It was a little surprising to me, though, to see just how active the Vikings were in free agency this spring and summer and how much they raided other teams' rosters for their free agents, compared to other teams. Using ESPN's free agency tracker, I found out how many players each team signed and how many of those players came from other organizations:
| Team | OwnFA | OtherFA | TotalFA | %Other |
| NY Jets | 0 | 6 | 6 | 100% |
| Miami | 2 | 12 | 14 | 86% |
| Minnesota | 2 | 9 | 11 | 82% |
| Tampa Bay | 4 | 10 | 14 | 71% |
| Seattle | 3 | 7 | 10 | 70% |
| San Francisco | 4 | 7 | 11 | 64% |
| Philadelphia | 3 | 5 | 8 | 63% |
| Denver | 5 | 8 | 13 | 62% |
| Tennessee | 5 | 7 | 12 | 58% |
| Kansas City | 3 | 4 | 7 | 57% |
| Oakland | 6 | 8 | 14 | 57% |
| Atlanta | 7 | 9 | 16 | 56% |
| St. Louis | 5 | 6 | 11 | 55% |
| Carolina | 9 | 10 | 19 | 53% |
| New England | 7 | 7 | 14 | 50% |
| Buffalo | 5 | 4 | 9 | 44% |
| Jacksonville | 5 | 4 | 9 | 44% |
| Houston | 9 | 7 | 16 | 44% |
| Detroit | 8 | 6 | 14 | 43% |
| NY Giants | 4 | 3 | 7 | 43% |
| Chicago | 3 | 2 | 5 | 40% |
| New Orleans | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40% |
| Cleveland | 7 | 4 | 11 | 36% |
| Arizona | 12 | 6 | 18 | 33% |
| Baltimore | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33% |
| Cincinnati | 6 | 3 | 9 | 33% |
| Green Bay | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33% |
| Pittsburgh | 8 | 3 | 11 | 27% |
| Dallas | 3 | 1 | 4 | 25% |
| San Diego | 3 | 1 | 4 | 25% |
| Washington | 6 | 1 | 7 | 14% |
| Indianapolis | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
As you can see, the Minnesota Vikings got 82% of their free agents -- the third-highest figure in the league -- from other teams. Their total of nine free agents gained from other teams ranks fourth, behind only Miami, Carolina, and Tampa Bay. Obviously, this chart doesn't take rookie free agents, draft picks, and trades into account, but it does seem to confirm that the Vikings took a head-first dive into free agency this offseason, picking the best (or so we hope) from other teams' rosters and making them their own. Toss in the Jared Allen deal, which, even with the Adam Jones and Jason Taylor deals and the looming possibility of a Brett Favre trade, looks to be the most impactful long-term deal of the 2008 offseason, and it's hard not to say that the Vikings made the most noise, by far, in the offseason.
Now the question remains, will all that activity lead to success on the field? The Vikings have been far from quiet in free agency over the last several years, with Antoine Winfield, Fred Smoot, Darren Sharper, and Steve Hutchinson all moving north in recent years in big-time free-agent deals. Despite the loose purse strings, the team hasn't fared better than 9-7 under its last two head coaches and has only one playoff berth this decade. Many fans -- myself among them -- seem to think that this offseason spending spree will lead to bigger things for the team in the upcoming season, but until that success comes, there will always be the niggling shadow of doubt in the minds of Vikings' fans, harking back to the team's many missed opportunities over the team's first 47 seasons.
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