By: Jake Rajala

The pass-rushing stud Everson Griffen still has a ton of talent (five sacks and 10 QB hits in nine contests last season) and he is still an available free agent profile. Hence, I’m going to simply untwine five superb landing spots for the former Minnesota Vikings edge rusher.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs moved on from Melvin Ingram and they could certainly benefit from the arrival of a talented, pass-rushing face. The Chiefs drafted George Karlaftis in the first round of the 2022 draft, but it’s unclear how productive he will be in his first season. I’d love to see the Chiefs ink Griffen to pair with their well-proven, veteran QB hunters: Frank Clark and Chris Jones.

Baltimore Ravens

The scrappy LB Vince Biegel was recently sent to IR, so the Ravens need to find a new edge rusher to harass opposing signal-callers. Baltimore has an unearthly secondary, but they need to jolt their front seven that is led by Calais Campbell and Tyus Bowser. Griffen is a much-needed DE that could help the Ravens edge out the explosive Cincinnati Bengals passing offense

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons aren’t laying down without Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, and Calvin Ridley. Furthermore, the Falcons should bring in a new impressive player in an NFC South division that displays the Brady bunch, a Saints team with a healthy Michael Thomas (and Jameis Winston), and a Panthers team with a motivated Baker Mayfield. The Falcons pass rush could certainly be imposing with Griffen and Grady Jarrett.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are seeking revenge against the Los Angeles Rams while aiming to return to the Big Dance. The Bucs recently brought in Akiem Hicks and I’d love to see them bring in another quality DL. They don’t have Jason Pierre-Paul and it’s a bit uncertain if Joe Tryon will be a force in his sophomore season. Ultimately, Griffen could be an excellent DE3 at the very least and an x-factor against the despised New Orleans Saints.

New York Jets

The New York Jets have a lot of work to do if they want to shine in an ascending AFC East division. In particular, the Jets could benefit from a well-accomplished pass rusher that is fixed on taking down the mighty Josh Allen, the rising Mac Jones, and the hungry Tua Tagovailoa.

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By: Jake Rajala

The San Francisco 49ers carry the blood-thirsty, two-time Pro Bowl DE Nick Bosa, but he may be missing a partner in the near future. Per Niners Nation, the 49ers are expected to cut ties with Dee Ford in June. Ford has been a pass-rushing menace in his career, but he has only played in seven games in the past two seasons for the 49ers. It’s clear that John Lynch doesn’t feel his price tag is worth the risk at this point. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three potential pass rusher replacements for Ford.

Justin Houston

Justin Houston might be 33 years old, but he has been a productive pass rusher in recent memory (11 sacks in 2019, 8 sacks in 2020, and 4.5 sacks in 2021). Houston would have to be enticed about the idea of playing on the same DL as Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa. I don’t believe he would want the same price tag as Carlos Dunlap, but he could still provide production for a couple of more seasons.

Everson Griffen

The Vikings edge rusher Everson Griffen holds a similar outlook as Houston. He is also an aging pass rusher (34) and he mustered out 5 sacks in nine games last season. Similar to Richard Sherman, he is also a special person that has made mistakes and battled demons with his mental health. I expect him to return to a championship-caliber squad with a nice fit for his ability.

Jason Pierre-Paul

The former Buccaneers edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul has been rumored to land with the Cowboys, but he may be more interested in joining the 49ers potential empty chair for him. JPP had a down 2021 season, but he did have 9.5 sacks and 2 interceptions in 2020. He has gifted athletic ability and he may be the type of less expensive signing that can find gold with great match-ups late in his career.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Seattle Seahawks cut ties with the pass rusher, Carlos Dunlap, this off-season and it’s clear they could benefit from the arrival of a QB hunter. I wouldn’t be shocked if John Schneider used his remaining resources (the 14th most cap space in NFL) to ink a pass rusher in this second week of May. With that said, I’m going to untwine five pass rushers that would be a great fit for the DE-needy SEA squad.

• Carlos Dunlap

Carlos Dunlap is still a phenomenal football player and he proved that last season with 8.5 sacks and 14 QB hits. Furthermore, Dunlap has familiarity with the Seahawks defense and that is important. I believe that many Seattle fans would rather witness Dunlap return than Jadeveon Clowney.

The idea of Dunlap returning to the Seahawks is a real possibility. According to Sports Illustrated, Dunlap was stated to potentially return to the Seahawks in late March. If he doesn’t get an overly attractive deal soon, it would make sense for him to reunite with the Seahawks in 2022.

