Following a promising five-game winning streak to close out their 2025 campaign, the Minnesota Vikings have spent much of the early part of their offseason dealing with the situation surrounding defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
After letting his contract expire, the Vikings did re-sign the Assistant Coach of the Year finalist on the condition that he doesn't receive one of the remaining head coaching vacancies, which is looking less and less likely with each passing day.
But regardless how the Flores saga plays out, Minnesota will obviously soon turn its full focus to the roster, which could see plenty of changes, as roughly 20 players are set to enter some sort of free agency, a list that includes legendary safety Harrison Smith, wide receiver Jalen Nailor, linebacker Eric Wilson, running back Ty Chandler, fullback C.J. Ham, cornerbacks Fabian Moreau and Jeff Okudah, and quarterback Carson Wentz.
Another name on the list that doesn't get mentioned often is veteran long snapper Andrew DePaola, who has earned All-Pro honors in each of the last four seasons, earning a Second-Team nod for the 2025 campaign behind only Ross Matiscik of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Minnesota Vikings predicted to re-sign long snapper Andrew DePaola
Vikings insider Alec Lewis of The Athletic recently took the time to share his thoughts on some of the names mentioned above, specifically whether they'd be brought back to Minnesota or allowed to walk into free agency. And unsurprisingly, he's predicting Minnesota to re-sign DePaola, calling it the "easiest call" on the list.
"Only one Vikings player has earned All-Pro honors in each of the last four seasons: DePaola. He is the team’s NFLPA player rep, and veterans and younger players on special teams appreciate his voice in the locker room. As long as Matt Daniels is the special teams coordinator, DePaola is likely to be the team’s long snapper."
While DePaola will be 39 by the time the 2026 season begins, his age shouldn't be an issue, as he's clearly gotten better as he's gotten older.
And as for the matter of money, long snappers obviously don't command that much of it.
For the 2025 season, according to Over The Cap, the highest-paid player at the position in terms of average annual value was James Winchester of the Kansas City Chiefs at $1.65 million. DePaola ranked 18th at $1,341,666, so even if he gets a raise to become the new No. 1, which he's certainly earned, it won't cost the Vikings that much more money.
So, we're certainly in agreement with Lewis that bringing back DePaola for at least one more season is an easy call.