Vikings news: Vikes have connections to Myles Garrett, new QB rumors, Jared Allen HOF odds

Despite going 14-3 during the 2024 regular season, the Minnesota Vikings saw their successful campaign come to an early end, as they took an embarrassing 27-9 defeat in the Wild Card Round to the Los Angeles Rams.

The focus now, of course, is on the arduous process that is the NFL offseason, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell certainly have their work cut out for them.

For starters, players who took 45% of the Vikings' snaps on offense and defense this past year are set to hit free agency, which is by far the highest percentage in the league. Thankfully, Minnesota has ample salary-cap space at its disposal to bring some of these guys back while also possibly adding help from elsewhere.

Even so, the 2025 roster likely won't include every player who helped contribute to the team's 2024 success, a list that looks more and more like it won't feature quarterback Sam Darnold, who we'll circle back to in just a moment.

Another way the Vikings could make some changes, of course, is via trade. And if the Cleveland Browns give in to his demands, there will be no bigger name on the block than Myles Garrett. And if the four-time First-Team All-Pro does indeed become available, Minnesota may have an inside track.

The Vikings have several front-office connections to Myles Garrett

While the likelihood of the Vikings taking a run at Garrett seems relatively low, especially with pass-rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel not being on the list of pending free agents, it's interesting to note that the Minnesota front office has several connections to the six-time Pro Bowler.

When Garrett was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, current Minnesota senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson and assistant director of player personnel Chisom Opara were both members of the Browns' front office, with Grigson serving as a senior football executive and Opara being Cleveland's director of player personnel.

It also shouldn't be forgotten that Adofo-Mensah served as the Browns' vice president of football operations in 2020 and 2021 before becoming the Vikings' GM in 2022.

Now, none of this means Minnesota is the clear favorite to land Garrett. But these connections certainly can't hurt their chances.

Minnesota has been linked to Jimmy Garoppolo

When the Vikings signed Sam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million contract last offseason, the 2018 No. 3 overall pick was essentially seen as a placeholder until first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was ready to take the reins.

Everything changed, of course, when McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp, at which point Darnold stepped up and gave the Vikings' front office a lot to think about with a career year, completing 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

With McCarthy expected to be fully healthy once the 2025 campaign begins and Darnold expected to command more than $40 million per season with his next contract, it doesn't seem likely that the latter will return.

If the Vikings do indeed go back to the original plan of handing McCarthy the keys to the castle, they'll need to bring in another veteran quarterback to fill the role that Darnold was supposed to have this past year.

And CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin believes that veteran could be Jimmy Garoppolo.

"At 33, Garoppolo is older and less explosive than Sam Darnold, the Vikings' 2024 starter," Benjamin wrote recently. "He's also likely to come much cheaper, and he played on some big stages under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah with the San Francisco 49ers. He could be another placeholder until young J.J. McCarthy is ready."

Garoppolo, who led the Niners to the Super Bowl five years ago, spent this past season with the Rams as Matthew Stafford's backup, earning roughly $3.178 million. One would think the Vikings could bring Jimmy G in on a one-year deal for approximately that same amount.

Jared Allen has some stiff competition in the 2025 HOF voting

Of the 15 finalists in the Modern-Era Player category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the only one with ties to the Vikings is defensive end Jared Allen, who spent six years with the franchise from 2008 to 2013.

In those six seasons, Allen four of his five career Pro Bowl selections, also receiving three of his four career First-Team All-Pro nods. The Vikings Ring of Honor member is in his fifth year of eligibility and is one of nine in this year's group of finalists who reached this stage a year ago.

A maximum of five players from this group can be elected to Canton this year (a player must receive 80% of the vote), and those who are will be unveiled during the NFL Honors ceremony this Thursday.

The folks at BetCarolina.com recently put together some hypothetical betting odds on which players have the best shot at induction, and Allen ranks only seventh at +350, trailing tight end Antonio Gates (-1450), linebacker Luke Kuechly (-1250), kicker Adam Vinatieri (-900), quarterback Eli Manning (-125), wide receiver Torry Holt (+200), and offensive tackle Willie Anderson (+300).

Given the competition, it seems that Allen might have to wait yet another year to get that special phone call.