Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings have until May 1 to exercise the fifth-year option on 2023 first-round draft pick Jordan Addison. And they plan to do so.

“He’s a really important player for us, an impact player,” Vikings executive V.P. of football operations Rob Brzezinski said Monday, via Vikings.com. “We’re definitely exercising the option. For sure. The deadline for that is after the draft.”

Brzezinski’s express reference to the draft could prompt some to wonder whether Addison could be traded before or during the draft. They’re already paying Justin Jefferson $35 million per year at the position, and Addison is currently eligible for a new deal.

Addison’s fifth-year option will guarantee him a 2027 base salary of $18 million.

In three seasons, Addison has generated solid but not spectacular numbers. He had 911 receiving yards on 70 catches as a rookie, with 10 touchdowns. In 2024, that dipped to 875 yards and 63 catches, with nine receiving touchdowns. In 2025, he had only 42 catches for 610 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

His 65-yard touchdown run on Christmas clinched a win over the Lions, and ended Detroit’s playoff chances.

Addison missed the first three games of the 2025 season due to a suspension arising from a guilty plea to a DUI-related offense.

The Vikings were open to trading Jonathan Greenard this offseason, but the edge rusher remains a part of the team. Head coach Kevin O’Connell sounds as if he expects Greenard to be with the Vikings for a third season, though he didn’t completely close the door on a trade.

“Yeah, I expect him to be part of our team,” O’Connell said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. “I know there’s always conversations. There’s conversations this week. There’s conversations throughout the offseason, and we’ll continue to kind of attack things at the different phases. We’re getting ready to really jump heavily into draft meetings when we get back. But at the same time, we’re always going to try to do what’s best for our team and also what we think is best for each one of our individual players. And that’s an ongoing thing throughout every offseason.”

Greenard is set to carry a $22.15 million cap number in 2026, which is why the Vikings are open to moving him.

He is working his way back from shoulder surgery, which ended Greenard’s season after 12 games. Greenard made three sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits in 2025.

Greenard’s recovery is “on track,” O’Connell said.

“I would just say, I’m excited about Jonathan Greenard in Year 3 with us and excited about where our team’s going to go with him as a big part of our defense,” O’Connell said. “The business side of the NFL gets talked about a lot, but my role and the importance of the relationship side of things will always be paramount with all of our players, especially one of my captains like J.G.”

It became obvious late last season that Kyler Murray had played his final game for the Cardinals. The team kept him on injured reserve with a foot injury, with his last of five starts in 2025 coming on Oct. 5.

Mike LaFleur, though, wouldn’t discuss Murray’s future after his hiring as the team’s head coach.

Now that the Cardinals officially released Murray, who signed with the Vikings, LaFleur addressed Murray’s departure after seven seasons.

“Like I’ve said about Kyler, a lot of respect for him. Wish him the best,” LaFleur said Monday at the NFL owners meetings, via Donnie Druin of SI.com. “Did some good stuff here, but sometimes it’s time for change for both sides. Again, wish him the best. Will never wish ill will on anybody.”

Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, played under two head coaches in Arizona. He will not play for LaFleur.

He leaves after one playoff appearance, two Pro Bowls, 121 passing touchdowns, 60 interceptions and 32 rushing touchdowns.

“Like I just said, it’s one of those things where it’s good for both parties to part ways if you will,” LaFleur said. “Again, we wish him the best. He had a lot of success here. I know when I was on the other sideline, albeit [I’m not] Robert Saleh or one of the defensive coaches — he was a problem. Again, wish him all the success, but we felt like this was the best thing to move forward.”

The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew to join Jacoby Brissett in the quarterbacks room, and the team could draft a quarterback to join them.

“Let’s call it what it is: The quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports. We know that,” LaFleur said. “So there were lengthy conversations in so many different aspects of [the position], and there will continue to be until we figure out how we have the most perfect room possible. I like where we’re at right now, but like we said, if there’s a guy to add, we’re going to add [him].”

