Minnesota
Vikings Suggested to Consider Reunion with $11 Million Ex-Starter
Getty
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
More Heavy on Vikings
Loading more stories
The entirety of the Metro Transit Blue Line and parts of the Green Line will shut down for a few weeks this summer and be replaced by buses as crews work to swap worn track and outdated equipment.
The Blue Line will be offline from June 29 to Aug. 19. The west end of the Green Line — from West Bank to Target Field — will shut down between July 1 and July 26 and again between Aug. 16 and Aug. 19.
Metro Transit says buses will stop at or near the stations every 15 minutes. Some boarding locations will be moved to Hiawatha Avenue, and staff will help guide riders to their bus stops for the construction period.
Nearly every stop along the 22-year-old Blue Line will see improvement, Metro Transit says. The stations will be outfitted with real-time signs and shelter glass.
“We recognize that this needed maintenance work will be disruptive to riders, but once completed, the work we do this summer will help improve the customer experience for years to come,” said General Manager Lesley Kandaras.
The Green Line will be back in service for the beginning of August to accommodate summer events, such as Twins and Lynx games, the WWE Summer Slam at U.S. Bank Stadium and Noah Kahan and Ed Sheeran concerts.
We had another beautiful day across the region. Temperatures were still slightly below average. Winds will continue to be off the lake but our focus for tonight will be the chance for strong to severe thunderstorms across north-central Minnesota. The biggest threats will be hail, gusty winds and lightning.
Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday, mainly during the afternoon and early evening.
Strong or severe storms are not currently expected Wednesday. However, some of these pop up storms could produce some damaging winds.
A more summer-like pattern is expected for the end of the week into early next week with increasing moisture and temperatures.
Chances for storms are expected to return on Sunday and continue into the new week.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms redevelop later tonight with fog by sunrise, the low will be around 48. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Wednesday
AM Fog with afternoon showers and thunderstorms with a high near 63. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 69. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday
A slight chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy, with an east wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Sunday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Breezy, with an east wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Southeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
.
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori as their next head coach on Tuesday, after making the playoffs for the first time in five years under the direction of interim coach Tiago Splitter.
Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed for multiple head coach vacancies, including the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024. Nori, who began his NBA career in 1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time they finished with a winning record in five years.
The news comes a day after the Wolves reportedly traded three-time All-Star Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
-
Minneapolis, MN3 minutes agoFOX 9 Good Day: June 24, 2026
-
Indianapolis, IN10 minutes ago3 Colts Stars Heralded as NFL’s Most Important
-
Pittsburg, PA13 minutes ago14+ things to do this weekend, from the Andy Warhol Bridge 100th Birthday Bash to OpenStreetPGH
-
Augusta, GA18 minutes agoAugusta Commission receives results of 2024 budget audit
-
Washington, D.C25 minutes agoAAPI Data Releases 2026 AAPI State Fact Sheets, Highlighting the Growing Influence of AAPI Communities Across All 50 States and Washington, D.C. – AAPI Data
-
Cleveland, OH28 minutes agoLeBron James Cleveland Homecoming Possible In Exchange For Former All-Star Center
-
Austin, TX33 minutes agoForman Capital Provides $28.2 Million Lot Development Loan for a 253-Acre Mixed-Use Project Near Austin, Texas
-
Alabama40 minutes agoMontevallo to take center stage as Alabama celebrates Americ…