• Ryan Kerrigan

I would rather see the Seahawks give Ryan Kerrigan an opportunity than pay a plethora of money to bring in Melvin Ingram. Kerrigan has 95.5 career sacks and he’s been a pillar of consistency in every season except 2021. In 2021, he failed to record 5.5+ sacks for the first time in his career. He could really be an affordable diamond in the rough for the Seahawks defense right now.

• Everson Griffen

The Vikings legend Everson Griffen might be the poor man’s version of Dunlap. Griffen (34) is nearly the same age as Dunlap (33) and a bit less productive over the past few seasons than Dunlap. Griffen may want to play with a Super Bowl contender, but the Seahawks could be aggressive for his services. The four-time Pro Bowl DE could be a wrecking ball for the Seahawks if they can’t strike a deal with their beloved Dunlap.

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By: Chris Thomas

In recent memory, it is hard to recall so many extremely talented free agent players still available at this point of the offseason. The reasoning may be that teams wanted to wait till after the draft to see if they could fill the remaining needs on their roster in the early rounds. Teams may also want to wait till training camp to see if the players on their roster have developed to a point where they could fill that need. On top of that in recent years veteran free agents have decided to wait till after the draft and training camp to sign with teams so they can look at a team’s overall roster before signing and skip training camp and get ready for the season with their own personal trainers.

One of the deepest positions in this free-agent class is edge rusher. Multiple former Pro Bowl edge rushers are still on the market. There are a couple of teams around the league who could still use another pass rusher off the edge. Here is where the top free agent edge rushers could land.

Justin Houston to Baltimore Ravens

Before free agency started in March, Justin Houston was viewed as one of the best free-agent edge rushers. However, due to his age and slight decline, teams may have been hesitant to give Houston a long-term big money contract. But that being said Houston showed last year that he is still capable of being a player opposing offenses need to plan for. After racking up eleven sacks in his first season in Indianapolis, Houston had eight sacks this past year after the Colts traded for DeForest Buckner in the offseason. The pairing of Houston and Buckner was disruptive enough to give Indianapolis one of the better defenses in the league last season.

A team that has not done enough to replace the pass rushers they lost in free agency is the Baltimore Ravens. During free agency, the Ravens lost both Yannick Ngakoue and Matthew Judon who both signed large deals with the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots. Ngakoue and Judon had 9 of the teams 39 sacks last season. Along with Jihad Ward, they were three of the six payers that had three sacks or more for Baltimore last season.

They did manage to resign situational pass rusher Pernell McPhee and former second-round pick Tyus Bowser. But neither McPhee nor Bowser has shown the capability to play like a true number one pass rusher on a playoff team. The Ravens did use their second first-round selection (31st overall) on Penn State edge rusher Odafe “Jayson” Oweh. The hype around Oweh as a prospect was his athletic testing and high ceiling, but in year one he will likely be better in a rotational role.

Baltimore hasn’t been a stranger to signing veteran defenders over the years. Houston would arguably be the Ravens’ best pass rusher next season depending on how Calais Campbell plays. His eight sacks from a season ago would have led the Ravens last year and he could very well lead the team in that category if he were to sign there. The transition to Baltimore’s defense wouldn’t be that large considering Houston was largely looked at as just a 3-4 outside linebacker before landing in Indianapolis. Actually, the reason why Kansas City let him go was because of the fear that he would not be able to fit in with Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 defensive scheme. Bringing in Houston could be more than a bridge until Oweh can take on a full-time role. Houston could be what boosts this defense to play at a top-10 level this season. He has Pro Bowl upside and could very well make people question why he didn’t land with a team earlier in the offseason.

Prediction: Justin Houston signs with the Baltimore Ravens for one year $7.5 Million

Melvin Ingram to Pittsburgh Steelers

Throughout his career, Melvin Ingram has been a player who is good for about just under ten sacks a season who is capable of playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level and put up double-digit sacks. Going into this season it seemed unlikely that Ingram would play his way into another huge contract. He was likely going to land somewhere as a veteran secondary pass rusher. However, a season riddled with injuries limited Ingram to seven games. He also did not have a single sack on the season. The knee Ingram injured that put him on IR twice is likely the reason why he remains unsigned. If Ingram’s knee heals, he could be a valuable addition to a defense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers arguably had one of the worst offseasons last year. Not only did they lose four of their five starters along their offensive line, but they also lost two starting cornerbacks, and edge rusher Bud Dupree. To replace those players Pittsburgh is betting on the players they have drafted in the middle rounds over the years that have shown the ability to potentially become starters for them. 2020 third-round pick Alex Highsmith is expected to take over for Bud Dupree this coming season. After Dupree tore his ACL last year, Highsmith was thrusted into the starting lineup. He had 48 tackles and two sacks in five starts. But since Pittsburgh believes they are in a win-now mode they should try to bring in a veteran to compete with Highsmith for the job starting opposite T.J. Watt.

