According to multiple reports, the Minnesota Vikings will sign Sheldon Richardson on a one-year deal.
With the signing of Richardson, the Minnesota Vikings will have Pro Bowl-quality talent all across the defensive line. They also would have grabbed ESPN’s number one and number seven free agent.
Sheldon Richardson has been one of the best interior defenders in the NFL since he entered the league in 2013, and it allows the Vikings to join the ranks of teams that can rush from both the edge and the inside.
The NFL is filled with excellent interior pass-rushing linemen — including Geno Atkins, Aaron Donald, Fletcher Cox, Ndamukong Suh and so on — and the Vikings’ move not only gives them access to that critical resource but resolves one of the few needs they have going into the offseason.
Though the common understanding is that Richardson had a down year in Seattle with only one sack, he was genuinely productive — rankings seventh in pressure rate and 15th in run stop rate among defensive tackles. While his on-field play wasn’t as good as his stellar 2014 season, it also wasn’t invisible or unworthy of a top interior talent.
Pairing Richardson with one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL, Andre Patterson, should only help unlock his potential. He could reach the production level of his sophomore year, where he ranked third among all interior defenders in pressures per snap. Not only that, his prowess as a run defender will make the Vikings even more difficult to run on than before.
Richardson has the capability of playing every position along the line of scrimmage; he lined up at both nose tackle and edge rusher for the New York Jets and moved around on the line of scrimmage. Expect somewhat similar usage for him in Minnesota, where he’ll primarily line up at the three-technique position, but could replace Linval Joseph at the nose in some situations and can loop and stunt on a variety of downs.
The former New York Jet does come with red flags — Richardson has been suspended twice for a total of five games as a result of a positive test for marijuana and a driving violation where he was caught speeding (driving over 140 miles per hour) with a loaded handgun in the car.
If he violates the NFL substance abuse policy once more, his next suspension could be ten games.
This also puts a lot of pressure on the Vikings to find depth in the draft and in the third or fourth wave of free agency, as they don’t have an enormous amount of cap room left and must devote $6-7 million of it to the draft. Finding veteran minimum free agents will be critical to rounding out the roster and they may have to make some cuts or critical restructures.
The Vikings have already restructured Latavius Murray’s deal, but they will likely need even more room.
Brian Robison — who accounts for $3.4 million of cap space — is a likely candidate, and some consideration should be given to the contracts of Jarius Wright ($4.8M) and Laquan Treadwell ($2.7M). Treadwell is difficult, largely because rookie contracts are fully guaranteed and cutting him will increase his cap liability, not decrease it. Instead, they would need to trade him after June 1 to save about $1.3 million in cap space.
Not only that, extending Anthony Barr may relieve some cap space, as he currently accounts for the second-largest hit on the team with $12.3M in cap liability. There’s also a chance that Kyle Rudolph receives a restructure, as he accounts for $7.7M of space.
This may also signal, counterintuitively, confidence in Jaleel Johnson as the Vikings don’t have a lot of room to attack depth at defensive tackle. They may have to settle for the Iowa product, something they could be more than happy to do.
Look for under-the-radar free agents on offense here, and on defense here.
