4 free agents the Minnesota Vikings should happily let leave

 

Facing the idea of a reshaped roster in 2023, the Minnesota Vikings should happily let these four free agents leave this offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings went 13-4 during the 2022 regular season, as flimsy as it seemed on a weekly basis. A Wild Card Round loss to the New York Giants was highlighted by a dismal defensive showing.

But Kirk Cousins’ on-brand throw, to a well-covered T.J. Hockenson well short of the sticks on 4th-and-8 to end Minnesota’s chances, became a significantly talked-about moment. It was such a mistake that one defensive teammate assumed in retrospect Cousins didn’t know it was fourth down.

The Vikings don’t have a lot of 2023 draft capital, with just four current picks and one projected conditional pick (fifth round) coming their way for April’s draft. So additions to the roster will not come via an injection of young talent, barring some trades of veterans for picks.

The Vikings are currently over the projected 2023 salary cap by a little over $23 million (according to Over The Cap). So some notable names may be gone this offseason, one way or another.

But we’re focused on current free agents here, as of late January, and the Vikings should gladly let these four depart in March.

Vikings: 4 free agents Minnesota should happily let leave

4. CB Chandon Sullivan

Sullivan came over to the Vikings from the rival Green Bay Packers on a one-year deal last offseason. He set career-highs with 60 tackles and seven pass breakups while playing all 17 regular season games and starting 11 total games counting the playoff loss to the Giants.

But he was also very ordinary and times downright exploitable in coverage, and the Vikings were an awful pass defense for much of the season. On a secondary with better options, Sullivan would not have played 945 snaps (according to Pro Football Reference, second-most among Vikings cornerbacks this season).

Sullivan is the definition of a replaceable player, and the Vikings are better off trying to retain Duke Shelley instead of him.