Minnesota

Vikings Suggested to Consider Reunion with $11 Million Ex-Starter

Published

3 weeks ago

March 18, 2026

Vikings Suggested to Consider Reunion with Million Ex-Starter

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ESPN’s Bill Barnell suggested Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings could pursue a reunion with veteran defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.

The Minnesota Vikings aggressively pursued veteran defensive linemen during the 2025 offseason. But the tactic didn’t work. The team parted ways with signees Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen before 2026 NFL free agency began. To re-address their defensive line depth, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wondered Wednesday if the Vikings could turn to a familiar face — Jonathan Bullard.

Bullard spent three seasons with the Vikings from 2022-24. During 2024, he started all 17 games, registering 41 combined tackles with seven tackles for loss.

Barnwell suggested Bullard, along with fellow former Vikings defensive lineman Jihad Ward, as a candidate to return to Minnesota.

“Several former Vikings are free agents, including Jonathan Bullard,” Barnwell wrote. “Ward, who had five sacks and an impressive 22 knockdowns for the Titans last season as a full-time starter, hasn’t found much of a market in free agency.

“A return to the Vikings for him could make sense if Greenard moves on.”

In addition to his tackles, Bullard had three quarterback hits and three pass defenses for the Vikings during 2024.

According to Over the Cap, Bullard has earned about $11.19 million during his NFL career.

Why the Vikings Could Pursue Jonathan Bullard Reunion

Barnwell added at the end of his summary that a Bullard reunion “could make sense” if the Vikings parted with Jonathan Greenard.

Because of salary cap concerns, Greenard is another defensive veteran Minnesota could move on from this offseason. This week, USA Today’s K.D. Drummond proposed Greenard as a trade target for the Dallas Cowboys.

Even if the Vikings keep Greenard, though, the team might want to consider a Bullard reunion.

With the departures of Allen and Hargrave alone, the Vikings have 1,348 snaps to replace along their defensive line. Greenard could help fill that void with his experience at a very affordable price.

According to Pro Football Focus, Bullard played about 40% of his defensive snaps for Minnesota in 2024 at defensive tackle.

Spotrac projected Bullard to cost about $1.99 million on a 1-year contract this offseason.

Last season with the New Orleans Saints, Bullard lined up for 327 defensive snaps in 15 games. He started six contests with New Orleans.

The 32-year-old posted 26 combined tackles, including four for loss and two pass defenses in a Saints uniform.

During his three seasons with the Vikings, Bullard averaged 512.3 defensive snaps per year.

Bullard began his NFL career as a third-round pick for the Chicago Bears during the 2016 NFL Draft. Chicago selected him at No. 72 overall.

In addition to the Vikings, Bears and Saints, he’s played for the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Bullard has posted 6.5 sacks with 247 combined tackles, including 32 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits in 131 career NFL games. He also has registered 10 pass defenses and two forced fumbles.

Another Potential Reunion for Vikings

Ward is the other former defensive lineman Barnwell mentioned as a reunion candidate this offseason for Minnesota.

During the 2024 campaign, Ward posted 10 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss in 17 games with the Vikings. He also had 14 quarterback hits and a sack while playing 467 defensive snaps.

It’s worth repeating both Bullard and Ward aren’t direct replacements for Hargrave and Allen. The former two veterans mostly play along the edge while Hargrave and Allen are interior line defenders.

As Barnwell mentioned, Bullard and Ward are better target considerations for Minnesota if the Vikings part with Greenard.

But Bullard can play inside often enough that the team could pursue a reunion even if Greenard comes back.

The Vikings have a tight salary cap situation this offseason. If they want an extra veteran for any defensive line position and experience in Brian Flores’s system, they could bring back either Bullard or Ward as cheap depth.

Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb

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Minnesota

Community members show up to support Mercado Central, businesses hit hard by ICE surge

Published

1 hour ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Community members show up to support Mercado Central, businesses hit hard by ICE surge

Mercado Central on Lake Street in Minneapolis has been more than a marketplace; it’s a heartbeat, a place filled with food, culture and community. During Operation Metro Surge, that heartbeat slowed.

“We’re a co-op. We’re all business owners that just need support from our community,” Ajeleth Moreno with El Rincon Pupuseria said.

