Tag: Josh Oliver

State of the tight end room: The Real Forno Show

On the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, we take a look at the tight end room.

We are now less that three weeks from the beginning of training camp, which means our season preview series is starting to ramp up.

Up next is the tight end position. There is a lot to talk about with this group. Last October, the Minnesota Vikings traded for T.J. Hockenson to support their struggling wide receiver group outside of Justin Jefferson. He came in and made a huge impact. How will his presence impact the Vikings in 2023? Will he sign a contract extension?

Along with Hockenson, there is more talent in the room that will make an impact.

  • How will Josh Oliver be used with the Vikings?
  • How much will Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse play?
  • Will they keep four tight ends with a shift to more 12 personnel?

All of that and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

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Vikings state of the roster: Tight end

The latest in our multi-part series looking at the state of the Minnesota Vikings roster, we take a look at the tight end position.

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle.

We are currently writing player profiles on each Minnesota Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.

Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the tight end position.

Bold Vikings predictions: Purple Access

With the NFL abyss upon us, Purple Access gives you bold Vikings predictions for the 2023 season.

We are heavy into the NFL sports abyss, it’s a perfect time to look forward to the upcoming season. With training camp coming up in about a month, what can we expect from the Minnesota Vikings?

On the latest episode of Purple Access, hosts Declan Goff and Vikings Wire’s own Tyler Forness and Judd Zulgad each make two bold predictions for the upcoming season.

  • Josh Oliver becomes a standout
  • Brian Flores leads a defensive resurgence
  • Greg Joseph becomes a reliable kicker
  • Safeties get to the quarterback

All of that and more on the latest episode of Purple Access.

Vikings tight ends chugs beer at Minnesota Wild playoff game

The Minnesota Vikings tight end room chugged a beer on the scoreboard while attending the Minnesota Wild Stanley Cup Playoff game.

The Minnesota Vikings just started their offseason program on Monday, April 17th. Players were back in the facility for training and meetings. It’s completely voluntary, but most players have a workout bonus tied to attending the off-season program.

One of the major benefits of the team being together is team bonding. Our own columnist Judd Zulgad is live at Xcel Energy Center covering the game and is reporting that the Vikings tight end room all attended the Minnesota Wild game together and chugged a beer on the scoreboard.

Teambuilding is a really important part of the offseason program and chugging a beer on the scoreboard was popularized by Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari when attending Milwaukee Bucks games.

Great to see Oliver bonding with his new teammates.

Minnesota Vikings NFL draft mailbag: Looking to the future

In the latest Minnesota Vikings mailbag, the questions focused on the NFL draft, the future at quarterback and scenarios galore.

We are less than a month away from the NFL draft and two and a half weeks removed from the start of free agency. With that comes a lot more information and a clearer picture on what the Vikings are primed to do in the draft.

Even with all the new information gathered in the last few weeks, there is still a lot of that we don’t know. So much of how the Vikings will handle the draft will be based on situations. We discussed some of those on Purple Access.

With so much still needing answers, I put out a call for questions on Twitter and we got some good ones. Dive into the latest mailbag.

Kirk Cousins’ Offer Rejected: The Real Forno Show

On the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, managing editor Tyler Forness breaks down the Vikings’ top needs and Kirk Cousins’ contract.

The Minnesota Vikings have done a lot so far in free agency. They filled multiple holes across both the offense and defense.

Tight end Josh Oliver, edge rusher Marcus Davenport and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. are the biggest additions that the Vikings made and they filled multiple holes that the roster had. Where does the roster sit currently? Tyler Forness and producer Dave will be breaking down Forness’ biggest needs after the first wave of free agency.

Kirk Cousins also was told no to a contract extension offer that would have guaranteed both 2024 and 2025. The Vikings wanted flexibility and guaranteeing two more seasons to Cousins takes that away.

Along with that, they will go over the latest mock draft roundup, which saw a major shift in who the Vikings were sent.

Lastly, we will finish with our latest mock draft, this time with The Draft Network’s simulator.

Join us live every Monday night at 6 pm central time or on demand at the Vikings First & SKOL YouTube channel!

Grading the Vikings free agency moves after the first week

The Minnesota Vikings have made multiple signings since the beginning of free agency. @TheRealForno graded each signing the Vikings made.

We are eight days into the free agency period and the Minnesota Vikings have been plenty busy in both acquiring and retaining talent.

Despite entering the offseason nearly $24 million over the salary cap, the Vikings made multiple moves by releasing stalwart players like Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks. The corresponding moves that they made will help determine where the Vikings go moving forward.

After the first eight days, the Vikings have made multiple moves. Here is how I have graded each of those moves.

Vikings make free agent signings official at the start of new league year

The #Vikings announced official deals with Byron Murphy, Marcus Davenport, and Josh Oliver when the NFL’s new league year began on Wednesday

The NFL’s new league year has officially begun, and the Minnesota Vikings wasted no time in announcing their official deals with cornerback Byron Murphy, outside linebacker Marcus Davenport, and tight end Josh Oliver. Vikings fans eagerly awaited the signings of the three players who had agreed to deals during the NFL’s legal tampering window.

The signings of Murphy, Davenport, and Oliver are important for the Vikings as they look to improve the overall youth of their roster, which seems to be a theme thus far. The team has made several moves this offseason to bolster its roster, and these three signings will add much-needed depth to key positions.

Overall, Vikings fans should be excited about the team’s off-season moves and the signings of Murphy, Davenport, and Oliver. The team is clearly looking to improve and compete in the tough NFC North division, and these signings will play a key role in their success.

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Kwesi, It’s tampering time: The Real Forno Show

On Monday night’s episode of The Real Forno Show, Tyler and Dave discuss the first day of free agency.

The first day of the legal tampering period is finally upon us and things got wild from the start.

The first day came with a ton of players getting top of the market contracts without being top of the market players. The Vikings mostly stayed out of the first wave due to their cap space and knowledge of how the market works. They did agree to terms with tight end Josh Oliver and edge rusher Marcus Davenport.

What else are the Vikings going to be doing throughout free agency and why did they restructure Jordan Hicks? We talk about all that and more All of that and more on Monday night’s The Real Forno Show!

Contract details for new tight end Josh Oliver revealed

The contract details were released for tight end Josh Oliver and they are very team friendly with an easy out in 2025.

The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver on Monday afternoon. The deal was announced to be a three year, $21 million deal with $10.75 million guaranteed.

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling revealed the contract details and they are as follows.

  • $7.12 million signing bonus ($2.373 million per year)
  • $1.08 million base salary year one
  • $4.7 million base in year two ($2 million guaranteed for injury only, fully guaranteed on third day of 2024 league year)
  • $7.95 million base salary in 2025
  • Up to $1.5 million in incentives each year
  • Up to $750K base escalators for 2024 and 2025

The cap hits are pretty reasonable before potential incentives and escalators.

  • 2023: $3.45 million
  • 2024: $6.87 million
  • 2025: $10.32 million

The Vikings can get out of the deal with only $2.32 million dead in 2025. Pretty good structure overall.