Vikings agree to terms with veteran inside LB Jordan Hicks

Chris Tomasson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·3 min read

Mar. 15—Jordan Hicks has had some big games against the Vikings. Now, he'll be joining them.

The Vikings on Tuesday agreed to terms with the free-agent inside linebacker, who is entering his eighth NFL season and played the past three years with Arizona. SiriusXM NFL Radio reported Hicks will get a two-year, $10 million deal with $6.5 million guaranteed and his contract could be worth as much as $12 million with incentives.

Hicks, a third-round pick by Philadelphia out of Texas in 2015, spent his first four seasons with the Eagles. He played against Minnesota with the Eagles in 2016 and 2018 and with Arizona last year. In those three games, Hicks had 26 tackles, including four for loss and a sack, and had three quarterback hits and three passes defended.

Hicks was on injured reserve when Philadelphia defeated the Vikings 38-7 in the 2017 NFC Championship Game and went on to win the Super Bowl, but hasn't missed many games since then. Hicks has started 51 straight games, and averaged 128 tackles over the past three seasons.

"They talked about his durability and his leadership," said Vikings radio analyst Pete Bercich, a Minnesota linebacker from 1995-2000. "We've had issues of durability on defense. ... The second thing is leadership, and you need guys with that leadership and attitude. You need to get some fire back in that defense."

The Vikings were No. 30 in the NFL in total defense in 2021. Since Monday's start of free agency, they've agreed to deals with two players, both on defense. On Monday, they agreed to a three-year, $19.5 million contract with defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.

Hicks and Phillips can sign when the NFL's new league year begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Vikings, who have had salary-cap issues, must be down by then to their maximum allowed cap amount of $209.8 million.

The Vikings on Tuesday officially released defensive tackle Michael Pierce, clearing $6.235 million in cap room. A source had said Monday night that Pierce, who was on the books for a base salary of $7.9 million with a cap number of $10.235 million, would be let go after he declined a pay cut. He had told the Pioneer Press earlier Monday that the Vikings requested he restructure his contract.

Landing Hicks was important since the Vikings are shifting to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, putting even more of a premium on linebackers. And it remains to be seen if linebacker Anthony Barr, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is re-signed.

"He's going to be a very solid player in that scheme," Bercich said of Hicks, who played in a similar defense at Arizona and is expected to join Eric Kendricks as a starting inside linebacker. "That combo is going to be solid."

Bercich also likes Minnesota's addition of the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Phillips, who spent the past four years with Buffalo. He started eight of the 14 games he played in 2021.

"You need big, strong bodies on the inside of the defensive line," Bercich said. "You've got to get people like him to push around offensive linemen."

BRIEFLY

A source said the Vikings have informed free-agent guard Dakota Dozier they won't re-sign him. Dozier was with Minnesota the past three seasons, getting into 38 games with 20 starts. ... The NFL awarded 39 compensatory draft picks to 16 teams, but the Vikings didn't get one.