The Minnesota Vikings have approximately $13 million in cap space as of mid-July, and with training camp just around the corner, it’s reasonable to expect the club to add a free agent or two, especially if injuries arise. Accordingly, VikesNow has ideas — four players that would fit like a glove on the 2026 depth chart.
Ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = best free-agent fit), here’s who new general manager Nolan Teasley should explore on the open market.
Four Remaining Free Agents Who Fit the Vikings
4. Kyle Van Noy | OLB
Van Noy has been around the block — in a good way — playing for these teams:
- Detroit Lions (2014–2016)
- New England Patriots (2016–2019)
- Miami Dolphins (2020)
- New England Patriots (2021)
- Los Angeles Chargers (2022)
- Baltimore Ravens (2023–2025)
Why is this important? Two reasons: a) He’s experienced and won’t need much on-the-job training to serve as an OLB3 for the Vikings. b) He crossed paths with defensive coordinator Brian Flores in New England for three seasons — 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Flores assuredly knows Van Noy, so much so that it’s a little strange that Minnesota hasn’t signed him on Flores’s watch, which dates back to 2023.
Van Noy would be perfect for the Vikings, supporting Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner in the OLB room. The downside? He’s old. He’s 35.
Expected FA Price Tag: $4-6 million
3. Leonard Floyd | OLB
Speaking of coach connections to former players, Floyd is precisely that.
Kevin O’Connell and Floyd won a Super Bowl together in 2021, the game when Matthew Stafford and friends chipped off the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the springboard event that led O’Connell to the Vikings. Now, Floyd is a free agent, winding down his career, just like Van Noy.
He played 462 defensive snaps in 2025 for the Atlanta Falcons, an amount that would be tailor-made for Flores’s defense this season. Floyd tabulated 36 quarterback pressures, a respectable sum.
An OLB trio of Van Ginkel, Turner, and Floyd could do the trick. It’s worth noting that Floyd is also elderly in NFL-speak — 33.
Expected FA Price Tag: $5-8 million
2. Ethan Pocic | C
Minnesota has big plans to start Blake Brandel at center, and that plan could work out fabulously — or Brandel could prove to be totally mediocre by midseason. The verdict is up in the air. Brandel is 29 and will be asked to be a full-time starting center for the very first time. Most converted offensive linemen begin such a journey at a younger age.
So, there’s always Pocic, who was recently given a clean bill of health. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Wednesday, “Browns starting center Ethan Pocic, who tore his Achilles last December, recently was cleared by Dr. Norman Waldrop to participate in training camp. Pocic is a free agent, and is said by a source to be a ‘full go.'”
Here’s Pocic’s Pro Football Focus resume:
- 2025: 63.8
- 2024: 63.6
- 2023: 70.7
- 2022: 78.9
- 2021: 68.7
- 2020: 59.8
- 2019: 43.3
- 2018: 45.9
- 2017: 50.4
The evidence suggests that he’d probably be a more reliable center than Brandel, if only by a whisker.
Expected FA Price Tag: $3-6 million
1. Jadeveon Clowney | OLB
This is the prize.
Clowney is 33 — like Leonard Floyd — and he notched 8.5 sacks in 2025 while playing 373 defensive snaps. Translated to a full-time workload, in theory, Clowney could’ve accrued over 15 sacks. That pace may not be replicated in Minnesota, but you can imagine what it would be like if he did.
Unfortunately, there are no tangible coaching ties between the Vikings’ staff and Clowney, but there’s one saving grace. Clowney played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, and Teasley, Minnesota’s new boss, served as the director of pro personnel at the time. He knows Clowney. That connection was not in play until the Vikings hired Teasley in late May.
Clowney is quite the journeyman by now, but if Teasley and/or Flores can convince him that the 2026 Vikings are playoff-bound, who’s to say Clowney wouldn’t want to turn purple for a season?
One thing’s for sure: the Vikings need extra OLB depth after donating Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Expected FA Price Tag: $6-8 million
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VikesNow Verdict: Minnesota should not spend merely because cap space is available. Van Noy offers the cleanest low-risk fit, while Pocic would address the more consequential question at center. Clowney has the highest upside but should only be pursued on a short, incentive-heavy contract. And O’Connell already knows Floyd.
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Also Read: 5 Players the Vikings Should Target in Trades
Also Read: Vikings Pulled a 180 on the Defensive Line
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