The Vikings have landed a new cornerback in the early stages of the free agent negotiating window.
Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with James Pierre on a two-year deal. The contract is worth $8.5 million with $3.7 million in guaranteed money.
Pierre signed with the Steelers after going undrafted in 2020 and returned to the team after failing to make the Commanders in 2024. Pierre appeared in 95 games over his six seasons in Pittsburgh.
Pierre had 147 tackles, four interceptions, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in those appearances. He also had six tackles in four playoff games with the Steelers.
Vikings Clips
The Vikings are hoping to hold onto linebacker Ivan Pace as he moves into restricted free agency.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Vikings will tender Pace with a contract ahead of the start of the new league year this week. Pace will receive the lowest, right of first refusal tender.
That tender carries a salary of $3.52 million for the 2026 season. Another team can sign Pace to an offer sheet and the Vikings will have a chance to match it, but will not receive any compensation if they opt against doing so.
Pace appeared in every game last season and started six times. He had 62 tackles and a sack in that action.
When the new league year begins and multiple veteran quarterbacks are released, multiple teams will be in line for a major bargain.
With the Cardinals owing Kyler Murray $36.8 million, the Raiders owing Geno Smith $18.5 million, and the Dolphins owing Tua Tagovailoa $54 million, each could take a one-year deal for $1.3 million and stick their former teams with the balance.
That’s what Russell Wilson did two years ago, after the Broncos released him. Denver owed Wilson $39 million. He took a one-year contract for the then-veteran minimum of $1.21 million. (That year, the Steelers ultimately paid their entire depth chart — Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen — less than former Pittsburgh backup Mason Rudolph got in Tennessee.)
While there’s a chance Smith can command more than $18.5 million, Murray and Tagovailoa definitely will be in the minimum-salary category. It makes both of them more attractive.
The Vikings undoubtedly will pursue one of them. Other teams will, too. And they each should try to get a no-trade clause and a no-tag clause, guaranteeing that: (1) they won’t be shipped to another team without having input in the matter; and (2) they’ll have a clear shot at free agency if things go well in 2026.
Kirk Cousins, who also will be cut on Wednesday, has a 2026 guarantee of only $10 million. Based on his performance in 2025, he most likely will not be a minimum-salary option. The availability of the other three, however, could make it harder for Cousins to find a landing spot. Some teams will be inclined to take a far cheaper option in lieu of paying Cousins at least $20 million for 2026, if not more.
With a trip to free agency roughly 12 hours away, linebacker Eric Wilson decided to stay where he has been.
Via Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, the Vikings and Wilson have agreed to terms on a three-year, $22.5 million deal. Of that amount, $12.5 million is fully guaranteed.
The 31-year-old Wilson appeared in all 17 regular-season games last season, starting 16 of them.
He arrived in Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 2017. After four seasons with the Vikings, he signed a one-year deal with the Eagles. A Week 1 starter in 2021, he was released after only seven games. He finished the year with the Texans.
Wilson spent the next three seasons with the Packers. In his first two years, he appeared in 30 games with no starts. In 2024, he appeared in all 17 games, with 12 starts.
Last year, he signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal to return to Minnesota.
Not many guys see their biggest NFL payday on the other side of 30. Wilson has — and it ensures (given the guarantees) that he’ll have at least two more years with the Vikings.
Earlier tonight came word that the Vikings restructured the contract of tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the restructure includes the team agreeing to delete the final year of Hockenson’s deal. So, Hockenson took a $5 million pay cut in return for becoming a free agent in 2027.
The restructured deal gives the Vikings $5 million in cap relief.
Hockenson had a 2026 base salary of $15.4 million, with per-game roster bonuses totaling $510,000 and a workout bonus of $100,000.
His cap number was slated to be $21.296 million in 2026.
In 15 games last season, Hockenson had 51 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns.
The Vikings’ scramble to create cap space won’t result in the release of veteran tight end T.J. Hockenson.
NFL Media reports that the Vikings have restructured his contract, creating $5 million in 2026 cap space.
Hockenson had a 2026 base salary of $15.4 million, with per-game roster bonuses totaling $510,000 and a workout bonus of $100,000.
His cap number was slated to be $21.296 million in 2026.
The eighth overall pick of the Lions in 2019 was traded to the Vikings in 2022. In 15 games last season, he had 51 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns.
His best season came in 2023, with 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns.
The Vikings have been trying to create cap space in recent days, with multiple veterans released. It’s a direct product of last year’s all-in effort to enhance the roster around quarterback J.J. McCarthy. This year, the most pressing offseason need will be to find someone who can serve as a competent backup to McCarthy or to push him or to supplant him.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals will release Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Those inclined to bet on propositions like a player’s next team regard the Vikings as the clear favorites to sign him.
On DraftKings, Murray’s odds have moved from -110 to -295. The next team is the Jets at +350.
The Dolphins are at +550, with the Falcons at +650. The Browns are +800. The Steelers are +1300, the Colts are +1600. The Rams are +2000.
The offensive rookie of the year and two-time Pro Bowler had three solid seasons in Arizona. The next four seasons, which were marred by an ill-advised homework clause and a torn ACL suffered in December 2022, did not go nearly as well.