Ingram appears to be the perfect veteran for Pittsburgh to bring in to compete with Highsmith for one of their starting edge rusher roles. Over the course of his career, Ingram has been very consistent over the last couple of seasons averaging 8.6 sacks a year between 2015-2019. That type of production is good enough to take away attention from premier edge rusher T.J. Watt and keep this defense playing near an elite level. At the worst, Ingram and Highsmith rotate rough out the season, and as the year progresses Highsmith develops into a full-time starter while Ingram reverts into a situational role. If Ingram signed to a low-risk contract he could be the real difference-maker this upcoming season.

Prediction: Melvin Ingram signs with the Pittsburgh Steelers for one year $5.5 million

Olivier Vernon to Dallas Cowboys

One of the forgotten free agents that hit the market this offseason is former Cleveland Browns edge rusher Olivier Vernon. He had nine sacks in 14 games this past season which is his highest total since he had 11.5 during his second season in the league in 2013-14. It was so unfortunate that during Week 17 Vernon tore his Achilles. Vernon was a vital part of the Browns’ defense this past season and could have gotten a large payday. His Achilles injury may be a large part of why he remains unsigned, but the fact that he has not been able to stay healthy and finish a 16 game regular season since 2017-18 may have derailed his market.

The Dallas Cowboys are one of those teams that could finish near the top or bottom of the league this year. It is hard to predict how they will finish the season. They are expected to have an elite offense but may be held back by their defense. Besides replacing Mike Nolan with Dan Quinn and drafting a couple of defensive rookies early, what else has Dallas done to improve their defense this offseason? How much better is Dallas’ defense this season compared to last year? After evaluating their roster, the answer is not much better.

The one position Dallas did not address this offseason is pass rusher. Since getting his huge contract from the Cowboys, DeMarcus Lawerence has been extremely inconsistent putting up five sacks in 2019 and six and a half sacks this past year. A trend Dallas has had the past couple of seasons has been adding a veteran pass rusher later in the offseason to pair up with Lawrence. In 2019, Dallas traded for Robert Quinn who had a borderline Pro Bowl season and got a huge payday after that. Last year Dallas signed Pro Bowler Everson Griffen to a deal but dealt him once it became clear that Dallas would not be contending after Dak Prescott’s injury. Dallas could do the same by adding Oliver Vernon this offseason. If Vernon is healthy and added to Dallas’ defense it gives them an extremely athletic pass-rushing duo who are dynamic enough to put up between 15-20 sacks combined next season.

Dallas desperately needs a veteran player opposite Lawerence because there is uncertainty whether Randy Gregory, Dorance Armstrong, Bradlee Anae, or third-round pick Chauncey Golston could fill that void.

Prediction: Olivier Vernon signs with the Dallas Cowboys for one year $5 million

Everson Griffen to Kansas City Chiefs

At this point last season one of the best available free agents was former Minnesota Vikings pass rusher Everson Griffen. Late in the offseason, Griffen signed a one-year $6 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys. He had 2.5 sacks in his seven games with the Cowboys but then was traded to the Detroit Lions for a conditional sixth-round pick. Griffen started two out of seven games with the Lions and had 3.5 sacks for them. So overall in 14 games, Griffen had six sacks which is solid for a secondary or rotational pass rusher.

The biggest theme for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason was upgrading the trenches after their loss in the Super Bowl. Kansas City primarily focused on adding to their offensive line but has made some upgrades to their defensive line as well. They retained former first-round pick Taco Charlton and made the extremely underrated signing of former Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed. The Chiefs have an elite group of defensive linemen including Frank Clark, Chris Jones, Jarran Reed, and great run defender Derrick Nnadi. According to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, the Chiefs are planning to use Jones as an edge rusher this season opposite Frank Clark while playing Reed and Nnadi primarily in the middle. Jacob Lang of the St. Joseph News-Press reported that Jones has wanted to play defensive end for the Chiefs, but played in the interior because they had Justin Houston and Dee Ford at the time off the edge. Over the last four seasons, Jones has developed into one of the elite pass-rushing interior defensive linemen in the league. Jones has averaged 9.6 sacks a season since 2017.

