Free agency Day 1 is quiet for Vikings
The Vikings added a cornerback and saw some talent leave the building as free agency opened
By Matthew Coller
If Minnesota Vikings fans spent their day scrolling social media with hopes that their team would be able to land a bunch of top free agents then they were certainly disappointed by the day’s action that did not see the Vikings bring in a bunch of veterans to their building. However, a lot happened around the NFL that will impact Minnesota going forward. Let’s have a closer look at Monday’s action…
Vikings sign CB James Pierre on a two-year, $8.5 million deal with $3.7 million guaranteed
Never heard of him? Well, that’s reasonable because Pierre was an undrafted free agent back in 2020 out of Florida Atlantic who only had one season before 2025 in which he played more than 300 snaps for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Last year he finally saw the field more, playing 377 total snaps and he performed at a very high level. It may be a small sample size but he only allowed 14 completions into his coverage on 33 targets and had a remarkable nine pass breakups. He had an 89.7 PFF coverage grade, tops among CBs with over 200 snaps. Over his career, Pierre has only give up a 54.9% completion percentage on throws into his coverage.
Pierre, who has also been a key special teamer for the Steelers, can be expected to do plenty of that in Minnesota and provide useful depth behind Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers.
Raiders sign Jalen Nailor to a three-year, $35 million deal
We were pretty certain that Nailor would pull in a reasonable contract and that turned out to be the case from the big-spending Silver and Black. Nailor will now get an opportunity to be an every-down receiver following the last two seasons as WR3 behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
He caught 29 passes for 444 yards and four touchdowns in a challenging season for Vikings receivers. That might not seem like much but Nailor was also capable of playing any of the receiver spots, blocking, running with the ball and he developed as underneath receiver as well.
He will not be easily replaced. Considering the prices for receivers in free agency, WR3 may end up with 2025 third-rounder Tai Felton or a second wave player like Darnell Mooney.
Nailor’s exit and uncertainty surrounding Addison’s future could be inspiring for the Vikings to consider drafting a receiver in the first two rounds.
Saints sign Ryan Wright to four-year, $14 million
A quietly big loss for the Vikings. Not only were the Vikings among the best units in the NFL with Wright doing the punting, ranking third in net yards per punt, he was also a steady hand with Will Reichard as the kicker.
While it would be a big ask for the Vikings to hand out $14 million and $8 million guaranteed to a punter, Wright had emerged as a legitimate weapon in 2025 and helped control field position as the team struggled offensively. He won’t be easy to replace.
Re-do Hockenson’s contract
It never seemed all that likely that the Vikings would move on from Hockenson considering their goal is to improve on offense next year but the solution to keeping him turned out to be pretty interesting.
The Vikings and Hockenson agreed on a new contract that will save $5 million on the cap this year and washes out the final year of his deal, which was set to be 2027. That means that Hock will now become a free agent after this season.
That could open the door for the Vikings to consider drafting a tight end this year. Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon is the presumptive first TE off the board but they could also consider a middle-round TE as a project to develop for 2026.
The move to rework Hockenson’s contract tells a story about the bigger picture. The Vikings aren’t looking to tear everything down to the ground but they also are playing smart with their money and future flexibility this offseason.
(Note: If Hockenson leaves in free agency, the Vikings will not get a comp pick because they reworked the contract).
Re-sign Eric Wilson to a three-year, $22.5 million contract
It’s hard to overstate how good Eric Wilson was last year in Brian Flores’ defense. After many years as a role player, he emerged as a versatile weapon for Flores, playing both inside and outside linebacker and crushing opponents with his blitzes. He picked up 6.0 sacks, 37 QB pressures and a team-leading 52 run stops, the ninth most in the NFL.
It’s also worth noting that Wilson is highly regarded for his intelligence and work ethic, which made it even more compelling to bring back the 31-year-old LB.
The Vikings may have needed to give him a little more than expected to keep the veteran LB from hitting the free agent market but his $12.5 million guarantee suggests that the contract is more likely to be for two years.
Exercise ERFA Jalen Redmond
The least surprising news ever. Redmond emerged as the Vikings’ best defensive tackle last season, picking up 35 QB pressures and 6.0 sacks and grading as the 20th best starting DT by PFF (out of 90).
Considering the way he has performed over the last two seasons, the Vikings will very likely be talking with Redmond about a long-term extension.
Pick up RFA tender on Ivan Pace Jr.
The Vikings used the lowest possible tender on Pace Jr., which will cost them $3.5 million unless another team makes an offer. If he gets an offer from another team, the Vikings can match or let him walk. If they let him go, they will not get draft pick compensation.
Because Pace Jr. got benched for Wilson last year, there may have been some question about whether this was going to happen but he was one of their most used special teams players and he has the capability to play in Flores’ system as a backup. It’s not an enormous price for an LB3.
Malik Willis signs with the Dolphins for three years, $67 million
The first domino to fall in the offseason of QB movement, Willis chose to go to an organization where he’s familiar with the head coach Jeff Hafley from Green Bay and can have several years on his contract to grow with the roster. Miami has almost completely torn down everything they had during Tua Tagovailoa’s best seasons, so it might be an uphill climb for Willis.
His contract ended up being fairly close to Justin Fields’ 2025 deal. That was about where most prognostications landed.
It’s worth wondering if the Vikings had any interest but he seemed destined for a location that would attempt to make him their franchise QB.
Alec Pierce: Very expensive
The Colts re-signed receiver Alec Pierce to a four-year, $114 million contract at the beginning of the tampering period. While Pierce is an effective deep threat, he’s hardly in the range of the NFL’s elite receivers.
Two takeaways: Draft receivers. They are so expensive and hard to find in free agency because teams retain the good ones. Also, what is Jordan Addison worth either in terms of a trade or if things get on the straight and narrow and they want to extend him?
Also expensive WRs: Rasheed Shaheed (three years, $51 million in Seattle) and Wan’Dale Robinson (four years, $70 million in Tennessee).
The 49ers signed Mike Evans for three years, $60 million. That turned out to be more reasonable than expected.
Packers trade Rashan Gary, cut Elgton Jenkins, lose other defensive players
Green Bay traded pass rusher Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. Gary has declined over the last few years but was still often a menace against the Vikings.
The Packers also cut center Elgton Jenkins, who may be an option for the Vikings if he wants to keep playing center. But there will likely be a lot of competition for his services.
They also lost front-seven players Quay Walker (Raiders) and Kingsley Enagbare (Jets). Neither was considered a star but both played a lot of snaps for the Pack over the years.
Tua to the Falcons
The Miami Dolphins announced they are releasing QB Tua Tagovialoa and almost immediately multiple reports dropped that the Atlanta Falcons are his most likely destination. Later in the afternoon, he joined the Falcons officially.
If there was another team that made the most sense for Kyler Murray, it was Atlanta because of their bevvy of weapons and Kevin Stefanski’s connection to former Cardinals coaches Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing. Rolling with Tua does strongly hint that Murray won’t be going to Atlanta.
The Vikings are the clear favorite for his services. Though the Steelers are a possibility and the Colts could theoretically still be in the mix.
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