New Vikings GM Nolan Teasley has hit the ground running in adding several new staff members to his player personnel staff and scouting department while parting ways with several others. Will GM Teasley and his new additions (including former Bears GM Ryan Pace) now take a hard look at Vikings positions of need with OTAs and minicamp in the rearview mirror and training camp about six weeks away?

Teasley has made a few player moves in adding some young players who are not making headlines but could become good depth players. But is there a splashy move on the horizon after the Vikings soon get Brian O’Neill extended and pick up about $13 million in cap room to bring their total cap space for their Top 51 to around $27 million?

As Teasley and Company — along with Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores representing the coaching staff —analyze the roster, they surely can identify a couple positions where help is needed.

GM Teasley and The Vikings’ Top Roster Needs

There are no more top centers hanging out there so it’s on Blake Brandel to prove he can be a quality center. The rest of the offense appears to be in good shape with the wide receivers an obvious strength and the quarterback derby between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy certainly the most critical decision ahead for O’Connell this season (and for Teasley and O’Connell in 2027).

Defensively, I believe Flores is excited about his defensive line depth with the possibility of two rookie starters if Caleb Banks is healthy and Domonique Orange develops quickly in the Vikings’ scheme. The corners seem to be OK if free agent signee James Pierre and fifth-round pick Charles Demmings are quality corners behind starters Byron Murphy and Isaiah Rodgers. The inside linebackers are a team strength with Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace, and second-rounder Jake Golday.

Which brings us to the two areas I think are the most shaky heading into training camp — depth at edge rusher and starting safeties.

I think the coaches will convince Harrison Smith to return for his 15th season and with Smith, third-rounder Jakobe Thomas, and Josh Metellus, the safety spot should be in good shape (and Theo Jackson and Jay Ward can battle it out for the fourth safety spot but the coaches can’t be excited about the position if Smith decides to retire).

But if the pass rush is among the best in the league, then the safeties don’t necessarily have to be elite although it would be nice if Thomas quickly emerges and pairs with Smith as Metellus continues to play his hybrid safety/linebacker role.

Unless Golday quickly emerges as a solid edge rusher (as indicated on draft day) in addition to his ability to play inside ‘backer, we’ll have to  continue to harp on the ill-advised decision to trade Jonathan Greenard, an elite edge rusher when healthy unless a vet free agent of renown is brought aboard.

As O’Connell, Flores, and GM Teasley and his staff look at the edge rusher group, they have to be concerned about who will be in the rotation to give Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner a break since rushing the passer is one of the most physically demanding jobs in football. And I’ve always believed pass rushers are the second most important position in the NFL after quarterback (I go back to something Bud Grant often said—“give me a great quarterback and a fourth-quarter pass rush”).

Bo Richter, Tyler Batty, and Chaz Chambliss are all former undrafted players who may develop into decent players but at this point, they’re not going to strike fear in QBs and OCs around the league. Golday seems to be the player of potential promise as the rotational player at the position on the current roster but we’re talking about a rookie who is unproven in the NFL.

Enter Teasley and the Vikings’ new player personnel team.

Who’s still available? The top two edge rushers still on the free agent market are Joey Bosa (five sacks, five forced fumbles, and 42 pressures for the Bills last season while making $12.6 million but his cap hit was less with voidable years on the deal; Bosa has 77 career sacks over 10 years) and Jadeveon Clowney (8.5 sacks and 32 pressures for the Cowboys who paid him a bargain $3.45 million; 66.5 career sacks over 12 seasons).

Haason Reddick is another veteran edge rusher of lesser ability at this stage of his career compared to Bosa and Clowney and he was more pricey at $14 million in 2025. Reddick had 2.5 sacks and 23 pressures for the Bucs last season and has 61.5 career sacks over nine seasons.

I have to believe Teasley, O’Connell, and Flores are kicking the tires on these three vets, especially Bosa and Clowney who would certainly upgrade the Vikings edge rusher group. And I think the team can structure a deal that would not be difficult to absorb on their salary cap and could make the Vikings defense more formidable.

Thoughts on Brendan Sorsby entering the NFL  

First of all, I’d be extremely surprised if the Vikings put a draft choice bid on the talented but problematic Sorsby in a potential supplemental draft if the NFL indeed schedules one for the former University of Cincinnati quarterback. I think the Vikings are going to stick with their current QB group and let them battle it out for this season and the future.

Sorsby signed with Texas Tech this year only to be implicated in a scandal that involved placing at least 40 bets on his own team while at Indiana and was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for placing more than 9,000 bets for at least $90,000 while a college player. He was granted reinstatement by a Texas judge before the Big 12 raised a ruckus and Sorsby ultimately applied for the NFL supplemental draft.

He’s a big QB with a strong arm and running ability who most scouts rate as a first, second, or third-round talent. The big questions are if he’s kicked his gambling habit, whether the NFL will suspend him upon entering the league, how long that suspension would be, and if there are teams willing to risk a premium draft pick (that would be then deducted from their 2027 draft choices) if they select him.

Bernie Kosar was a first-round pick in the 1985 supplemental draft by the Browns and had a fine career that included multiple playoff years and a Pro Bowl season in 1987. Hall of Famer Cris Carter entered the NFL as a fourth-round supplemental draftee of the Eagles. But it’s been many years since a top prospect such as Sorsby has been available in this way and the baggage he brings is a huge red flag.

If my team needed a better QB — and I’m thinking of the Jets, Cardinals, and Browns today — I would thoroughly investigate and vet Sorsby as to where his gambling addiction stands as he comes out of treatment.

Gambling is such a no-no in the NFL and all pro sports that I would be extremely cautious about bringing him on my team and I probably would pass, especially for a player at the highest profile position of quarterback and considering the 2027 draft is expected to feature an excellent QB class headed by the likes of Arch Manning and Dante Moore.   

But when players with significant off-field baggage such as Deshaun Watson and Tyreek Hill get big contracts from teams such as Cleveland, Kansas City, and Miami, it’s likely there will be several teams who put in a draft choice bid for Sorsby and I expect it to be a third-round pick and possibly as high as a second-rounder. Then Sorsby will be under intense scrutiny from the league, his team, the media and the fans for the next several years and possibly for his entire career.