So if Jones has been so dominant rushing the passer from the interior, why would the Chiefs try to move him around the line instead of keeping him at his natural position on the interior and finding another player to put opposite Frank Clark. Jones deserves the right to lineup at defensive end in a couple of packages a game, but it may not be the best thing for him to move all over the line.

Very few defensive linemen are able to play on multiple spots across a defensive line. It seems like almost every season a star defensive lineman signs with a large money deal with a new team and that team tries to play him in a different role than he is accustomed to and that player struggles. Jones may be one of the few players who can transition to a different role on the defensive line. But signing a veteran like Everson Griffen could give Kansas City a security blanket at edge rusher in case Jones is unable to transition well to his new role and lines up in the interior for a majority of the season. Griffen showed last year he is still capable of producing at a starting level and could rotate with Taco Charlton off the edge opposite Frank Clark. If he can mimic the production he had last season on this dominant defensive line it could be well enough to not consider this a major need or hole on the roster until they address it the following offseason.

Prediction: Everson Griffen signs with the Kansas City Chiefs for one year $4.5 million

The post Where the best available edge rushers could sign before Week 1 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Chris Thomas

Coming into the 2021-22 NFL season the Minnesota Vikings are one of the league’s most interesting teams. The Vikings are loaded with elite talent across their roster but are seen as a middle-of-the-pack team due to average quarterback play and inexperience at a few key positions.

Last offseason Minnesota decided to rebuild their aging defense by letting go of former Pro Bowler’s and replace them with high draft picks. If the Vikings defense can take a leap forward in 2021 they can return to the playoffs.

Their offense is loaded enough to carry them to 7 or 8 wins if they remain healthy. But if the offense disappoints they very well be picking within or close to the top-10 in next year’s draft.

One of the ways Minnesota can ensure they stay competitive next season is by bringing in a veteran or two that is still available in free agency to ensure they do not have any major holes on their roster. Here are the remaining free agents the Minnesota Vikings should try to sign before training camp.

Dede Westbrook, Wide Receiver

It has been a couple of seasons since the Minnesota Vikings offense has played a majority of their snaps with three receivers on the field. Minnesota’s offensive coordinators, under Mike Zimmer, primarily use two tight ends set for their base offense. However, that could likely change this season under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Especially since Kyle Rudolph is no longer on the team and Irv Smith Jr. is the only major receiving threat at tight end, it seems Minnesota could go in that direction.

Earlier this month it was reported by ESPN’s Josina Anderson that the Vikings could still look for a third wide receiver. She reported that former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Dede Westbrook could be a target for Minnesota.

At this point of free agency, Westbrook is arguably the most talented receiver on the market. He fits exactly what the Vikings wide receiver room is missing. They are missing another deep threat that could stretch the field from the slot. Signing Westbrook will likely move 2020 First Round pick, Pro Bowler, and Second Team All-Pro Justin Jefferson to the outside permanently opposite Adam Thielen.

When Westbrook was a focal point in Jacksonville he was a reliable deep threat. However after adding multiple receivers to their roster in recent years he was phased out of the Jaguars offense and down the depth chart.

Minnesota did draft Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the fifth round out of Minnesota to potentially fill that void. However there is a good chance Smith-Marsette will not be ready to have that large of a role in year one. Westbrook has a similar skillset to Smith-Marsette and could serve as a bridge for the third receiver position on offense until next season. If Westbrook can land in Minnesota and carve out a role for their offense he could take the Vikings offense to the next level and push them over the edge.

Everson Griffen, Defensive End

A blast from the past may be what Minnesota needs on defense in order to make sure their performance from last season appears to be a fluke. One of Minnesota’s major voids on their roster currently is edge rusher opposite Danielle Hunter. The Vikings did select two edge rushers in the middle rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft. They took Patrick Jones II out of Pittsburgh with the 90th overall pick in the third round and Janarius Robinson with the 134th overall pick in the fourth round.

Minnesota is hoping that Jones could be their long-term answer at defensive end opposite Hunter and that Robinson could serve as a developmental pass-rush specialist. But realistically neither will be able to able to meet those expectations in year one. It may be in the Vikings best interest to bring in another veteran to split time with Stephen Weatherly and Patrick Jones next season.

