The Vikings got down to their initial 53-man roster, but the edge room still looks thin enough to raise eyebrows. Minnesota has four edge rushers on the roster, with Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel leading the way. Behind them are Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss, who have just one career sack between them.
That leaves the Vikings in a tricky spot if injuries hit. Jake Golday and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins have both spent some time working with the edges this summer, but neither is a natural edge rusher, and neither looks ready to step into a starting job there.
Minnesota has also been unwilling to hand out a bigger deal to a veteran like Joey Bosa, Haason Reddick or Leonard Floyd. So with roster cuts opening up new names around the league, a cheaper addition could still make sense.
One option is BJ Ojulari. The former second-round pick’s career has been thrown off course by a torn ACL in 2024, and he has played in only eight games since then.
The Arizona Cardinals waived him this week. There’s real risk here, especially after he went 41st overall and never got close to that kind of production in Arizona’s preseason.
Ojulari posted 1.5 sacks, but his 53.8 Pro Football Focus overall grade left plenty to be desired. Still, he’s only 24, and the raw talent that made him a high pick is still part of the appeal.
For Minnesota, he’d be a swing on upside and a rotational answer if Brian Flores can get him back near his old level.
Charles Omenihu Ferrell is another former top pick who’s available after being released by the Miami Dolphins. Drafted No. 4 in 2019, he hasn’t become the dominant force teams hoped for, but he has carved out a solid seven-year career.
Ferrell signed a one-year deal in July before Miami moved on. Over the last three seasons, he has 11 sacks, which gives him the most straightforward case of the three as a dependable, reasonably priced pass-rush option.
He wouldn’t bring much flash, but he would bring experience and a steadier floor than most street-level additions.
Then there’s K’Lavon Williams, who fits the same general mold of a former high pick trying to get his career back on track after knee trouble. Like Ojulari, he missed all of 2024.
Across his first two seasons, he posted 8.5 sacks and finished fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting with Dallas in 2022. The injuries stalled him, but the underlying tools are still there.
PFF credited him with an 80.6 grade from Week 10 onward in 2025, which ranked 11th among all edge rushers. If Minnesota wants another reclamation project, Williams has at least shown enough recent progress to keep him in the conversation.
For a team that suddenly looks light on proven pass rushers, all three names fit the same basic idea: cheap, available, and worth a look.
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Vikings May Already Have C.J. Hams Successor In Place
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Enter Max Bredeson, the fifth-round pick who already looks like a logical fit for that job. He is expected to bring the kind of blocking and versatility the Vikings value, and his ability to work in heavy packages alongside T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver gives Minnesota some flexibility as it shifts toward a more run-heavy approach. The question now is less about whether the role will be filled and more about how quickly Bredeson can make it his own. [Read more 🡒]