The Minnesota Vikings have had a crazy 2023 season. They have win streaks, they've had losing streaks, they've lost key players to injury, and they've had issues turning the ball over.
Despite the craziness and everything that has gone against the Vikings, they are still alive in the NFC playoff picture, even after their most recent defeat.
A reason for Minnesota still having hope as we approach January is they are a resilient group who have had some key performances from players who have given the team reason to bring them back for another stint.
These players are all free agents at the end of the season, and maybe at one point, the Vikings had considered moving on from them. But for their play this year, they have all shown that they deserve to be brought back for another contract.
Minnesota is also in the thick of the playoff picture and not securely in a playoff spot because many players haven't played well this season.
These players have failed the Vikings time and time again and have proven that they don't deserve to be back, even at a discounted rate.
So let's look at four Minnesota players who deserve to be back with the team in 2024 and four who do not.
Deserves To Be Back: D.J. Wonnum - OLB
His recent injury puts a new wrinkle into this, but D.J. Wonnum has shown he deserves to get a second contract from the Vikings.
The guy has proven to be a perfect fit in Brian Flores's defense and has put together his most complete season under his tutelage.
Wonnum has always been a good pass rusher, with 15 sacks in his first three seasons. The issue was his run defense was basically non-existent.
That has changed this season, and Wonnum has nearly doubled his career-high in tackles with two games to spare.
It sucks he won't be able to add to those numbers after blowing out his quad, but the fact he became a complete defender was an impressive feat.
Wonnum was also on pace to smash his career-high in sacks, but the injury will prevent that from happening.
The Vikings are thin at edge rusher and it will be curious to see whether the Vikings decide to invest in Wonnum, Danielle Hunter, or both.
Hunter has longevity and consistency, but Wonnum has youth on his side.
It'll be interesting to see what they end up doing, but Wonnum's play this season and overall development shows he deserves to be brought back for another tenure with Minnesota.
Deservs To Be Back: Danielle Hunter - OLB
This one is about as obvious as you can get. Danielle Hunter has been a monster this season, being a force as a pass rusher and also being extremely effective in run defense.
He's as good as any edge rusher in the league, and his 15.5 sacks with two games remaining speaks to that very clearly.
Hunter deserves to be back even at his inevitably high price tag because he's that good. He's the biggest and most consistent playmaker on the Vikings' defense.
His pressure makes the whole defense better, and there is no one on the roster who can come close to duplicating it if he ends up signing elsewhere in 2024.
It won't be cheap, and the Vikings will need to figure out how they are going to allocate their funds, but Hunter needs to be a priority this offseason.
He is 29-years-old, but the guy is an athletic freak and has shown no signs of slowing down.
The Vikings have a ton of cap room, and giving Hunter what he wants would be a wise business decision because he's proven he's worth every single penny.
Deserves To Be Back: Dalton Risner - OG
Dalton Risner visited the Vikings last August, but he didn't sign with them until mid-September.
It took him a few weeks to get acclimated, but soon, he was starting for the team, and he played so well that Minnesota was comfortable trading Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Risner has been very good in 2023 and has graded out highly in both run and pass blocking by PFF.
Since his insertion into the Vikings' lineup, the offensive line has jelled, going from a major weakness to a big strength.
Risner also has been great for the locker room, becoming an advocate for this team and the culture that Kevin O'Connell has installed.
On top of all of that, Risner has been a standout in the community volunteering and giving back through his RisnerUp Foundation.
Risner deserves a second contract with the team. He came in and quickly picked up the scheme and has been solid.
Minnesota knows what they have in him and don't have to worry about a rookie getting acclimated or a free agent from another team having to come in and learn the terminology and blocking scheme.
Risner also has stated how much he loves being a part of the Vikings and that could potentially lead him to take a contract that is a little more team-friendly.
Deserves To Be Back: Kirk Cousins - QB
This one could be divisive, but Kirk Cousins deserves another couple of years with the Vikings.
Cousins was balling out with the team when his Achilles ruptured against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
He was having an MVP-caliber type of season, and the team was starting to roll even without Justin Jefferson.
With Cousins on the sidelines, Vikings fans have come to realize, whether they want to admit it or not, how vital he is to the team's success.
Jaren Hall had one good drive, and Josh Dobbs had a couple of decent weeks before turning into a bumbling turnover machine in an offense that couldn't produce any points.
Nick Mullens has been able to move the ball but has also made some crucial mistakes that took points off the board and were key to the Vikings' most recent losses.
