The Vikings signed defensive lineman Eric Johnson on Wednesday, the team announced.
Johnson, 27, spent last season with the Colts. He played 12 games, seeing action on 131 defensive snaps and 16 on special teams, and totaled six tackles.
He entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2022.
Johnson spent his first two seasons in Indianapolis before the Patriots claimed him off waivers out of the preseason in 2024. He played 11 games for New England.
Johnson rejoined the Colts in May 2025 when they claimed him off waivers from the Patriots.
He has appeared in 51 games, recording 41 tackles, including two for loss, with one sack, three quarterback hits and one fumble recovery.
Vikings Clips
After the Vikings made the belated decision to fire G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah beyond the normal post-season pink-slip window, the Vikings did not embark on a search to hire a new General Manager.
They are now.
Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf have announced that the process has begun.
“With the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft, our search for the next general manager of the Minnesota Vikings is underway,” the Wilfs said in a statement. “This will be a thorough and deliberate process led by ownership, with support from a small internal advisory committee of senior leaders. We have also engaged respected firm TurnkeyZRG to assist in conducting a wide-ranging search that includes experienced football executives, emerging candidates, and individuals with diverse professional backgrounds.
“Our focus is to identify a decisive leader with a clear vision for team building, strong communication skills, and the ability to build alignment across an organization. Out of respect for all involved, we do not intend to publicly announce candidates and will provide further comment when the search is complete.”
Even if they won’t be publicly announcing candidates, any requests made for permission to speak to employees currently working for other teams inevitably will be leaked to the media.
Without a G.M., Vikings executive V.P. of football operations Rob Brzezinski led the draft and free agency process. He could potentially be a candidate to assume the G.M. role.
The overriding question is whether coach Kevin O’Connell will emerge from the process with greater influence over the roster. That will make the specific terms of the G.M. job critical — and it will potentially impact Minnesota’s ability to interview and hire candidates under contract with other teams.
Either way, the search has begun for a new General Manager in Minnesota. At a minimum, they’ll need someone who will work well with O’Connell and the coaching staff.
Alignment is the key. With it, a team has a chance. Without it, a team has no shot.
Receiver Jauan Jennings may be getting closer to finding a new team.
Jennings is visiting with the Vikings on Tuesday night and Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Jennings, 28, had spent his entire career with the 49ers, with the club having selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. Jennings played 75 games with 32 starts for San Francisco, including 55 receptions for 643 yards with nine touchdowns in 2025.
The Vikings did not select a receiver in this year’s draft over the weekend, which puts them in the market for more depth at the position.
Free agent running back Sincere McCormick has agreed to terms with the 49ers, his representation announced on social media.
The 49ers will have to make a roster move to open a spot for McCormick.
McCormick, 25, joins Jordan James, Kaelon Black and Isaac Guerendo on the depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey.
McCormick joined the 49ers’ practice squad after the Raiders waived him out of the preseason. The team cut him Nov. 18, and he was on the practice squads of the Cardinals, Broncos and Vikings to end the season.
He did not play a down in 2025.
McCormick’s only playing time came with the Raiders in 2024 when he played five games with two starts. He has totaled 45 touches for 212 yards.
The Vikings have officially locked up Jordan Addison for the 2027 season.
Minnesota announced on Monday that the club has exercised Addison’s fifth-year option, putting him under contract for another year.
Addison is now set to make $18 million guaranteed in the final year of his rookie deal.
The No. 23 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Addison has been productive in each of his three seasons, playing alongside one of the league’s top receivers in Justin Jefferson. In 2025, Addison caught 42 passes for 610 yards with three touchdowns in 14 games.
In all, Addison has tallied 175 receptions for 2,396 yards with 22 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 103 yards with two TDs.
Addison is extension eligible, having completed his third season. The fifth-year option could be a starting point for negotiations on a long-term deal.
The Vikings did not draft any wide receivers this year, but they added four of them to their roster after the draft ended on Saturday.
The team announced the signing of 19 undrafted free agents to go with their nine draft picks and the group includes wideouts Dillon Bell, Shaleak Knotts, Marcus Sanders Jr., and Luke Wysong.