The Vikings brought back Weatherly who spent last season with the Carolina Panthers after four seasons in Minnesota. But he has not shown that he can be any more than a backup at this point of his career. Minnesota should consider another reunion at defensive end and bring back former Pro Bowler and All-Pro Everson Griffen.

Last offseason the Vikings cut Griffen after a slight decline in play and because of his massive cap hit. Both sides considered a reunion, but ultimately Griffen ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys. However once Dallas’ season started to go south they traded him to the Detroit Lions. He was primarily a rotational pass rusher with both teams but ended the season with 5.5 sacks despite playing 56.4% of the snaps during the games he was active for Dallas and 48.6% of the snaps during his time in Detroit. If Griffen can replicate that kind of production off that type of production in Minnesota he would put up better numbers than Weatherly’s career-high.

Griffen has familiarity playing for this defensive scheme having spent six years playing under Mike Zimmer. During his last season in Minnesota, he was a Pro Bowler and had eight sacks. He also showed last season he would be willing to return to the Vikings. If that feeling hasn’t changed, Minnesota should consider bringing in Griffen on a cheaper one-year deal to be their primary edge rusher in a rotation that would feature Stephen Weatherly and Patrick Jones II next year.

Tyler Eifert, Tight End

One of the largest losses the Minnesota Vikings had this past offseason was former Pro Bowl tight end, Kyle Rudolph. The Vikings took Rudolph in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft after his final season at Notre Dame. He has been one of the most consistent tight ends in the NFL over the past decade. At his best, he was a top-10 tight end in the league, but overall he has been an outstanding blocker and dangerous red-zone threat.

2019 Second Round pick Irv Smith Jr. is expected to take on the TE1 role in Minnesota this season after taking a leap in year two. But his skill set is vastly different from Rudolph. He is more of a pure receiver than a traditional tight end.

If the Vikings wanted to bring in a veteran with a similar skillset as Rudolph who could lineup at TE2 or TE3 they have the opportunity to sign another former member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Tyler Eifert. In 2013 Eifert was a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals. Eifert’s largest issue during his career has been his inability to stay healthy. He has been solid when he has been on the field during his career and was exceptional during his Pro Bowl season in 2015.

At this point of his career, Eifert is nothing more than a team’s second tight end. His skill set matches what they lost in Rudolph. Eifert is a better pass catcher than the Vikings current second tight end Tyler Conklin who is primarily used as a blocker. He could be a big body the Vikings use as a threat in the red zone and another tight end they bring in to block in running situations.

Geron Christian, Offensive Tackle

Minnesota hopes they have found their long-term answer at left tackle in 2021 first round pick Christian Darrisaw. The Vikings have been trying to fill that void for a couple of seasons through the middle rounds of the draft. But most of those players transition to other positions along the offensive line. After selecting Darrisaw the Vikings could still use an upgrade at swing tackle. Behind Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are Rashod Hill and 2019 sixth-round pick Olisaemeka Udoh.

The Vikings should take a flier on one of the tackles the Washington Football team let go of last week, Geron Christian. Washington drafted Christian in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. His role was to be a swing tackle that could develop into a starter at either side. But after eight career starts in Washington, it became clear he was not their long-term starter at left tackle.

Christian still has a higher upside than the Vikings current backup options. Minnesota should bring him in to compete and earn his role as the team’s swing tackle. That swing tackle position is important in Minnesota because they overall lack the depth to replace one of their starters if they were to go down with a long-term injury.

Zane Gonzalez, Kicker

It appears that the Dan Bailey experiment is over in Minnesota and that they are going to go with Greg Joseph as their starting kicker going into the 2021 NFL season. But Minnesota should explore the option of brining in another veteran kicker to compete with Joseph for the job. Joseph has not been great so far in his NFL career. After a solid 2018-19 with the Cleveland Browns, Joseph landed with the Tennesee Titans late in 2019-20 and was only trusted to make on-field goals in two regular-season games and three playoff games. However, he was 18/18 on his extra-point attempts during that span. He spent last season primarily as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.

An interesting veteran Minnesota could bring in to compete with Joseph is former Arizona Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez. The Cardinals let go of Gonzalez when they brought in Matt Prater. But Gonzalez was a solid kicker for Arizona last season. He was 16/22 on field goal attempts and 38/39 on extra point attempts. At the young age of 26, Gonzalez could potentially win the Vikings kicking job and run with it for a long time if he puts up his 2019-20 production consistently.

The post Free agents the Minnesota Vikings could still go after this offseason appeared first on Pro Football Mania.