On the unofficial second day of the NFL’s 2023 free agency period, the Minnesota Vikings spent most of their time re-signing players.
During the first unofficial day of the NFL’s 2023 free agency period on Monday, we witnessed multiple members of the 2022 Minnesota Vikings agree to contracts with other teams.
On Tuesday, the Vikings placed the majority of their focus on retaining a handful of players from their 2022 roster that were scheduled to become free agents on Wednesday.
Free agency for Minnesota hasn’t been entirely about players from their 2022 roster coming and going though. The Vikings also found some time to add a few new members to their organization during the first two days of the 2023 free agency period.
On Monday, Minnesota was able to come to agreements with free-agent tight end Josh Oliver and free-agent pass rusher Marcus Davenport. Then, on Tuesday, the Vikings managed to get one of this year’s top free-agent cornerbacks to agree to a contract.
No members of Minnesota’s 2022 roster agreed to a deal with another team on Tuesday, so we’re just going to take a look at the Vikings‘ newest addition, the players they were able to retain, and a couple of rumors that were floating around from the unofficial Day 2 of the NFL’s 2023 free agency period.
New Additions – Day 2
Byron Murphy – CB
- 2022 Team: Arizona Cardinals
- Contract: 2 years, $22 million
On Tuesday, the Vikings were able to come to an agreement with former Arizona Cardinals cornerback Byron Murphy. Minnesota’s pass defense ranked 31st in the NFL in 2022, so adding someone like Murphy was clearly a priority for the team this offseason.
Despite the fact that he is still just 25-years-old, Murphy currently has the most experience among all of the Vikings’ corners under contract with the team. During his four seasons in the NFL, he managed to start a total of 48 games for the Cardinals.
In his four years with Arizona, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Murphy spent his time lined up both on the outside and in the slot. His versatility is something that new Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores should be able to use to his advantage in 2023.
The Vikings made a splash on Monday with the reported signing of free-agent pass rusher Marcus Davenport, and then on Tuesday, they were able to add another top 2023 free agent in Murphy. Fixing their underwhelming defense has clearly been a top priority for Minnesota in free agency so far this year.
Re-signed Players – Day 2
Garrett Bradbury – C
- Contract: 3 years, $15.75 million
Some wondered if Garrett Bradbury’s time with the Vikings had already come to an end, but those thoughts vanished on Tuesday when the reported deal between Minnesota and their veteran center was revealed.
Bradbury is coming off the best season of his NFL career in 2022, and the Vikings clearly felt his performance was worthy of a new contract.
Greg Joseph – K
- Contract: 1 year, $2 million
Despite missing a total of 13 kicks in 2022, Minnesota decided to re-sign kicker Greg Joseph on Tuesday. Joseph’s return, however, shouldn’t prevent the Vikings from bringing in anyone else to compete for their kicking job this offseason.
Andrew DePaola – LS
- Contract: 3 years, $4.025 million
After earning a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2022, bringing back Andrew DePaola was a priority for Minnesota this offseason. Luckily, long snappers are very inexpensive, so it didn’t take much for the Vikings to retain DePaola.
Nick Mullens – QB
Acquired in a trade before the start of the 2022 regular season, Nick Mullens spent will return for the 2023 campaign as the team’s No. 2 quarterback.
Kenny Willekes – EDGE
Hampered by injuries since he was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Vikings are bringing Kenny Willekes back to see if he can help out their defense in 2023.
Vikings Free Agency Rumors – Day 2
Dalvin Cook to Dolphins now seems unlikely
On Monday, we shared the rumor that the Miami Dolphins were one of two NFL teams to recently contact the Vikings about a possible trade for running back Dalvin Cook. Well, on Tuesday, any possibility of Cook winding up in Miami for the 2023 season seemed to go out the door.
The Dolphins reportedly re-signed running back Jeff Wilson on Tuesday, and with them bringing back all three of their running backs from the 2022 season, Miami is now “likely to bypass” any efforts to try and acquire Cook from Minnesota this year, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
Vikings “looking into” bringing back Austin Schlottmann
Before we found out that the Vikings were able to agree to a new contract with center Garrett Bradbury on Tuesday, the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson revealed that the team has been “looking into” re-signing free-agent interior lineman Austin Schlottmann this year.
Schlottman, who was added to the team during the 2022 free agency period, appeared in 16 games for the Vikings last season, including four starts.