New Details Emerge from Dalvin Tomlinson’s Contract Situation

Josh Frey |

Feb 23, 2023

New Details Emerge in the Dalvin Tomlinson Contract Situation — Jan 15, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (94) reacts after a play against the New York Giants during the third quarter of a wild card game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this week, it appeared that the Vikings had allowed the contracts belonging to Dalvin Tomlinson and Patrick Peterson to void, causing Minnesota to take on a total of $8.25 million in dead money.

Particularly in Tomlinson’s case, this made it seem like the two parties would be going in separate ways, considering he carried $7.5 million of that dead money. However, new reports emerged from Field Yates of ESPN that change things entirely.

The Vikings Seem Likely to Lose 2 Veteran Defenders in Free Agency — Oct 2, 2022; London, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (94) during the NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports.

According to his report, the Vikings have reached an agreement with Tomlinson to push the void date back to March 15th, allowing more time for an extension to be agreed upon in order to prevent Tomlinson’s entire $7.5 million in dead money from hitting this offseason. For an entire breakdown of the events, here is the set of tweets from Yates:

The Vikings could have extended Tomlinson without this, but they would have $7.5M of dead cap sitting on their books in 2023.

If a new deal is done before 3/15, just $2.5M from the old deal will count towards 2023. This adjustment prevents Tomlinson from being franchise tagged. https://t.co/TytshG2azh
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 22, 2023

There are two main things to take away from this. Firstly, the Vikings can now reasonably sign Tomlinson to a new contract up until March 15th. Secondly, if they do sign him to a new deal, only $2.5 million of his current dead money will be applied to the 2023 salary cap. The move also prevents the Vikings from using the franchise tag on Tomlinson, but there was a next-to-zero chance that things would go that direction anyway, so it doesn’t change much.

Oct 3, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs the ball against Minnesota Vikings defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports.

This new deadline coincides with the beginning of free agency. The “legal tampering period” takes place from March 13th-15th, but free agency won’t officially begin until the 15th. This agreement gives the Vikings a couple extra weeks to try and keep Tomlinson in purple for 2023 and possibly beyond.

Also Read:
The Vikings’ Most Obvious Extension Candidate

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.