New Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers impresses as a kick returner too

The Vikings added Isaiah Rodgers to their secondary this offseason, as a cover corner whose potential had defensive coordinator Brian Flores excited enough that coach Kevin O’Connell took note.

In signing Rodgers to a two-year, $11 million deal, they also added a return man with a 27.1-yard career average as a kick returner and a 101-yard touchdown to his name, before a season when further changes to the NFL’s kickoff rules are expected to put more returns in play.

It sounded on Wednesday like special teams coordinator Matt Daniels was hoping O’Connell noticed his excitement about Rodgers, too.

“He’s been an elite guy back there with the ball in his hands, and obviously he’s starting at corner more right now,” Daniels said. “So that’ll be a conversation I have to have with the upper management.”

With Rodgers in line to play a major role at corner, the Vikings will have to determine whether using him on kick returns is worth the injury risk. Daniels could have other options on kicks and punts; receiver Rondale Moore returned 13 kicks as a rookie, and the Vikings have been using third-round pick Tai Felton, cornerback Tavierre Thomas, wide receiver Tim Jones and undrafted rookie Silas Bolden as returners this spring.

Rodgers, though, has been successful enough as a return man during his career that Daniels sounded interested in exploring the idea.

Touchbacks will be spotted at the 35-yard line this season, in a rule change the NFL hopes will incentivize teams to put the ball in play. In the first year of the league’s dynamic kickoff in 2024, Daniels said, the second return man (who turned into a blocker after not fielding the ball) was the most frequently injured player on kick returns.

“If we can try to keep him away from being the off returner, I think we’ll have some success, keeping him healthy, but also being able to have him as our returner,” Daniels added. “[There’s] not many guys that can bend and weave in traffic, and still maintain good speed. He’s got such good hips and start-stop ability that you appreciate.”

The Vikings gave Josh Oliver a three-year, $23.25 million extension on Tuesday, putting the 259-pound tight end under contract in Minnesota through the 2028 season.

It’s the latest investment the Vikings have made in a muscular front, following the free-agent additions of Ryan Kelly and Will Fries and the April selection of Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson in the first round of the draft.

To offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, the decision to solidify Oliver’s future in Minnesota was a wise one.

“No disrespect to anyone else, but I think Josh Oliver is the best blocking ‘Y’ [tight end] with pass game value in the NFL,” Phillips said. “A lot of times, those [defensive] guys say, ‘You never let a tight end block. You never let a tight end pass protect on you.’ Josh is kind of a different human when it comes to that. We try to get him to walk off the bus first anytime we’re traveling.“

Oliver played 55.6% of the Vikings’ offensive snaps a year ago, with T.J. Hockenson returning from a torn ACL in October. The Vikings have Hockenson healthy this year, but a team that also added running back Jordan Mason could employ Oliver in some heavier personnel groups, either to run up the middle or throw against teams that keep linebackers on the field.

“That’s what you love,” Phillips said. “Oliver’s a big ‘Y’ who has pass game value. T.J. is the ‘F,’ who’s a great receiver, but can run block. So they have to make a decision. They want to play smaller people, try to defend against the pass, you get all kinds of athletes on the field that can make them pay there with the run game. Base defense; alright, maybe we want to throw the football, but we still have the opportunity to run. It just kind of opens up everything when you have two guys like that.”

In addition to the promotions of Ryan Grigson and Demitrius Washington to assistant general managers that came hand-in-hand with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s contract extension last week, the Vikings announced several other moves within their front office staff Wednesday.

Ten staff members, including Grigson and Washington, received promotions, while another five had their titles updated.

Among the promotions are Quinn Gjersvig from a senior manager to director of family engagement. The Vikings have ranked first in treatment of families on the NFL Players Association’s report cards each of the past two years and tied for second in 2023.

Matt Duhamel was promoted to director of sports medicine; he previously was the associate head athletic trainer/director of rehabilitation.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who was on the field for walk-through work Tuesday, did not participate in Wednesday’s practice. The Vikings are following a careful progression with Darrisaw, who tore the ACL in his left knee last October, but the 26-year-old seems to be on a positive trajectory for the 2025 season.

Emily Leiker of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed reporting.

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