Van Ginkel Waiting to Make His Mark in Minnesota

The former Miami Dolphins draft pick left as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason

Andrew Van Ginkel / Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK

Turns out there's more than one former Miami Dolphins draft pick having to wait to make his mark on his new team this year.

Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel wasn't able to take part in the Minnesota Vikings' on-field work during the offseason as he continues to recover from the foot injury that cut short his 2023 season, his fifth and final one with the Dolphins.

"With the rules the way they are now, with the ability to designate guys for return, you can find ways to get guys out practicing with the team and on a timeline that might have been different in years past when you would have used the physically unable to perform list," Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said this week, per Inside the Vikings. "So, we'll keep you guys updated on how that'll go. I can just say between, really, it's T.J. [Hockenson] and [Andrew] Van Ginkel at this point. We're very pleased with where they're at. They've pretty much been 100 % participation even in a camp where they can't fully actively participate in every rep. It's been huge, I know, from the doctors and from our training staff standpoint, their commitment to being here to do that."

Van Ginkel left the Dolphins in the offseason when he signed a two-year deal with the Vikings worth a possible $20 million with $10 million fully guaranteed at signing.

Van Ginkel sustained that foot injury in the season finale against the Buffalo Bills and finished with a career-high six sacks while starting 11 games.

With the Vikings, he was reunited with Brian Flores, who's now Minnesota's defensive coordinator and was in his first year as Dolphins head coach when the team selected Van Ginkel in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

BAKER'S SLOW SEATTLE START

Like Van Ginkel, Baker ended the 2023 season on the sidelines after being injured in that Bufalo game, in his case a significant wrist injury.

New Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said last week that Baker also has "a couple of other things like lower body stuff that he's working through."

Baker joined the Seahawks after being released by the Dolphins, who replaced him by signing unrestricted free agent Jordyn Brooks after the former first-round pick finished his fourth season in Seattle — the team declined in 2023 to pick up his fifth-year option.

"He's gonna be fine, but just right now we won't we won't see him out in OTAs," Macdonald said about Baker. "I wouldn't call it a concern but I mean anytime someone isn't getting all the reps, you got to figure out different ways to get them the reps. So it's mental stuff. It's walkthroughs.. We're trying to be creative in the building to make sure he gets all the things he needs to see. so he'll be up to speed. he'll be ready to roll."

WHAT ABOUT X?

Baker was among a handful of high-profile players the Dolphins released in the offseason as they maneuvered to get their touchy cap situation under control.

The other two most noteworthy player who fit into that category were cornerback Xavien Howard and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who both remain without an NFL team as the month of May closes.

Howard's salary came off the Dolphins books Saturday, creating an additional $18.5 million of cap space for the team.

The Dolphins were among the 12 teams that will get some cap relief this weekend, and that's important to note as it pertains to Howard's 2024 destination.

Remember that he said earlier in the offseason he only was interested in playing for a contender, and that list of 12 teams includes eight that were in the playoffs last season.

Those eight were Baltimore, Buffalo, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, Miami, San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

All those teams except for Baltimore, Dallas and Tampa Bay will get at least $10 million of additional cap space, and the Cowboys will be just under at $9.5 million for wide receiver Michael Gallup's contract coming off the books.

So it would be easy to see the Bills, Cowboys, Lions, Packers or 49ers make a play for Howard, who was released after spending eight seasons in Miami, but he remains unsigned as the offseason programs conclude this week or next.