The Minnesota Vikings have a number of veteran defensive starters playing on expiring contracts this season.
While the team locked up nose tackle Harrison Phillips with a two-year extension in September, starters Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard both signed team-friendly, one-year deals with Minnesota this offseason.
Assuming the Vikings will be in the market for young, ascending talent at defensive tackle in 2025 free agency, the scouting department from Bleacher Report recently predicted the team will sign former second-round pick Levi Onwuzurike of the NFC North rival Detroit Lions.
Here was the site’s take on the potential fit: “While Onwuzurike's career got off to a slow start, he's been having a solid campaign this fall. The 26-year-old had 22 pressures on 204 pass-rush snaps, per PFF, through Week 8 and has been solid against the run.”
The Vikings have key starters on expiring contracts at all three levels of the defense, including their top three cornerbacks. Linebackers Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel and Ivan Pace Jr. are all signed through at least 2025, but Pace is in line for an extension, as he’s set to make a hair over $1 million next season in the final year of his rookie deal.
The Vikings have an abundance of cap space in 2025 to potentially get a deal done, with the added bonus of pulling a key piece away from the Lions. That is, of course, if Detroit even allows the former No. 41 overall pick to walk in free agency.
The Vikings have an abundance of cap space in 2025 to potentially get a deal done, with the added bonus of pulling a key piece away from the Lions. That is, of course, if Detroit even allows the former No. 41 overall pick to walk in free agency.