Bell had 119 catches over four seasons at Georgia while Knotts led Maryland with 717 receiving yards last season. Sanders had 50 catches for 797 yards at Georgia Southern in 2025 and Wysong wrapped up his college time at Arizona after playing four years at New Mexico.
The Vikings also signed North Carolina cornerback Marcus Allen, North Texas cornerback Da’Veawn Armstead, Notre Dame linebacker Jordan Botelho, Texas A&M cornerback Tyreek Chappell, South Carolina defensive lineman Monkell Goodwine, UCF linebacker Keli Lawson, Clemson offensive lineman Tristan Leigh, Dartmouth offensive lineman Delby Lemieux, FIU running back Kejon Owens, Virginia Tech offensive lineman Tomas Rimac, Temple linebacker Cam’Ron Stewart, James Madison safety Jacob Thomas, Georgia punter Brett Thorson, Colorado linebacker Arden Walker, and Texas A&M linebacker Scooby Williams.
The Vikings added four players on the second night of the draft. That’s still not the headline.
Minnesota traded defensive end Jonathan Greenard to the Eagles, in a move that entailed both teams proceeding quietly and discreetly while Greenard went to Philadelphia to take a physical.
After the Vikings made their Day 2 picks, executive V.P. of football operations Rob Brzezinski addressed the decision to trade Greenard.
“This is not something we’re jumping around excitedly about, but we do feel like we [did] the best thing for the organization moving forward,” Brzezinski said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN — who described the mood as “somber.”
So why not just give Greenard the four-year, $100 million deal he received from the Eagles? With Will Anderson recently moving the market at the position to $50 million per year, paying Greenard half that amount doesn’t seem to be a ridiculous amount.
“We have just spent so much money the last several years that it’s not sustainable for us to move forward,” Brzezinski said. “Our salary cap situation has been very, very challenging.”
That’s the price for going all-in a year ago, despite not having a viable plan at quarterback. They surely didn’t sign Greenard in 2024 with the goal of keeping him for two years. And so they opted to seize on the opportunity to roll the dice on a pair of younger, cheaper players in the form of a third-round pick in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.
The onus now falls on the front office (which currently doesn’t have a G.M.) to get the right players, and on the coaching staff to develop them into contributors. And then to manage the cap in a way that allows them to reward and retain their best players.
When will new Eagles defensive end Jonathan Greenard make his first appearance in Philadelphia? He already has.
Greenard was spotted at the Celtics-76ers NBA playoff game with Eagles’ jack-of-all-trades Big Dom a/k/a Dom DiSandro.
Here’s video of Greenard at the game. Big Dom can be seen behind him.
Per the Eagles, Greenard arrived in Philly earlier in the day for a physical. After it was complete and the deal was agreed to and announced, Greenard went to the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Greenard fills the void that was created when Jaelan Phillips signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Panthers. The Eagles had given up a third-round pick to the Dolphins in order to secure Phillips for the 2025 stretch run.
After making their second-round pick, the Vikings made a move that likely will not go over well with the fan base.
Defensive end Jonathan Greenard has been traded to the Eagles, for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick. The Eagles also received pick No. 244 in the 2026 draft.
Greenard gets a four-year, $100 million extent, per multiple reports as leaked by Greenard’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
The possibility of a trade had lingered for weeks. Greenard, who was signed in free agency from the Texans when former Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter signed with Houston, wanted a raise over his $19 million compensation package for 2026.
The new deal averages $25 million per year, which remains well below the top of the market for edge rushers.
After racking up 12.0 sacks in 2024, his first with the Vikings, Greenard had only three sacks in 2025. Injuries limited him to 12 games with 10 starts.
The move now gives the Vikings three picks in tonight’s third round, subject to additional moves.
The Vikings have focused on improving their defense through the first two rounds of the 2026 NFL draft.
After adding Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in round one, the Vikings have selected Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday with the 51st overall pick.
The Vikings traded down from No. 49 to No. 51 with the Panthers to make the selection.
Golday was made the first-team All-Big 12 team in 2025. He led the team with 105 tackles. He was the first Cincinnati player to register more than 100 tackles since current Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. in 2022.
The Vikings are scheduled to have a pair of third-round picks later tonight.