A week after signing veteran Kyler Murray, the Vikings signed veteran Carson Wentz. It was a move that was confusing for everyone outside the building, considering they also have former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer on their roster.

It made perfect sense to coach Kevin O’Connell, who saw Wentz start five games before a left shoulder injury ended his season.

“I just think it’s about depth,” O’Connell said Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona. “It’s about the fact that, without too much of a rearview-mirror-looking backward, you see where the final standings were; where we were at 9-8 and ultimately maybe the one or two or three plays or sequences of games where you find your way into the dance, and that’s really all you ever want at the beginning of every year is to punch your ticket to compete in that one game to continue moving on.

“We’ve played three guys in one year. We’ve played four in another. We just feel like having the ability to get quality quarterback play throughout the circumstances we do not control throughout the season gives our team pretty historic data that says if we get quarterback play to a certain line, we win a lot of football games. So we wanted to ensure we are able to do that, but also make it a very, very competitive room and that’s regardless of who’s taking reps with what group. We want the quarterback position to elevate our team, and with the talent we have around that position, we feel pretty good about it also working vice versa the other way around.”

Wentz wanted to start somewhere, and Minnesota might be his best chance for that.

“We wanted to be patient and allow Carson to see what opportunities might be out there, but at the same time, Carson knew very on early in offseason, regardless what other moves or move we made in that room, that we wanted him back,” O’Connell said. “He loved being in Minnesota. He loves our fan base. He loves getting to wear the purple and gold. I know for some people it might be a, ‘Why would Carson do that?’ I think some people are discounting the fact that he’s really enjoyed his time not only being around [quarterbacks coach] Josh [McCown] and his teammates but being a Minnesota Viking. It’s an important thing to me to always know that it’s a place that guys want to come play whether they have previous experience with us, but there’s a desire and an enthusiasm about playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.”

Wentz has 99 career starts and Murray 87. McCarthy started 10 games last season and Brosmer two.

Wentz, Murray and McCarthy all were top-10 draft picks, with Wentz going second overall to the Eagles in 2016, Murray No. 1 overall to the Cardinals in 2019 and McCarthy 10th overall in 2024.

They will compete for the job.

“Knowing that we feel comfortable and confident about the depth of our quarterback room, we want to prepare all of those guys to be able to take snaps and contribute to winning when called upon,” O’Connell said. “What that looks like, we’ll see.”

Hall of Famer John Madden once said, “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” The Vikings have three. What that means remains to be seen, but O’Connell appears comfortable with who he has in the room.

“I see a lot of ways that we’ll be able to continue the evolution and evolve our offense here in Year 5, but at the same time, principles I believe Kyler will be able to not only make his own but provide different layers to what we do with some of his experiences,” O’Connell said, “and the same goes for J.J. and Carson and Max as far as guys who now all have experience in our system, and that’s one of the benefits as we’ve seen before of playing multiple guys in a tough year for the quarterback position just from a pure health standpoint, which is what last year, so now we feel really good about the combination, depth, talent and the fact that we’ve got a room that’s going to push each and all of those guys are going to have great offseasons and be ready to rock and roll.”

Vikings Ring of Honor member Joey Browner has died. He was 65.

The Vikings announced Browner’s passing on Sunday.

Browner, a first-round pick in 1983 from USC, spent nine years with the Vikings. He finished his career with one season in Tampa.

In his time with Minnesota, Browner was a three-time first-team All-Pro, a second-team All-Pro, and a six-time Pro Bowler. Browner also was a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s.

Browner helped lead the Vikings to the NFC Championship in 1987. He was one of four siblings to play in the NFL, along with Ross, Jim, and Keith.

“We’ve lost a great friend and one of the best Vikings teammates,” former Vikings tight end Steve Jordan told Vikings.com. “God blessed Joey with phenomenal talent and a big heart to love people and be a beacon of positivity. Truly, he will be missed.”