With Cousins at the helm, the Vikings are likely 11-4 and are not worrying about getting into the playoffs but worrying about where they should go during their first-round bye.
The Vikings and their fans deserve to see a team led by Cousins on offense with a defense that is successfully running Brian Flores's scheme. That is a team that can compete for a championship.
It's unclear if Flores will take a head coaching job, but the Vikings can control what happens with Cousins, and having him finish his career in Minnesota is something that he deserves a chance to do.
Doesn't Deserve To Be Back: K.J. Osborn - WR
KJ Osborn was a player that many had pegged as a breakout candidate in 2023.
Not that he hasn't already made a name for himself, but this was a guy that many figured could hold off rookie Jordan Addison and be this team's number-two option all season long.
He is in a contract year, so it was assumed that he'd ball out and look to make himself some serious money in the free-agent market.
Osborn hasn't had the season many expected of him. He's caught just 46 balls for 531 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.
He hasn't been able to fend off Addison, and when Justin Jefferson was out, it was the rookie and tight end T.J. Hockenson who emerged as the top targets and not the receiver who was entering a money year.
While the stat line is disappointing, what is even more depressing are the drops. Osborn has had a plethora of balls sneak through his mitts.
The usually surehanded pass catcher has had some key drops that have set the Vikings offense back, and have been especially crucial in the games helmed by a backup when yards and points have been hard to come by.
It was assumed by a few that Osborn would play his way out of the Vikings pocketbook this year.
That hasn't happened but now a new question comes up. Does Minnesota even want him back?
The lack of production and drops make the case that he doesn't deserve it, but maybe that lowers his price tag and is the thing that keeps him with the team moving forward.
Doesn't Deserve To Be Back: Dean Lowry - DL
Dean Lowry has no business coming back to the Vikings for a second season.
The guy was seen as a blue-collar type of defender, being someone who was going to do his job well but not give you much beyond that. Lowry has failed in that regard and has given little to this team.
Lowry has been out of the lineup since the Denver Broncos game in Week 11, and one can't tell any sort of difference. If anything, the defense has been better in his absence.
Lowry has just 14 tackles on the season, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. That's it.
He's consistently been one of the lowest-graded Vikings' defenders by PFF and has been a major disappointment.
There's no reason for the Vikings to bring Lowry back. They can get the same type of production out of a late-round draft pick and will be looking at defensive end in free agency, where it won't be tough to find an upgrade.
Lowry was much more effective in his tenure with the Packers, and for whatever reason, his play has fallen off since he put on that beautiful shade of purple.
Doesn't Deserve To Be Back: Marcus Davenport - OLB
Why would the Vikings bring back a guy who has been injury-prone his entire career and, in his only season in purple, proved that narrative to be true?
Davenport has only appeared in four games for the Vikings, and one shouldn't even count, as he came off the field after a few plays.
The dude can't be counted on, and there's no reason to offer another contract to a player who can't stay on the field and also leaves questions, fair or not, about his desire to get back on it.
Davenport did have a huge impact in the few games he suited up for the Vikings.
He was consistently in opponents' backfields, and his presence seemed to have a positive trickle-down effect on the rest of the defense.
Unfortunately, he was injured again a few weeks later and has yet to take the field for the Vikings, and his window for return hasn't opened yet.
This means we won't see Davenport in purple again unless Minnesota makes the playoffs.
The Vikings have much bigger priorities and decisions to make instead of worrying about extending Davenport.
Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum are better and more reliable options, and they will get the attention when it comes to a contract.
Davenport was in a prove-it deal, and all he proved was how unreliable he his.
Doesn't Deserve To Be Back: Greg Joseph - K
Greg Joseph didn't deserve to be back last year, and he sure doesn't again next season.
Joseph wasn't good in 2022 when the Vikings decided to re-sign him. He made just 78 percent of his field goals and also made just 87 percent of his extra-point attempts.
This season, he is even worse, making just 77.8 percent of his field goals. He's a hair better on the extra points, making 94.3 percent of his kicks, but he ranks toward the bottom of the league amongst kickers.
There's no reason to bring him back. It's not hard to find a kicker who can make 75 percent of his kicks. Any kicker off the street can do that or better.
Kevin O'Connell has proven to be extremely loyal to the players that he's formed relationships with, but Joseph's misses can be the difference in close games, and the Vikings have lost plenty of those this season.
The Vikings have money to spend this offseason. Some of that needs to be given to a kicker they can be comfortable with and know they can rely on.
They can't roll with a guy who has gone from bad to worse in back-to-back seasons.