Vikings UFA Profile: DL James Lynch

Lynch had his contract year taken away by a torn ACL.

With the 2023 season in the books, Inside the Vikings will be taking a look at all 22 of Minnesota's pending unrestricted free agents over the next couple weeks. We'll examine their past and speculate about their future, particularly the likelihood that they could be re-signed by the Vikings this offseason. We'll start from the least important (Hakeem Adeniji) and work our way up to the big fish (Kirk Cousins).

Vikings UFA profile: DL James Lynch

Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

• Age: 25
• 2023 stats: N/A
• 2023 contract AAV: $996K

Vikings defensive tackle James Lynch, a fourth-round pick out of Baylor in 2020, had his contract year opportunity taken away from him when he suffered a torn ACL in early August. Now he enters free agency looking for an opportunity to show what he can do when he's healthy.

Lynch, who turned heads with 13 sacks during his final college season, served as a rotational DT for the Vikings in 2021 and '22 after playing sparingly as a rookie. He totaled just under 600 defensive snaps in those seasons, with a PFF run defense grade that jumped significantly (from 52.2 to 72.8) in his third year. Across his three seasons, Lynch has three starts, two sacks, four total TFL, 53 tackles, and a fumble recovery.

Still just 25 years old, Lynch will get a chance to compete for a roster spot somewhere this year — but he might not get much more than the veteran minimum to do it. The Vikings could look to bring him back if they think he can provide some value at a low price once he's fully recovered from the ACL tear.

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