Vikings sign 11 free agents to new deals
The Minnesota Vikings season might be over, but we all know the machine that is the NFL never stops, ever.The offseason is its own season and teams are as active as ever. They're trying to find more pieces, hidden gems -whatever it may be- to help fix whatever went wrong the year before. And, hopefully, […]
The Minnesota Vikings season might be over, but we all know the machine that is the NFL never stops, ever.
The offseason is its own season and teams are as active as ever. They're trying to find more pieces, hidden gems -whatever it may be- to help fix whatever went wrong the year before. And, hopefully, 2024 will provide different results.
A big part of that is signing free agents to Reserve/Futures contracts. These are deals for practice squad players that finished the year with the team on said squad. Players are not obligated to sign with the team they ended the season with, therefore, they can find new homes pretty quickly. These guys will not count toward the salary cap until the start of the new league year, which is March 13, and they are not free to negotiate with teams. Teams can sign as many players to these contracts, as long as it doesn't put them over the 90-man roster limit.
So, with that being said, let's take a look at the 11 free agents the Vikings signed earlier in the week:
- LB Abraham Beauplan
- T Henry Byrd
- T Coy Cronk
- RB Myles Gaskin
- WR N'Keal Harry
- WR Tristan Jackson
- RB DeWayne McBride
- G Tyrese Robinson
- WR Thayer Thomas
- CB Jaylin Williams
- CB Joejuan Williams
Harry, a former first-round pick, and Gaskin are the biggest names on this list and easily have the most experience out of the above names. Both players have at least a dozen starts, apiece, over their five NFL seasons and they've been able to produce at times. The two of them are also returning to Minnesota after ending the season on the practice squad.
Vikings fans will also recognize the last two names, as they made spot appearances toward the end of the year. Injuries to guys like Byron Murphy and Mekhi Blackmon opened the door for both Williamses. Cronk and Jackson are the only other two players with playing experience – Jackson caught two passes for nine-yards in seven appearances for the Vikings, last year.
This is just the first stepping stone of what should be a very interesting offseason up North.
