free agency, well, Minnesota would need a safety or two.
 celebrates after the Browns beat the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports.</p>
<p>” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_22187428.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=787,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_22187428.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_22187428.jpg” alt><figcaption> Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports.<span></span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>So when the Cleveland Browns released veteran Juan Thornhill on Monday, Vikings fans took notice. <em>NFL </em><span><em>Network</em>‘s</span> <a href=)
Mike Garafolo tweeted, “The Browns are releasing veteran S Juan Thornhill, sources say. The team and Thornhill’s camp spoke in recent days and the decision was made to part ways now, giving Thornhill a few weeks before free agency to find his next home. Thornhill had one year at $7m left on his deal.”
Thornhill will hit the open market and can sign anywhere in the NFL. He doesn’t have to wait until March 10th, the beginning of free agency’s “legal tampering.”
Pro Football Focus resume to date:
- 2024: 65.5
- 2023: 66.5
- 2022: 72.7
- 2021: 70.1
- 2020: 59.0
- 2019: 71.8
And the playing resume for the former 2nd-Round pick:
- Kansas City Chiefs (2019–2022)
- Cleveland Browns (2023-2024)
Thornhill is also a two-time Super Bowl champion, helping the Chiefs win the chip in 2019 and 2022. He does everything fairly decently as a safety — he’s versatile — and doesn’t have glaring weaknesses. Not long ago, Thornhill was a rather sought-after commodity, fresh off the Super Bowl wins with the Chiefs.
Without Thornhill, if Smith and Bynum left the Vikings, Minnesota would have in-house solutions in Josh Metellus, Jay Ward, and Theo Jackson on hand. Metellus and Ward are under contract for 2025, and Jackson is expected to re-sign regardless of Smith or Bynum’s status.
 celebrates a missed field goal by the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images.</p>
<p>” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_24817273.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=787,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_24817273.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_24817273.jpg” alt><figcaption> Scott Galvin-Imagn Images.<span></span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>From free agency, other safeties like Jevon Holland and Talanoa Hufanga could grab general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s attention if Minnesota is not interested in Thornhill.</p>
<p>On Smith’s possible retirement, some new hints from KSTP’s Darren Wolfson indicate that Smith could return for Year No. 14 in 2025. “Smith can still play, and I don’t think the Vikings need to break the bank to bring him back. They can figure out the money. I get it. He’s had to take pay cuts the last couple years. So, to me, there’s interest in him playing at a reasonable number. I just think it makes all sorts of sense,” <a href=)
Wolfson said on SKOR North airwaves late last week.
“I continue to think there isn’t a downside to bringing back Harrison Smith.”
 during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports</p>
<p>” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_23912660.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=787,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_23912660.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/USATSI_23912660.jpg” alt><figcaption> Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports<span></span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>And Bynum’s return feels like a coin flip as of late February.</p>
<p>Thornhill will turn 30 in the fall. </p>
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<p><a aria-label=)
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
