Getty Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin (left) has not received an offer from the Vikings with free agency approaching.
Minnesota Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin is five days away from reaching free agency for the first time in his career.
And he’s received no indication whether the Vikings, under the direction of first-year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell, intend to re-sign him or not.
Conklin, coming off a career year in 2022, will garner a respectable contract. He recently addressed his future with the team and his desire to stay in Minnesota.
However, the Vikings may not have room on the books for the former fifth-round pick out of Central Michigan.
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‘I Don’t Have Those Answers. But I Love Minnesota’
Pioneer Press reporter Chris Tomasson reported on March 10 that Conklin “would love” to stay in Minnesota, but he is uncertain of his fate with the team.
In 2021, Conklin became the fifth tight end to catch 60 or more passes in a single season. He secured 61 catches for 593 yards and three touchdowns as a reliable replacement to 2019 second-round pick Irv Smith Jr., who underwent meniscus surgery before the start of the 2021 season.
Conklin told Tomasson he had not received an offer from the Vikings on Thursday, March 10, and has not spoken with O’Connell or Adofo-Mensah. He has been in contact with newly hired tight ends coach Brian Angelichio.
“I would love to be back in Minnesota if it makes sense for both parties,” Conklin said, per Tomasson. “But I don’t have those answers. But I love Minnesota. My girlfriend loves Minnesota.”
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Conklin’s Fit Depends on Offense’s Transformation
OverTheCap’s salary analyst Jason Fitzgerald told Tomasson Thursday he expects Conklin, who made under $1 million on the final year of his rookie contract, to “inch a little higher” than the three-year, $16.95 million deal Carolina Panthers tight end Ian Thomas agreed to this offseason.
OverTheCap has valued Conklin at $7.8 million annually, and whether he garners a deal close to that price point in free agency remains to be seen. Still, with Smith under contract for another two seasons at an average cap hit of $1.7 million per season, Conklin may not have a significant enough role to warrant a competitive contract he could receive in free elsewhere in free agency. Minnesota will have to assess Conklin’s value in a new offense that may rely less on two-tight end sets.
O’Connell hopes to employ a similar offensive approach that the Los Angeles Rams used on their run to a Super Bowl last season. The Rams utilized 11 personnel sets (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) 86% of their offensive snaps last season, compared to just 12% of plays ran in two-tight end sets, per Sharp Football Stats.
However, Los Angeles’ offensive philosophy hasn’t been defined by the personnel packages under Sean McVay. Last season, the Rams lacked depth at tight end last season, forcing McVay to turn away from two-tight end sets. In 2020, the Rams had several games where they used 12 personnel packages (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers) more than any other package.
The Rams have switched to feature 12 personnel on a majority of their snaps in their past two games, almost tripling their usage compared to Weeks 1-12.
Rams 12 Personnel Rate
Weeks 1-12: 23% (9th)
Weeks 13-14: 59% (1st, only team over 40%)
McVay’s philosophy, which O’Connell will strive to emulate in Minnesota, is to be multiple on offense — and the wider variety of weapons, the better.
“I think it’s added another layer to our offense that’s important,” McVay said in 2020, per The Rams Wire. “That was something that we wanted to be intentional about this offseason. I think Coach (Aaron) Kromer, our coaches and then it all goes back to the players’ execution. It’s big because when you play against some of these bigger defenses, where they’ve got some heavy edges, being able to have seven true bodies committed to the blocking surface gives you a little bit more versatility in what you can activate in the run game, as opposed to when you’re just in your three-receiver sets. For us, we want to make sure that we’re able to be as multiple as we can, kind of try to continue to try to apply pressure to the defense based on what they’re giving us. The last two weeks has definitely been reflective of that and really a lot of credit to the players.”