Vikings quiet trade deadline move says a lot about 2026 plans

The NFL trade and deadline has come and gone, and the 2025 Minnesota Vikings remain fully intact.

Sitting at 4-4 through the season’s midpoint, and finally on the other side of a brutal rash of early-season injuries, the Vikings were neither buyers nor sellers before Tuesday’s deadline.

Vikings fans might groan at the team’s lack of aggressiveness, but in retrospect, Minnesota’s quiet approach was easy to see coming. 

Team ownership went all-in on this year’s group, approving a massive haul of free agent signings in March, and an overall roster that costs $344 million, per Over the Cap; that’s the highest current figure in the NFL.

While the depth chart could use help at spots like cornerback, safety, and quarterback, the Vikings have enough talent across the board to justify standing pat; they just need to get (and stay) healthy.

With the trade deadline now in the rearview mirror, Minnesota’s longer-term vision is coming into focus.

A year after going all-in on free agency, the Minnesota Vikings are saving all their chips for the 2026 NFL Draft

The Vikings were fully equipped with draft capital at the deadline this year. That they opted to hold onto their picks this time around speaks volumes.

Minnesota currently holds eight selections for the 2026 draft, and should have at least one compensatory pick coming (a third-rounder, per Over the Cap) for Sam Darnold’s $100 million contract with Seattle.

Hitting on those picks — and layering their aging roster with young talent — will be the Vikings’ clear priority next year. They’re unlikely to be big buyers in the first wave of free agency again, especially with no prominent pending unrestricted free agents on their roster.

Bleacher Report’s Kris Knox released his top 50 pending UFAs following this week's trade deadline, and no Vikings players made the list; their biggest priority (outside of maybe Eric Wilson and Jalen Nailor?) will be defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, but as an exclusive rights free agent, he's already technically under team control.

A big reason for Minnesota’s expensive 2025 offseason was the team’s willingness to commit to multi-year contracts; the team even added a year to Andrew Van Ginkel’s deal to ensure he’s a Viking through at least 2026.

That leaves all signs pointing in the same direction. Vikings fans should expect a tempered, cost-friendly approach to next offseason, with a heavy emphasis on crushing April’s draft.

The last time Minnesota had a full draft board was 2022, and the franchise is still recovering from retaining two players (and one starter) from that 10-player class, now four years later.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and company are preparing for another big draft influx next year, and fans can only hope they can redeem themselves.