biggest win for the Vikings is seeing O’Neill practicing full again. Both Murphy and Nailor not practicing is a sign that they haven’t improved much with their injuries.

Both Addison and Blackmon not practicing is somewhat expected but disappointing. They both suffered their injuries on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

The next two days will tell us more about who will play against the Packers.

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Vikings defensive PFF grades in Week 16 loss vs. Lions

The Vikings had some of the worst tackling grades this season

The Minnesota Vikings are now on the outside looking in for a playoff spot heading into week 17 after losing a 30-24 heartbreaker to the Detroit Lions.

The defense had moments of success but their lack of effort tackling paired with injuries that hindered the unit ended up making things way worse.

The grades from Pro Football Focus are out from Sunday’s game and they reflect just as poorly on the defense as you might expect.

3 Vikings defenders expected to play Sunday vs. Lions

The Vikings defense is one step closer to being healthy

The Minnesota Vikings defense are likely to have three key players playing despite being listed as questionable on the injury report.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, ILB Jordan Hicks is expected to return to the starting lineup. Joining him in playing will be nose tackle Harrison Phillips and ILB Ivan Pace Jr. are both expected to play despite being questionable on the final injury report.

The Vikings’ defense is primed to have a big game against a Lions offense and having those three in the lineup will be key. They will be without Byron Murphy Jr. who is dealing with a knee injury.

The Vikings and Lions kick off at noon CST.

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