Vikings agree to terms with tight end Johnny Mundt on new contract

Tight end Johnny Mundt, who was set to become a free agent next week, could play a larger role in the offense with T.J. Hockenson recovering from knee surgery.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 8, 2024 at 9:31PM
Vikings tight end Johnny Mundt (86) scored the Viking first touchdown in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023.   ] Elizabeth Flores • liz.flores@startribune.com
Vikings tight end Johnny Mundt scores a touchdown in Week 17 against the Packers. His production increased after T.J. Hockenson went down with a knee injury. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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 that the Vikings had given multiyear 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.

about the writer

Ben Goessling

Sports reporter

Ben Goessling has covered the Vikings since 2012, first at the Pioneer Press and ESPN before becoming the Star Tribune's lead Vikings reporter in 2017. He was named one of the top NFL beat writers by the Pro Football Writers of America in 2024, after honors in the AP Sports Editors and National Headliner Awards contests in 2023.

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