Free from the shackles of a bloated Kirk Cousins contract, and with the ability to invest more in the defense, the Minnesota Vikings were able to seek ideal fits for Brian Flores' defensive scheme last offseason. Edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel fit that bill, having spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins--the first three of which were with Flores as his head coach.
It's fair to assume Flores advocated strongly for signing Van Ginkel, and it worked out nicely. He set career-highs for sacks (11.5), total tackles (79), tackles for loss (18) and defensive snaps (922) last season on his way to earning his first career Pro Bowl nod. Pro Football Focus graded him out in the top-35 among edge rushers, with the sixth-best coverage grade (81.0) at the position.
Van Ginkel's signature play from last season was this one, a pick-6 of Aaron Rodgers in London.
Just the fifth pick-6 thrown by Aaron Rodgers in his career 😳
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
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Recognizing the key that tells you to drop there is one thing (h/t to Chase Daniel). But Van Ginkel did it, while also having the skill and athleticism to make the catch and go the other way for a touchdown. There aren't many edge rushers out there who can do that.
Andrew Van Ginkel will get paid handsomely if he has a suitable follow-up to 2024
Signed to a two-year, $20 million deal by the Vikings last offseason, Van Ginkel was a remarkable bargain last season. It could also wind up looking like his career year, if he doesn't follow it up nicely next season. The idea of trading him, with a nod to his value never being higher than it is right now and a potential replacement being in place, is not entirely ridiculous.
That being said, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report probably had a pretty easy time tabbing Van Ginkel as the most underpaid Vikings' player after the peak of 2025 free agency.
"A rare veteran with a $10-million-a-year contract on this list, Van Ginkel outperformed his free-agent deal by a massive margin in a second-team All-Pro 2024 campaign. He would have landed a much bigger contract than $20 million over two years had he done that one season earlier in Miami. If he proves it wasn’t a fluke in ‘25, he could double that AAV as a free agent again."Â
At the moment, based on annual average, Van Ginkel is the 31st-highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL (teammate and fellow 2024 free agent signing Jonathan Greenard is 13th). With another season like last year, Van Ginkel will correct his place in that salary pecking order.