A set of former Minnesota Vikings have signed with the Carolina Panthers, including a nominal starter in Captain Munnerlyn, a cornerback who played a good percentage of total snaps as the nickel corner. He’s coming off his best year as a Viking and without his return, the cornerback corps ends up quite a bit thinner.

The Vikings don’t have a clear answer in the slot, though they will expect second-round pick Mackensie Alexander to step up in that role — especially because the other young cornerback, Trae Waynes, was quickly taken out of slot duty as a rookie in the offseason.

Not only did Munnerlyn depart back to his first team, receiver Charles Johnson — who was not offered a restricted free-agent tender by the Vikings, who could have retained him without much competition if they wanted to — signed with the Panthers.

Those two, along with Matt Kalil, are among a group of Vikings who have sought greener pastures in the Carolinas. They’ll join former Vikings David Yankey, Tyrus Thompson, Joe Webb, Kurt Coleman and potentially Michael Griffin.

The Vikings didn’t “lose” many other free agents yesterday, though it seems as if Cordarrelle Patterson (who is interestingly a Charlotte, N.C. native) will be visiting Oakland and Washington.

Also, as most of you know, the Vikings signed former Panthers tackle Mike Remmers, who also spent time in training camp with the Vikings. He is expected to play right tackle while Riley Reiff plays the left side.

The Vikings have sought to patch up their running back corps and defensive line depth by contacting running back Eddie Lacy and nose tackle Domata Peko. The Eagles and 49ers are also interested in the former Zimmer protege, so there seems to be some competition for his services.

There aren’t many other rumors for the Vikings right now, though there’s some talk about quarterback Nick Foles. With Shaun Hill still unsigned, the Vikings don’t have a backup quarterback option if Teddy Bridgewater cannot return quickly. There hasn’t been much movement on the Nick Mangold rumor, or the D.J. Fluker rumor. Oh, and they might be in on wide receiver Michael Floyd.

I’ve published a list of available free agents at this link. Listed are player names, positions, 2016 team, age and averaged percentile grade (the average percentile of their grades between Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report Top 1000).

Bolded in purple are players with Vikings ties. Bolded in orange are players with Bengals ties, which seems relevant. Bolded in maroon are players who were former first-round picks (if they aren’t bolded in purple or orange).

Again, that link is here.

Below is a list of players who interest me the most from that master list. The Vikings need to pursue additional offensive linemen, cornerbacks, safeties, linebackers and possibly a fullback. Unlisted below are kickers, punters and quarterbacks, which the Vikings also need.

Some of the players listed below are listed almost exclusively for one reason—like the fact that they are young, or that I liked them in a free agency period a few years ago. Some of the players below might end up being too expensive, but are worth checking in on.

Arif Hasan

Arif Hasan has written for sites all across the internet and his work has been featured in the Athletic, Pro Football Network, Star Tribune, LA Times, Forbes, SB Nation, the Bleacher Report and MSNBC. He currently also writes for the Wide Left Substack. You can find him on twitter at @ArifHasanNFL.

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