Vikings agree to terms with tight end Johnny Mundt on new contract
The Vikings announced Friday they agreed to terms on a new deal with tight end Johnny Mundt, who was set to hit free agency next week after two seasons with the team.
It's a one-year contract worth $2.5 million, according to a league source.
Mundt, who followed coach Kevin O'Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips from the Rams to the Vikings in 2022, caught 17 passes for a career-high 172 yards last year, posting 97 of those yards in the team's final two games of the season after T.J. Hockenson was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL. To that point, Mundt's workload had dipped for much of 2023, as the Vikings made free-agent pickup Josh Oliver their No. 2 tight end for much of the season.
But with Hockenson's status for the beginning of 2024 unclear after he had knee surgery on Jan. 29, Mundt could be a more prominent piece of the offense at least early in the season.
He had started 12 games for the Vikings in 2022, playing a career-high 443 snaps that season after Irv Smith Jr.'s knee injury opened up a spot in the lineup. The Vikings' trade deadline deal for Hockenson that year made Mundt a No. 2 tight end, and though O'Connell called Mundt the "best third tight end in the league last year," the fact the Vikings had given multi-year deals to Hockenson and Oliver made the rankings clear at the position.
Mundt gives the Vikings some insurance as Hockenson recovers, and he could begin the season as a more prominent receiving target if Hockenson isn't ready for the first part of the year.
