6 free agents the Vikings need to re-sign for the 2021 season
By Adam Carlson
Mike Boone – RB
Yes, the Vikings should bring back both Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone. The running backs for the purple and gold were a strength during the 2020 campaign and bringing back the entire unit for the upcoming season would be wise.
In a year where running back isn’t a very deep position group in the draft and with Minnesota having needs to fill at other positions, solidifying one complete unit (with Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and C.J. Ham) allows the team to use their draft selections in the early to middle rounds to improve other position groups.
Boone entered the 2020 season in amazing shape. However, with the players ahead of him getting a majority of the snaps on offense, the running back was left with scraps, and he only had 11 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown to go with two catches for 10 yards. It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.
Boone will only be 26-years-old and combining him with Abdullah covers a lot of bases for the Vikings should the team need to work their way through the depth chart on offense. In the meantime, he can still contribute on more than 50 percent of special teams snaps next season, just as he did in 2020.
If Minnesota can bring these six players back for the 2021 season, they will have laid the foundation for a nice baseline to prepare for other free-agent signings and the NFL Draft. Plus, it would mean less of a turnaround on the team’s roster to better prepare them for an offseason that could potentially be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for the second year in a row.