Every NFL team has players who don’t quite match the value of their contracts, and based on current depth chart construction, the 2026 Minnesota Vikings are not excluded.
The club begins the regular season in about nine weeks, and unless the following players lower their cap hits, they reasonably fit in an “overpaid” bucket. The players are listed ascendingly (No. 1=most overpaid Viking).
2026 Cap Hit: $9.9 Million
Oliver is a blocking tight end, which is fantastic. It’s also a bit ironic because coming out of college (San Jose State) in 2019, that was supposed to be his problem. The scouting report said the guy could batch, but his run blocking stank.
Well, Oliver flipped the script, probably after the Baltimore Ravens‘ coaching staff got a hold of him.
The issue with a blocking tight end? They’re not worth $10 million. Teams can find sufficient versions for half the price or even less. The Vikings shouldn’t cut Oliver or devalue him on the depth chart, but the fact remains that $9.9 million is expensive. Thankfully, Oliver has some redzone utility. He’s dependable when quarterbacks target him.
2026 Cap Hit: $10.2 Million
You can write this in ink: 2026 will be Jones’s final season in Minnesota. He’ll turn 32 in December, and his career, for better or worse, is winding down. When the offseason began, most Vikings fans and analysts theorized Jones as a roster-cut candidate, and they didn’t do that on a whim. He’s effective in spots, especially early in the regular season, yet injuries habitually take their toll on Jones. That’s his jam.
The Vikings proposed a paycut for Jones in March. He accepted. He’s back in the saddle as RB1 or RB2 because of his pass-blocking and locker room leadership. It’s just quite obvious that his prime is well in the past.
Minnesota also refused to sign a free-agent running back like Travis Etienne or draft a mid-round rookie like Mike Washington. It’s Jones again — and probably for the last time.
He averaged 4.2 yards per carry, played 12 games, and banked 548 rushing yards last year. His career has been fantastic, and the guy is an awesome dude. Still, he’s not worth $10.2 million unless he forges a totally unforeseen and healthy late-career resurgence. 2026 Cap Hit: $15.6 Million
Of all men on this overpaid list, Hockenson might have the clearest path to a resurrection. He blew out his knee in the 2023 season, thanks to a low hit by Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph, and, due to the shift in the Vikings’ offense — using Hockenson as the sixth offensive lineman — he’s never regained his form.
Hockenson signed a monster extension during the summer of 2023. Four months later, the injury occurred, rendering the contract not worth the squeeze. If a team pays a tight end over $15 million, it must target him heavily in the passing game. The Vikings don’t do that anymore. Hockenson’s success in the Twin Cities feels like a Kirk Cousins special in hindsight.
Here’s the silver lining, though: new Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray has cooked with tight ends. Ask Trey McBride, who most consider the best or second-best tight end in the sport. If Murray could unlock McBride, he should be able to get Hockenson back up to speed.
If not, 2026 will likely be Hockenson’s final season in Minnesota. There’s a reason so many fans thought the franchise might draft Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq in April.
2026 Cap Hit: $17.2 Million
Was Fries terrible in 2025? Absolutely not. Was Fries worth $17.2 million in 2025? Absolutely not. The guy posted a Pro Football Focus grade just over 60.0, which would’ve been remarkable during the Mike Zimmer era of Vikings football when guards like Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia graced your television sets. But that was then, and this is now.
Former Vikings boss Kwesi Adofo-Mensah paid Fries handsomely last season, and based on his 2025 output, he should be earning about $6 million annually — not $17 million.
Perhaps Fries will settle in the Vikings offense with another year of experience. If he does not, you are about seven months from Googling or putting Fries’ dead cap hit into ChatGPT. Always remember: Adofo-Mensah handed Fries the fact contract based on five good games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2024. He has no verifiable history of consistency.
Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
Vikings’ Cap Sheet Reveals a Few Expensive Questions
4. Josh Oliver | TE2
3. Aaron Jones | RB
2. T.J. Hockenson | TE
1. Will Fries | RG
