The Vikings Can Begin Saving Money with 3 Easy Decisions for In-House Talent
The Vikings can save money in a variety of ways. Start off with the extension candidates, the players who shouldn’t be going anywhere.
Consider right tackle Brian O’Neill, do-it-all backup lineman Blake Brandel, and top linebacker Blake Cashman. The veterans are all strong players who have proven to be important to what Minnesota is looking to accomplish. The money movers in Minnesota’s front office (a group that recently added a notable name) can respond accordingly.
The Vikings Can Begin with Extension Candidates
Left untouched, Mr. O’Neill, Mr. Brandel, and Mr. Cashman will offer these cap charges on Minnesota’s budget for 2026:
- RT1 Brian O’Neill — $23,115,657
- OL6 Blake Brandel — $4,466,668
- LB1 Blake Cashman — $9,182,353
All three players appear safe when it comes to getting shown the door. In theory, the decision could be made to allow them to venture through 2026 with deals untouched, but that would be odd given that each has entrenched himself as a key piece of the roster.
Consider, as well, the basic reality that all three players are moving into the final years on their contracts. As a result, there’s a confluence of factors combining to make extensions look appealing: ongoing strong play at key positions, Minnesota needing to carve out cap room, and these players being on expiring deals.
Add it all up and these three are prime extensions candidates. Look at the potential savings offered up by each player:
- RT1 Brian O’Neill — $14,160,000
- OL6 Blake Brandel — $1,988,000
- LB1 Blake Cashman — $4,760,000
Financially, the crown jewel is O’Neill. The 2nd-Round selection got scooped up in 2018, playing all of his NFL football in Minnesota since. A drop off in play hasn’t been major, if present at all. Working against him is that he’ll hit his 31st birthday in September, but he has consistently demonstrated excellence, meaning Minnesota should be keen to re-invest in the large lad who does a nice job on the right side.
The decisions on Brandel (who is 29) and Cashman (who is 29) aren’t as consequential when it comes to erasing the cap debt. The Vikings can’t take leave of their senses by handing out huge extensions. Rather, hand out new deals that tack on one or two years to keep good players in town beyond 2026 while opening up precious cap space in 2026.
Pushed to the max, the Vikings can lean on extensions for the trio of in-house players for a savings that flirts with $21 million. That’s more than half of the projected $40,156,353 that Over the Cap plops down as the current deficit. Not too shabby, eh?
No doubt, the Vikings can (and should) lean on a variety of strategies to get the budget back into a decent spot. Trades, restructures, and cuts are all going to be explored. At minimum, restructures and cuts appear to be a matter of when and not if.
But then there’s the desire that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah often articulated but is no longer around to implement: building a yearly contender. Extending great players helps with that goal.
Deciding on extensions for Brian O’Neill, Blake Brandel, and Blake Cashman appears quite simple. Overly simple, in fact. After all, both sides — team and player(s) — need to agree to the extension for it to come to fruition. Rob Brzezinski needs to lean on his team to arrive at contracts that make sense for the trio of talents, complicating matters in a way that’s overlooked in much of the discussion here.
What isn’t complicated is the straightforward statement that these three should be part of the Vikings’ plans beyond 2026. Even better, all are in-house talents, meaning Minnesota can negotiate as early as right now.
Other Vikings extension candidates include corner Isaiah Rodgers, receiver Jordan Addison, and safety Jay Ward (among others).
