Vikings Predicted to Part Ways With $21 Million Pass-Catcher

The Minnesota Vikings have many tough decisions ahead to rebuild their roster into a contender for 2025, and that could lead to cutting starting tight end Josh Oliver.

Signed to a three-year, $21 million deal in 2023, Oliver was considered a boon to the Vikings running game with upside as a pass-catcher.

However, Oliver’s value is in question after playing just 56% of snaps. Bleacher Report deemed Oliver a top “cap causality” ahead of free agency.

This signing was a bit of a head-scratcher when it happened, and it’s likely to be re-evaluated in the spring. The Vikings signed Josh Oliver to a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023, and the final year is set to be the most expensive. Oliver is a good blocking tight end, but paying him just under $10 million [in 2025] is a questionable value when he only played 56 percent of the offensive snaps in 2024,” Bleacher Report’s scouting report read.

“The Vikings will already be paying T.J. Hockenson $16.9 million next season. Giving that much money to a second tight end is a difficult pill to swallow, and cutting Oliver would free up $5.1 million.”

With only Hockenson and Oliver under contract at the tight end position for next season, the Vikings rank second in total cap spent ($26.3 million) and have the highest cap percentage (12.1%) sunk at the position.

Devoting that amount of cap space to two tight ends lends itself to hopes of a Rob Gronkowski-Aaron Hernandez tight-end tandem, however, Oliver’s contributions to the Vikings’ pass-happy offense leave more to be desired.