5 high-risk free agents the Vikings could sign in 2021
By Dean Jones
Which high-risk free agents could the Minnesota Vikings consider signing this offseason?
It is going to be another crucial and eventful offseason for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings just missed out on a playoff berth in 2020 despite starting the season 1-5. So if they can eradicate the problems that blighted them earlier in the campaign, a return to the postseason in 2021 is not out of the question.
There might be plenty of player turnover in the coming weeks to make this dream a reality. Minnesota is expected to be up against it from a salary-cap perspective that will inevitably come with some veteran sacrifices for a second-straight year.
But the Vikings do have a boatload of 2021 NFL Draft picks to bolster their roster despite not having a second-rounder following the ill-fated trade for Yannick Ngakoue.
Minnesota needs to be smart with its potential free-agent incomings with so little expected wiggle room financially. However, considering what’s at stake for Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer next season, taking a couple of big risks with some impressive upside is a definite possibility.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at five high-risk free agents Minnesota might gamble on this year.
Player No. 1
Everson Griffen – DE
In hindsight, Everson Griffen probably regrets ever leaving the Vikings in free agency last year. The defensive end was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign opposite Danielle Hunter and he met the necessary requirements to opt-out of his deal early. But failed stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions left him pining for his former team.
Griffen held all the cards last spring, but that is not the case now.
Minnesota bringing him on a team-friendly deal might be worth discussing, at the very least. Although, father time appeared to have caught up with the former USC standout in 2020.
Upsetting the apple cart might be a potential problem where Griffen is concerned. He’d have to take a lesser role if the Vikings bring in another talented young prospect in the 2021 draft, so this sort of move might do more harm than good.