NFL Player News

Johnson finished the 2025 regular season having brought in four of seven targets for 64 yards and a touchdown while recording 685 kickoff-return yards and 291 punt-return yards over 17 games.

Johnson saw exponentially more opportunity than in his rookie 2024 season, when he'd appeared in only five games and recorded 22 all-purpose yards (11 rushing, 11 punt return). The Barton product was able to stick on the final 53-man coming out of camp and benefitted from injuries to multiple receivers to record his first regular-season receiving statistics as a professional, all in Week 6 against the 49ers. However, Johnson saw only one snap from scrimmage over the final four games of the season as the wide-receiver corps regained full health, but he was able to maintain a fairly consistent role as a returner. Johnson is no guarantee to be on the roster in 2026, but his pathway to sticking will likely once again come via his special-teams contributions.

Redmond tallied 62 tackles (33 solo), including 6.0 sacks, five defensed passes, a forced fumble and two recovered fumbles over 17 games during the 2025-26 regular season.

After starting just two of the 13 regular-season games in which he appeared as a rookie, Redmond made 15 starts in 17 contests this season. The undrafted Oklahoma product earned the role with a strong campaign that included 6.0 sacks -- fourth-most on the Vikings. Redmond is slated to be an exclusive rights free agent, and he'll almost certainly be back with Minnesota next season, perhaps with a much-deserved multiyear contract in tow.

Johnson brought in his only target for 17 yards and rushed once for five yards in the Buccaneers' 16-14 win over the Panthers on Saturday. He finished his 2025 rookie campaign with 28 receptions for 322 yards and five touchdowns on 44 targets while adding seven rushes for 22 yards across 16 games.

The 2025 seventh-round pick saw more work than expected as Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan all dealt with injuries, helping Johnson to gain some value reps early in his NFL career. He logged snap rates of between 57 percent to 73 percent in seven straight games from Week 6 to Week 13. Johnson's workload faded down the stretch as the receiving corps got healthy, but he made a solid first impression and should compete for reserve snaps in 2026.

McMillan brought in his only target for 11 yards in the Buccaneers' 16-14 win over the Panthers on Saturday. He finished the 2025 season with 12 receptions for 178 yards on 15 targets and one carry for one yard across four games.

A neck injury suffered in the preseason ended up wiping out most of McMillan's second NFL season, as the wideout didn't make his 2025 debut until Week 15. He did post a 100-yard effort in Week 17 against the Dolphins, however. McMillan should have no restrictions for OTAs and could wind up in the No. 3 WR role if Chris Godwin can't come to terms on restructuring his contract and gets lets go by Tampa Bay.

Smith finished the regular season with 54 tackles (37 solo), including 1.0 sacks, 10 defensed passes (including two interceptions), a forced fumble and a recovered fumble over 15 games.

Smith missed Minnesota's first two games due to an illness but proceeded to suit up for each of the team's final 15 contests. While he finished with the lowest tackle total of his 14-year career, Smith did tie for the Vikings lead with 10 defensed passes, marking the seventh time he's reached double digits in that category in a regular season. Smith has hinted that he's leaning toward retirement -- if that's the case, he'll conclude his career with six Pro Bowl berths and two All-Pro selections.

Tucker rushed four times for minus-4 yards in the Buccaneers' 16-14 win over the Panthers on Saturday. He also returned three kickoffs for 57 yards.

Despite his forgettable finish to the season, Tucker rushed for a career-high 320 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 carries while adding an 8-34-1 receiving line and a career-high 597 kickoff return yards across 17 games. He logged only 36 more rush attempts than in 2024 despite the fact that Bucky Irving missed seven games due to foot and shoulder injuries. However, Tucker became a preferred red-zone option down the stretch with 24 touches. He will presumably have an inside track on the No. 2 role in the backfield next season with Rachaad White expected to depart in free agency.

Turner recorded six tackles (four solo), including 2.0 sacks, and forced a fumble in Sunday's 16-3 win over Green Bay. For the season, he posted 66 stops, including 8.0 sacks, three defensed passes and four forced fumbles across 17 games.

Turner registered a strip sack of Packers QB Clayton Tune on Green Bay's second offensive series, though the Packers were able to recover the fumble. He got to Tune again for a seven-yard loss in the third quarter. That pair of sacks pushed Turner to 8.0 on the season, catapulting him into the Minnesota lead for the campaign. Turner started 10 of the Vikings' 17 contests in his second NFL season and seems to be growing into one of the team's top defenders as he approaches the third year of his rookie contract.

Hodgins did not catch either of his two targets in Sunday's Week 18 victory over Dallas. He finished the campaign with 10 catches on 19 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown over seven games.

Hodgins spent training camp with San Francisco before latching on with Pittsburgh's practice squad in mid-September. He was ultimately signed by the Giants, with whom he had spent most of the previous three campaigns. Hodgins put up a solid 7-99-1 line over his final two contests upon his return but then faded dramatically, catching just three of seven targets for 16 yards over his final five games despite posting an offensive snap share north of 80 percent four times during that span. He's slated to become a free agent and may again begin next season on a practice squad somewhere in the league.

Murphy concluded the regular season with 71 tackles (48 solo), seven defensed passes (including two interceptions) and one fumble recovery over 17 games.

Murphy started all 17 of Minnesota's contests for the second straight season, but he couldn't replicate his 2024-25 Pro Bowl campaign. Murphy finished with 10 fewer stops and seven fewer pass defenses, and while he tied for the Vikings' lead with two pickoffs, that number was well below the six he recorded the previous season. Murphy was still a central part of the team's defense and should continue to fill that role next season in what will be the second year of the three-year extension he signed last March.

Winston completed 37 of 66 pass attempts for 567 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions over three games during the 2025-26 regular season. He added seven rushes for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Winston signed with New York in March, but the team then inked Russell Wilson a few days later and drafted Jaxson Dart in April's NFL Draft, reducing the significance of Winston's signing considerably. The veteran QB did end up making a pair of starts after Wilson was demoted and Dart was sidelined by a concussion, but Winston didn't do much to impress as a passer in those opportunities, and he completed the campaign in a backup role. Winston's contract was a two-year deal, so he could return as Dart's backup next season.