Josh Oliver‘s run-blocking ability will secure him a nice payday. The Vikings plan to sign the former Ravens tight end, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Oliver agreed to a three-year, $21MM Minnesota deal, one that Garafolo notes comes with $10.75MM guaranteed. Incentives could bump the contract up to $24MM. This represents a big commitment to the tight end position for the Vikings, who traded for T.J. Hockenson at the deadline last year.
Pro Football Focus graded Oliver as the NFL’s second-best run-blocking tight end in 2022, behind only fellow Raven Isaiah Likely. Oliver will now have a chance to supplement Hockenson and bolster the Vikings’ ground game. While the Vikings won’t be overly reliant on their acquisition in the passing game, it’s worth noting that Oliver finished the 2022 season with a career-high 14 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The 25-year-old tight end was a third-round pick by the Jaguars in 2019. He spent two seasons in Jacksonville before getting traded to Baltimore in 2021.
While Oliver started nine of his 17 appearances for Baltimore last season, the Ravens won’t miss him too much considering their depth at the position. Likely can easily fill in for Oliver’s blocking role, and the 2022 fourth-round pick also had more offensive upside as a pass-catching backup to Pro Bowler Mark Andrews.
Ball player
Nice role player who flashes potential for more, but this seems like an awfully big deal for a guy with 26 career passes.
Baltimore sure has a knack for racking up comp picks.
This should definitely put Minnesota in title contention…… ah, who am I kidding? No it wont
Huh? Blocker? Not a position the Vikings needed to overpay to get better.
Irv Smith replacement, if he can stay healthy he’s already an improvement.
Seems like a lot for a blocking TE on a cap strapped team…
Well, say goodbye Johnny Mundt, Hockenson’s run-blocking TE2, and FB C.J. Ham (will save a combined $4.2 million this year). Also probably means the Vikes don’t sign a free agent WR, which is not surprising given that the class of FA wideouts is both mediocre and small, so likely to be overpaid, because Hockenson will essentially be the “WR2.” Didn’t see this coming, and frankly, I find it a bizarre use of cap space given the needs on defense.
If he can catch a cold, he’s better than Irv.
I thought Mundt and Ellefson progressed with limited playing time and they’re low cost.
And we’re under 36 hours for the next big salary dump to get under the cap.