The Vikings’ Cap Space Takes a Hit, But Open Room Still Beckons for Reinforcements
The good news is that J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner have been signed to their rookie deals. The bad news is that the Vikings’ cap space is now a little less abundant.
For a while, the open room was sitting at roughly $26 million. The McCathy and Turner deals, though, take a bite out of things. The open room is now closer to $21 million, a number that’s neither rotund nor lean. Instead, it’s the kind of number that suggests Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s work may not be done just yet.
The Vikings’ Cap Space after Signing McCarthy & Turner
Per Spotrac, the specific number sits at $21,084,567, the 13th most in the NFL.
J.J. McCarthy was the higher pick, so he carries the larger cap hit. The quarterback is accounting for a cap charge sitting at $3,973,599. Meanwhile, Dallas Turner is also putting a dent into things, seeing his Year 1 cap charge sit at $2,866,702.
As the years of the rookie contracts proceed, McCarthy and Turner will be taking larger and larger bites out of the pie. The current pie, though, still has a little bit to go around.
Does Kwesi Adofo-Mensah venture into either a trade or free-agent signing to improve the roster? Or, perhaps, both?
The other option is to carryover the excess cap space. Whatever doesn’t get used in 2024 can be tossed onto the pile in 2025, a time that should be relatively abundant for Minnesota financially. McCarthy is expected to take over as the QB1 as Sam Darnold moves onto greener pastures, a QB swap that is going to allow for the roster to see some serious spending take place at other positions.
At present, one player who comes to mind is veteran corner Stephon Gilmore, someone whom Jeff Diamond has advocated for in his recent work for Vikings Territory.
“I may sound like a broken record,” Diamond explains, “but are the Vikings trying to make a free agent run at a very good vet corner in Stephon Gilmore to add more quality depth at a seemingly shaky position?”
Last season, Gilmore did well, allowing just 55.8% of passes into his coverage to be completed. As a team, Minnesota allowed more than 70% of passes to be completed, so Gilmore would look to be part of the solution. Gilmore, 34 on September 19th, had 68 tackles, 13 passes defended, and 2 interceptions last season. In 2019, he won Defensive Player of the Year.
Of course, there are options beyond just Mr. Gilmore. The Vikings could reasonably look to add talent at DT, WR, CB, LB, or even along the iOL.
The good news is simply that even with the added rookie contracts in the mix, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has left himself with enough money to be active.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference 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.