Browner ranks third in team history for games played by a safety, behind only Paul Krause and Harrison Smith. Browner joined the Vikings’ Ring of Honor in 2013.

The news of Browner’s passing comes one day after the Vikings announced the passing of linebacker Jeff Siemon, a member of three Super Bowl teams in the 1970s.

We extend our condolences to Browner’s family, friends, and teammates.

Former Vikings linebacker Jeff Siemon has died. He was 75.

The team announced Siemon’s passing on Saturday.

A first-round pick in 1972 from Stanford, the Rochester, Minnesota native spent 11 years with the Vikings. He played for three Super Bowl teams (1973, 1974, 1976) and made the Pro Bowl four times.

Siemon was named one of the 50 Greatest Vikings in commemoration of the team’s 50th season, in 2010. He ranks third in team history in tackles, with 1,375. For nine straight seasons, Siemon appeared in every game.

We extend our condolences to his family, friends, and teammates.

Next month, Pittsburgh will take center stage to host the 2026 NFL Draft.

In 2027, the scene shifts to Washington, D.C., where the event will be held on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol.

What’s next? It might be back to the Midwest.

Minnesota Sports and Events announced on Wednesday that it has officially submitted a bid to host the 2028 NFL Draft in partnership with the Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

The Vikings’ home stadium would serve as the hub for the event, according to the proposal.

“Hosting the NFL Draft would be a defining moment for Minnesota — not just as a world-class event, but as a global showcase of who we are,” Minnesota Sports and Events President and CEO Wendy Blackshaw said, via CBS News. “We’ve proven we can deliver on the biggest stages, and this bid reflects both our ambition and our confidence in what this region can offer. At the same time, opportunities like this reinforce the importance of establishing a sustainable, long-term funding model, so Minnesota can remain competitive for events of this scale in the future.”

Vikings EVP of public affairs Lester Bagley said in the team’s announcement that the organization is “vested and invested, and we will provide financial support, staff support, and organizational energy.”

Minnesota last hosted a tentpole league event in February 2018 with Super Bowl LII, in which the Eagles defeated the Patriots to cap the 2017 season. Minneapolis hosting would mean all four NFC North cities would have had a draft, as Chicago has hosted multiple times, Detroit hosted in 2024, and Green Bay hosted in 2025.

Buffalo has also previously submitted a bid to host the draft in 2028.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is back in Detroit, for his third stint with the Lions. The 13-year veteran officially signed his new contract on Monday.

“That fire to just compete and go out there and just excel and help others as well,” Bridgewater said, via the team’s official website. “I’ve always been that type of player who just wants to see others have success and I always felt like as a quarterback we play a huge role in others’ success.”

Bridgewater replaces Kyle Allen as the primary backup to Jared Goff. But Bridgewater has a separate goal than serving as an insurance policy.

“If I can just go out there and help a sixth-round wide receiver have a four- or five-year career or an undrafted free agent get four or five years out of the league from just competing with him throughout the spring, preseason, training camp, if we get reps in the regular season, that’s just something that I look forward to doing,” Bridgewater said.

A first-round pick (32nd overall) in 2014, Bridgewater spent four years with the Vikings, two with the Saints, one with the Panthers, one with the Broncos, one with the Dolphins, and one with the Lions. He left the NFL to become a high-school football coach in 2024. After leading Miami Northwestern to a state championship, he rejoined the Lions for the postseason.

Last year, Bridgewater quit coaching after being suspended for providing benefits to his players. In response, the Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill in February 2026 to allow high school coaches to spend $15,000 per year on student welfare. There have been no further updates on the bill, known generally as the Teddy Bridgewater Act. To become law, it must both pass the House of Representatives and be signed by the governor.

After leaving high-school coaching, Bridgewater played for the Buccaneers last year, serving as the backup to Baker Mayfield.

