The Minnesota Vikings‘ aggressive, blitz-centred defense drove them to having the sixth most sacks in the NFL in 2024.
A big beneficiary of that was the team’s edge rushers, who managed a huge 34.5 sacks amongst themselves. And few had their stock raised more than Pat Jones II, who managed 7 sacks, good for the third most on the Vikings.
With Minnesota’s numerous impending departures in free agency, it was always going to be a struggle to keep him around beyond this season. That ended up coming to fruition, as Jones has reached an agreement with the Carolina Panthers to sign on a 2-year, $20 million deal.
Breaking: Free agent DE Patrick Jones II to the #Panthers on a 2-year deal worth up to $20M, per source. pic.twitter.com/4cNUHUm4sI
â Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 10, 2025
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Pat Jones Leaves The Vikings After 4 Years
Although he failed to blossom into a starter during his time in Minnesota, drafted out of Pittsburgh as a third round pick back in 2021, he did manage to establish himself as a core role player in 2024 under defensive coordinator, Brian Flores.
With Flores’ aforementioned preferences centred very much around the blitz, Jones had more opportunities than he had in the past to get to the QB. Yet it was actually his run defense, graded at a reasonably impressive 69.4 by Pro Football Focus – good for 47th out of 211th qualifying edge rushers – that stands out.
But with $10 million/year on the table, a number that the Vikings were never going to match, it seemed inevitable that outside linebacker was going to move on to greener pastures.
What Does The Vikings’ Defense Look Like Without Jones?
Luckily for Minnesota, they have numerous alternatives at the position, including Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, both of whom had double digit sacks in 2024.
And that does not even include the presence for former #17 overall pick, Dallas Turner, who contributed 3 sacks in 2024 and could be set for a big leap in 2025 and beyond.
Fellow outside linebacker, Jihad Ward, is also a free agent, but his departure is unlikely to shake things up too much in the organization.
The bigger issue for the Vikings is the looming potential departures of starting defensive linemen, Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery.
Although neither have been elite playmakers for the team, they have both become effective run stoppers in Flores’ base 3-4 run defense.
Losing both your 3-technique and 5-technique in the same free agency period, with no clear incoming replacements currently sitting behind the starters, nor with any marquee DL signings as of yet, should have the team worried about the defensive side of the trenches going into the 2025 season.
Moreover, Minnesota could be set to lose both starting corners in Byron Murphy Jr. and former Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore – although they did agree to sign former Philadelphia Eagle, Isaiah Rodgers, to a 2-year, $15 million deal on Monday afternoon.
And with safety, Cam Bynum, set to head to the Indianapolis Colts a deal worth up to $60 million over 4 years, the secondary is facing borderline decimation.
But, for now, the pass rush should be safe. Nevertheless, this is certainly a disappointing departure for Minnesota.
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