The new league year has begun, and with it comes a flurry of free agency deals becoming official. It also means that new players are hitting free agency, as is the case with a couple of now former Minnesota Vikings players.
Minnesota opted to not offer Restricted Free Agent tenders to running back Cam Akers, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and others according ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
The Vikings declined to offer RFA tenders to RB Cam Akers and DT Khyiris Tonga, among others. They're now free agents. Thus (begins and) ends my RFA coverage for this offseason.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) March 13, 2024
There are four tender options with the RFA tag that organizations have that they can place on players: First-round, second-round, original round, and right of first refusal. Each tag comes with descending price tags and less compensation for the club should they decide not to match any offer sheets.
The decision to not tender Akers makes sense for the Vikings, as Akers isn’t likely to have received an offer and Minnesota now has a solid backfield with last year’s emergency of Ty Chandler and the recent acquisition of former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.
The decision on Khyiris Tonga is a little more interesting. Tonga played well for the Vikings in a reserve defensive tackle role. With the departure of Marcus Davenport and Danielle Hunter in free agency, Minnesota is getting thin along the front seven.
A ‘right of first refusal’ tag would have been a significant increase for Tonga, as that tag comes with a price tag of nearly $3 million versus the $940K Tonga made last season.
Both players are now available on the open market and free to sign deals with any team in the league.