Making Murray more attractive is the possibility that he’ll do a one-year, $1.3 million contract, with the Cardinals paying him $35.5 million.
The first question is whether he wants to play right away, or whether he’s content to join a team like the Rams as a backup, with the goal of hitting the reset button in advance of 2027. Given his skills, why spend a season on the sideline? He should be looking to play now, with the goal of playing well enough that another big contract will come his way next March, if not sooner.
Tua Tagovailoa’s time as the starting quarterback of the Dolphins ended on a Monday night in December against the Steelers. Soon, we’ll know whether the Dolphins will be trading or releasing him.
The past errors in the handling of Tua’s contract don’t matter. Obviously, the Dolphins never should have swapped his fifth-year option in 2024 for a contract worth $53.1 million annually. They were bidding against themselves, and they won — and lost.
Now, the Dolphins owe him $54 million for 2026. They’ll absorb $99.2 million in dead-cap charges over 2026 and 2027 if he’s released. The only way to blunt that impact is to trade him. The only way to trade him is to attach assets to his contract. (His contract could be tucked into a broader trade in order to make it less obvious, like the Rams did when they added an extra first-round pick to the trade that brought Matthew Stafford to L.A. and unloaded Jared Goff’s remaining guarantees. It would be much more obvious this time around.)
The question moving forward is whether Tua will become the next first-round quarterback who thrives with another team.
His situation is different than folks like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Geno Smith. Tua played well enough to get the team that drafted him to give him a a-market-is-the-market-level deal. In 2023, he started all 17 games and led the league in passing yardage (4,624). The prior season, he led the league in touchdown percentage (6.3), yards per attempt (8.9), and passer rating (105.5).
The knock has been that Tua has had too many head injuries, and that (as former teammate Xavien Howard said after the Week 1 game at Indianapolis in 2025) he reverts to “panic mode” when his first read isn’t open. As the 2025 season went on, he wasn’t sufficiently taking care of the ball. That eventually got him benched.
But Tua is hardly the only quarterback who can’t whip up chicken salad on the fly, or who has turnovers. And he’s good enough to play, for someone. Under the right circumstances, he could be as good as he was at his best in Miami.
The Jets need a quarterback. He’s 8-0 all-time against them, with a passer rating of 101.0. The Falcons need a quarterback, too. Tua torched them in Atlanta last season, with four touchdown passes in a 34-10 romp.
Look at Atlanta’s roster. Bijan Robinson. Drake London. Kyle Pitts Sr. The offensive line is good enough to buy Tua time. The defense has talent (the availability of James Pearce Jr. is currently up in the air). They finished in a three-way tie with the Panthers and Bucs last year, at 8-9. Put Tuta indoors for eight home games (the ninth will be played in Madrid) and two road games (New Orleans and Minnesota), and maybe he could thrive. (That said, there could be a few cold-weather games, since the Falcons will play in 2026 at Green Bay, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Washington.)
The Vikings are kicking tires on any/every available quarterback, too. They have nine indoor home games (including a visit from the Dolphins) and two road games in a dome at the Saints and Lions. (But, yes, there will be potential cold-weather contests at the Bears, Packers, Jets, and Patriots.)
With the Dolphins owing him $54 million in 2026, Tua could do a one-year, $1.3 million deal with a new team and stick the Dolphins for the $52.7 million balance. That makes him a low-risk, potential high-reward option. And if a coach is confident that he can scheme up plays that will allow Tua to find an open receiver quickly and to keep him from taking needless hits, he could do better than expected in his second NFL stop.
There’s still no guarantee it’ll happen in 2026. Because the Dolphins owe him so much money, they could keep him. It would be awkward, for both sides. But it’s possible. And the Dolphins could choose to keep him on the roster in the hopes that some team will eventually realize that: (1) it still needs a quarterback; and (2) it could do a lot worse than Tua Tagovailoa.
Sure, another $3 million (in 2027 salary) becomes fully guaranteed on Friday. But what’s another $3 million, when they already owe him $54 million?
The Vikings have tendered another one of their exclusive rights free agents.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that they have tendered linebacker Bo Richter. They did the same with defensive lineman Jalen Redmond this week and running back Zavier Scott is their other player in that category.
Richter has appeared in 31 games for the Vikings the last two seasons. He’s seen most of his time on special teams, but has also played 81 snaps on defense.
Richter had 11 tackles and a pass defensed in 17 games in 2025. He had eight tackles and a fumble recovery during his first season with the team.
The Vikings will officially need a new center for 2026.
Ryan Kelly announced his retirement from pro football on Friday.
Kelly, 32, signed with Minnesota last offseason after spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Colts. Kelly started eight games for the Vikings in 2025, but was placed on injured reserve in December after suffering his third concussion of the year.
“Ten seasons,” Kelly posted in his announcement on social media. “What an incredible ride it was. I was blessed to be around some of the greatest people this sport has to offer. I always wanted to leave each place better than how I found it and with that I can hang my hat. Forever grateful for my family and brothers! Cheers.”
The No. 18 overall pick of the 2016 draft, Kelly was selected to four Pro Bowls in his career and was a second-team All-Pro in 2020. He started all 129 games he played in his career.
