Grade A: Vikings' pursuit of free agents should be aided by stellar marks in NFLPA survey
Notes on the Vikings being considered among the NFL's elite by players, why the plan for Sam Darnold is clear and a hire that has the potential to backfire.
The Vikings’ biggest advantage when it comes to pursuing upper-echelon free agents next month will be the fact they rank seventh in the NFL with $63.3 million in salary cap space, according to the Over The Cap website. But it’s also significant that the Vikings finished second out of the league’s 32 teams in the third annual player team report card that was released by the NFL Players Association on Wednesday.
The Vikings topped the report card in 2023 and have been second to the Miami Dolphins each of the past two years. This should help to serve as a selling point for free agents considering multiple offers. It’s also a testament to what general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell have done since taking over in 2022.
The survey involved 1,695 players, 77 percent of the NFLPA’s membership, and was conducted by a third party, Artemis Strategy Group.
The Vikings’ lowest grade was a B-plus for nutritionist and dietician. The Vikings received four A-plus grades, including one for owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and another for head coach Kevin O’Connell. Treatment of families and locker room facilities also were given A-plus grades. The Vikings got a grade of A for training staff, strength coaches and team travel, and A-minus grades for food and dining area, training room and weight room.
Twenty years ago, when the Vikings’ facility was located in Eden Prairie, the legend was that team officials would take free agents out for dinner and drinks and then bring them to Winter Park with the hope that a few cocktails caused them to miss the fact the building was decrepit. It didn’t help that Red McCombs, who sold the Vikings to the Wilfs in 2005, invested little into the place and operated on the cheap.
The Vikings now occupy the campus known as TCO Performance Center — not to mention playing their home games at state of the art U.S. Bank Stadium — and don’t have owners who are looking to cut costs.
As free agents decide where they want to spend the next few seasons of their career, the Vikings will be able to make a compelling case with cash and top-notch facilities and staff.
THE PLAN IS CLEAR
The Vikings, like every other NFL team, use subterfuge whenever possible to keep everyone guessing. But when it comes to the team’s quarterback situation, O’Connell and Co. are making little effort to maintain mystery.
O’Connell hasn’t said the Vikings will allow Darnold to hit free agency when it opens on March 12 — in part because the Vikings still might use the franchise tag on him and then try to make a trade — but O’Connell also has given every indication the team is ready to start 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy next season.
Listen to O’Connell talk about Darnold, as he did at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, and he sounds like a proud parent who is ready to send his child off to college. “I feel very proud to be a part of him getting to this point and we’ll see where it goes from here,” O’Connell said.
The Vikings’ likely are hoping that they find there’s enough interest in Darnold that using the franchise tag on him by next Tuesday’s deadline makes sense. The one-year tag is projected to be $41.3 million.
Adofo-Mensah should be able to learn this week at the combine if there’s a trade market — Darnold would have to be willing to go along with the plan and sign an extension wherever he was dealt — and what the return might be. Otherwise, Darnold almost certainly will leave as a free agent and the Vikings would stand to get a compensatory pick in 2026.
LOOKING FOR MORE EDGE
O’Connell is well respected by his players in part because of the coaching staff he has assembled. That’s what made it surprising this week when the team hired Keith Carter as its assistant offensive line coach. He replaces Shaun Sarrett, who left to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line coach.
Carter, 42, who spent the past two years as the New York Jets’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator after five seasons as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, was criticized on social media by former Titans tackle Taylor Lewan in 2024. In a comment that was deleted, then-Jets left tackle Mekhi Becton replied to Lewan’s post by saying his criticism of Carter was “nothing but facts.”
Robert Saleh, who was the Jets’ coach at the time, decided to stick with Carter but new coach Aaron Glenn dismissed him. The Jets averaged only 91.8 yards rushing per game last season — that put them second-to-last in the NFL — although the offensive line was considered to be improved from 2023.
Still, Carter’s baggage from the Titans, Jets, and before that the Falcons, make this seem like a hire that isn’t worth the risk. So what is O’Connell thinking?
The first thing might be that Carter won’t be running the offensive line and will report to Chris Kuper. The second would be O’Connell believes Carter will help make the line, especially the interior, a tougher unit.
But is it worth the risk?
“A former No. 1 (offensive line coach) that’s been involved in some of the best rushing attacks over the last four, five, six years,” O’Connell said. “He’s at a great time in his career where he really wanted to come to Minnesota. Really think he’s going to be able to help us a lot, infuse some things into our run game.
“You’ll find some things about him in regards to being tough on his players. But I think in the No. 2 role, he’s going to be really good for us.”
Safe to say, Carter’s work and relationship with players will be watched closely by O’Connell.