Who are some of the players left in free agency that already have a history with a Minnesota Vikings player or coach?
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings received a little more spending money in their bank account thanks to the departure of tight end Kyle Rudolph being set as a June 1 release.
The Vikings now have just under $14 million in cap space to add some more talent to their roster before the start of next season.
After the first big wave of free agency and this year’s NFL Draft, there aren’t many holes left for Minnesota to fill. Still, the depth of the Vikings‘ roster could still use a few upgrades before next season begins.
There isn’t a ton of talent left in the current free agency pool of players. But there are still some experienced veterans that could help Minnesota in their efforts to get back to the playoffs in 2021.
Among the players still looking for a home, a few have a connection to a current Vikings player or coach. These connections could possibly result in some of these free agents opting to sign with Minnesota over another team.
So who are some of the most notable players left in free agency that have a connection to a current Vikings player or coach?
Olivier Vernon – DE
Connection to Vikings: Dalvin Tomlinson
Currently, Danielle Hunter is not taking part in the Vikings’ voluntary OTA practice sessions. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal. But with just about every player on Minnesota’s roster attending these practices, Hunter not being there is significant.
If the situation with Hunter doesn’t get resolved, the Vikings will need some additional help on the defensive line to avoid a repeat of last season’s terrible pass rush.
One potential option to consider is Olivier Vernon, a former teammate of new Minnesota defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. Vernon and Tomlinson spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons together as members of the New York Giants defense.
Coming off a 2020 campaign in which he racked up nine sacks, the 30-year-old pass rusher might still be in search of a starting opportunity. With the Vikings, Vernon could compete to be the other starting defensive end opposite Hunter, or he could take Hunter’s spot if Minnesota’s Pro Bowl pass rusher ends up not being available during the 2021 season.
Gareon Conley – CB
Connection to Vikings: Paul Guenther
Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for Gareon Conley since the Las Vegas Raiders selected him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Conley ended up only lasting two-and-a-half years with the Raiders before they shipped him off to the Houston Texans in exchange for a measly third-round pick. Then last season, he missed the entire campaign due to an ankle injury.
We know the Vikings are interested in possibly signing another veteran cornerback since they recently met with Bashuad Breeland. So Conley could be someone Minnesota thinks about adding since his former defensive coordinator from his time with the Raiders, Paul Guenther, is now a member of the Vikings coaching staff.
If Guenther thinks Conley can help Minnesota out next season, he might pop into Mike Zimmer’s office to have a chat about the former first-round pick.
Geno Atkins – DT
Connection to Vikings: Mike Zimmer
One would literally have to be living under a rock to be unaware of Mike Zimmer’s admiration for former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins.
Whenever he’s talking about interior defensive linemen, Zimmer typically likes to use Atkins as his measuring stick. It’s hard to blame the Vikings head coach though since the veteran defensive tackle was a First-Team All-Pro when Zimmer was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator in 2012.
Earlier this offseason, there was a report that Minnesota had some interest in adding Atkins to their roster. But, obviously, nothing ever came of it.
Perhaps the Vikings wanted to use their spending money to fill some other needs first before signing the free-agent defensive tackle. So now that they’ve got some additional cap space, maybe we’ll hear about Atkins agreeing to a deal with Minnesota sooner than later.
Larry Fitzgerald – WR
Connection to Vikings: Patrick Peterson
We know, we know, Larry Fitzgerald returning to his home state of Minnesota to play his final season in the NFL as a member of the Vikings is just a pipe dream.
But with Minnesota signing Patrick Peterson this offseason, maybe Fitzgerald might be more interested in heading back to the Twin Cities to reunite with his former Arizona Cardinals teammate.
The 37-year-old Fitzgerald still hasn’t announced if he’s decided to retire from the league or not. So one has to imagine that the delay in his decision means he’s still thinking about playing next season.
If he wants to continue his career in 2021 though, it’s not going to be with the Cardinals. Arizona added A.J. Green in free agency this year and they used a second-round draft pick on former Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore. With DeAndre Hopkins also on the roster, bringing back Fitzgerald isn’t a priority for the Cardinals.
The veteran pass-catcher hasn’t made less than $11 million in a season since 2013, so he’s probably not going to be interested in signing a team-friendly deal anywhere if he wants to keep playing.
Paying Fitzgerald $11 million to join their roster is not something the Vikings are going to do. But with Minnesota getting some extra cap space on Tuesday, maybe they can offer the All-Pro receiver a better deal than what some other teams around the NFL have been willing to give him.