For his career, Bridgewater has appeared in 83 regular-season games with 65 starts. He suffered a serious knee injury in late August 2016, weeks before what the Vikings had hoped would be a breakout third season with the team.

Veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins is looking for a new NFL team. He’s hoping to tap into an old connection.

Hopkins recently told TMZ that he’d like to reunite with quarterback Kyler Murray in Minnesota.

“Kyler . . . that’s my bro, man,” Hopkins said. “Kyler is like family. Whatever I can do for someone like that -- if Kyler needed me, if the Vikings need me, they know I’ll be there.”

The remark reconfirms the perception that Murray is the new starter in Minnesota (or, at a minimum, that it’s Murray’s job to lose).

The more pressing question for Hopkins is whether the Vikings envision a spot for him in the lineup. The depth chart is led by Justin Jefferson, obviously. Jordan Addison is the No. 2, as he approaches the last year of his first-round rookie deal. (The question of whether they’ll exercise his fifth-year option may not be the no-brainer it once seemed to be.) Jalen Nailor, mainly a slot receiver, left in free agency.

Hopkins has a specific and unique skill set. He displayed it during Saturday’s flag football event, boxing out an overmatched Team USA defender to make a one-handed catch of the undersized ball.

Hopkins turns 34 in June. He overlapped with Murray in Arizona from 2020 through 2022. He caught the Hail Murray touchdown pass amid a sea of Buffalo defenders, capping arguably the highlight of Murray’s career to date.

The challenge becomes setting aside Hopkins’s past achievements and assessing his expected contributions as of 2026. He had limited opportunities with the Ravens in 2025, catching 41 passes on 59 targets for 437 yards and four touchdowns.

Still, Hopkins could be a potent weapon in the red zone, giving Murray an option for jump balls in the back corner if/when the defense focuses on Jefferson.

A pair of longtime Vikings returned to the team’s facility on Friday to sign one-day retirement contracts.

Receiver Adam Thielen and fullback C.J. Ham are now officially Vikings for life.

Thielen, a Minnesota native who played at Minnesota State University in Mankato (where the Vikings used to conduct training camp), earned his spot on the team as an undrafted tryout player in 2013. He wasn’t even invited to the Scouting Combine.

By 2014, he had a roster spot. (That year, he blocked a punt against the Panthers and returned it for a touchdown.) By 2016, he had nearly 1,000 receiving yards. The following year, he made the Pro Bowl and landed on the All-Pro second team.

In 2018, he started the season with eight straight 100-yard receiving games, matching Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson’s record.

Thielen left for the Panthers in 2023 as a free agent. In 2025, the Panthers traded him back to the Vikings. He eventually asked for his release, so that he could sign with a contender. He finished his career with the Steelers.

Ham, also a Minnesota native, was undrafted in 2016. He played college football at Augustana, in South Dakota. Ham caught the eye of former Vikings assistant Kevin Stefanski at the University of Minnesota’s pro day workout.

“I’m putting the Gophers running backs through some individual drills,” Stefanski told Vikings.com, “and there’s one kid who’s just staring me right in the eyes, doing it exactly how it needs to be done, doing it with maximum effort. And I said, ‘Who’s that kid?'"

It got Ham an invitation to the Vikings’ rookie minicamp and, like Thielen, Ham earned his spot.

He spent 10 years with the Vikings. He arrived as a running back; in 2017, he moved to fullback at the urging of former Vikings running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu.

“I told him, ‘I’ve been blessed to coach guys who played 10 years or more,’ ” Polamalu told Vikings.com. “He looked at me and said, ’10 years?’ ‘Yep. But you’ve gotta promise me now, if I move you, you’ve gotta give me 10 years.’”

He did. At a time when so much attention will be paid to the names landing in round one of the various mock drafts, it’s important to remember two things.

Plenty of those guys won’t last. And some of the guys no one is talking about will.

Thielen and Ham are two clear examples of that.