Many regular customers stopped coming and the change was impossible to ignore.

“Our regulars would not be here at all in the beginning months, but we did get really good support for the community,” Joscan Moreno said.

That community is showing up with purpose.

“I think it’s important to set an example and to show other community members that we are still here. We still need to be showing up and there’s so many beautiful examples of resilience out here today,” Rose Gomez said.

Through a wave of community support, online donations, to simply having people walk into their doors again.

“These places are few and far between, I don’t know if I know of any place exactly like this,” Simon Fitzkappes said. “And for our community to lose such a great spot, it’s really detrimental. We all hope that doesn’t happen.”

Because here, the business owners and diners alike say every visit and dollar matters.

“We’ve never got this many people here,” Ajeleth Moreno said. “We just hope it stays that way because we don’t want to be forgotten again.”

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Minnesota

Minnesota fraud scandal: Sixth family member who met with AG Ellison set to plead guilty

Published

13 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota fraud scandal: Sixth family member who met with AG Ellison set to plead guilty

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Yet another member of a family within Minnesota’s Somali community is expected to plead guilty Thursday in the massive fraud scandal that has drawn national attention and prompted criticism of Attorney General Keith Ellison over a meeting he held with members of the family in question.

Gandi Mohamed, 45, is expected to either plead guilty at a change of plea hearing scheduled for Thursday or choose to enter a plea of no contest, which would allow him to accept conviction and be sentenced without admitting guilt, according to court records.

Mohamed is the sixth member of his family who would be pleading guilty in the scheme prosecutors say fraudulently claimed to be serving meals while instead pocketing $14 million from the federal child nutrition program, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Bill Glahn told Fox News Digital that “it’s good that he and his co-conspirators have all been convicted in the case, however, a courtroom trial would have been a useful exercise to show the public the scope and scale of the fraud.”

TOM EMMER CALLS FOR TIM WALZ, KEITH ELLISON TO ‘SERVE JAIL TIME’ IF FRAUD COVERUP ALLEGATIONS ARE TRUE

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison will testify before Congress on March 4. (Mandel Ngan/AFP; Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Mohamed family was present at the now infamous 2021 meeting between Ellison and members of the Somali community where would-be fraudsters could be heard asking the state’s attorney general to help them secure more funding, before the conversation turned to campaign donations.

“The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena. Putting our votes where it needs to be. But most importantly, putting our dollars in the right place. And supporting candidates that will fight to protect our interests,” one of the Somali community members says in the recording.

“That’s right,” Ellison responds.

JOSH HAWLEY STANDS BY ACCUSATIONS AFTER FIERY SENATE HEARING CLASH WITH MINNESOTA AG ELLISON

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The committee held the hearing to examine the alleged misuse of federal funds intended for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Ellison has denied any wrongdoing regarding the recording, saying he was completely unaware of the fraudsters’ crimes at the time of the meeting. The meeting occurred before any convictions in the case and before President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice had indicted anyone.

“I took a meeting in good faith with people I didn’t know and some turned out to have done bad things. I did nothing for them and took nothing from them,” Ellison wrote in an April 2025 op-ed for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Following that meeting, Gandi gave the maximum $2,500 campaign donation to Ellison that the attorney general returned to the Department of Justice in 2025.

TRUMP ADMIN SCORES MINNESOTA COURT WIN IN MEDICAID FRAUD CRACKDOWN

“Our Attorney General, Keith Ellison, is not only looking the other way but doing so after taking donations from these very fraudsters,” Republican Dalia al-Aqidi who is running for Congress in Minneapolis against Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told Fox News Digital. “This is a betrayal of every Minnesotan who trusted him with that office.”

Al-Aqidi explained that the voters in her district are “furious” about the fraud scandal.

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“Which is why I’ve rolled out a five-point plan to prevent fraud before it starts,” al-Aqidi said. “This isn’t just about taxpayers, it’s about people who really need food and housing. Preventing fraud isn’t complicated, it just takes the political will to stop this type of abuse. It’s clear that this scheme is being used to buy votes, and that has to stop.”

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

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Minnesota

What will bring visitors back to the Science Museum of Minnesota?

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

What will bring visitors back to the Science Museum of Minnesota?

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