As the Dust Settles, The Vikings Find Themselves with Some Cash to Burn
Recently, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has gotten back into the kitchen to cook up a few additions in Minnesota, meaning the Vikings find themselves with a bit less in the budget.
Reinforcing the offense involved finally agreeing to a deal with free agent offensive lineman Dalton Risner. The former Bronco has been a special teams contributor, but Kevin O’Connell continues to suggest that the team will look toward their best collection of five offensive linemen. He’s an option to play either LG or RG.
Adofo-Mensah didn’t stop at Risner, instead opting to pull off his 17th trade as the team’s GM by bringing RB Cam Akers to town. In Week 4, Akers proved what’s been easy to foresee: he’s the RB2, someone capable of helping take the burden off of Alexander Mattison’s shoulders. He turned 5 carries into 40 yards and 2 catches into 11 yards. So, a strong start from the former Ram.
While these additions have been met with optimism and applause, some are wondering if there’s still potential to keep adding. The roster is by no means a perfect collection of talent. If the opportunity arises, do the Vikings have enough money to bring someone else to town?
The Vikings Find Themselves with Some Financial Flexibility
Generally speaking, there are three major times when trades take place in the NFL: the draft, the roster trim down following the preseason, and the trade deadline. In each opportunity, Adofo-Mensah has pulled off at least a single deal.
A pair of drafts have led to nine swaps from Minnesota’s GM. After the past pair of preseasons, Adofo-Mensah has done deals involving players like Nick Mullens, Jalen Reagor, Ross Blacklock, Jesse Davis, and Vederian Lowe. He even joined the fun at last year’s deadline, bringing T.J. Hockenson from Michigan to Minnesota.
Already, Kwesi has pulled off an in-season move for 2023 (the aforementioned Akers add). No matter which way the Vikings go in the win/loss column, the Vikings are going to at least be making some phone calls to see what options exist.
And, let’s not forget, there are plenty of free agents who are waiting on their next opportunity. Maybe that chance comes in The Gopher State.
Moving players around means money moves around, as well. And while teams have a pile of ways of creating extra room in the budget, the simplest way of bringing talent aboard is to have the cap space already in hand. Minnesota, as least per Over the Cap, is in a nice spot in that regard.
Currently, the team is projected to have roughly $9.5 million in cap space. Keep in mind that the cap flexibility exists even with dead money accounting for just under $42 million on the team’s 2023 budget. Transitioning from one GM to the next often involves some pain, and part of that involves digesting a hefty portion of dead money.
Due to a variety of moves — some of which dating back to March — the Vikings have some money to burn. By no means are they compelled to use all of their cap space, but there’s something to be said for having it if needed.
Minnesota ventures into the Halloween trade deadline with the 7th-most cap space in the NFL and eight selections in the upcoming draft. The team could keep things exactly as they are, but that hasn’t been Kwesi’s M.O. since taking over the top job. More likely, perhaps, is an approach that involves either depleting those resources or building them up.
The key, of course, will rest in how the team performs. Adofo-Mensah has given himself the freedom to lean into either component of his philosophy — the competitive or the rebuild — based on what’s happening on the field.
The Week 5 contest with the Chiefs will go a long way in telling everyone what kind of season the Vikings will have. And, in turn, what kind of approach Adofo-Mensah may pursue with the team’s budget. Just know that it looks like there’s enough money to add some talent if the season turns around.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
