The Vikings’ Cap Shows Close to $30M in Debt that Still Needs The Houdini Treatment
Rolling into March, the Vikings’ cap was showing ample debt. An easy shorthand would be to say that Minnesota needed to carve out roughly $45 million in added cap room (though note that OTC adjusts the number up and down based on new information).
What’s been done so far is nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Nevertheless, there’s greater clarity about what’s going to take place within the public commitment to cut DT Javon Hargrave and RB Aaron Jones (if a trade can’t get worked out). Similarly noteworthy is that Minnesota is listening to offers on EDGE Jonathan Greenard, a painful trade that would clear money off the books while opening a gaping hole on defense.
The Vikings’ Cap & The $30M in Debt
Start off with simple math, thereby allowing the conversation to proceed in a (somewhat) coherent manner.
The Vikings’ cap was sitting at $45 million in the red. Clearing away some of that deficit will mean cutting Hargrave and Jones. Per Over the Cap, the Vikings will see an added $18.7 million in extra room. Again, though, let’s live in the fantasy of financial simplicity. Shave off $18M from the $45M; left behind is $27M in cap debt. There’s the new baseline.
Trading Mr. Greenard — don’t count on it, but we’ll see — would mean clearing out $12.25 million in added room. The $27 million would shrink to $15 million, a much easier deficit to disappear.
Pivot off that trade possibility, instead arriving at an extension for Greenard. Consider the word from SI’s Albert Breer: “The Vikings’ situation with OLB Jonathan Greenard is a bit complex—Greenard is seeking a market correction to his contract, per sources. He’s due $19 million and would like a raise. Minnesota is comfortable with him at his current number. The team views him as one of their best players, and won’t just let him go. But if someone comes with a big offer, a deal could be had.”
Earning $19 million per season within the context of Pro Bowl pass rushers means making a pittance. The issue is one that PurplePTSD discussed months ago: coming off a 3-sack season that involved being hurt isn’t exactly a great spot to be when it comes to leverage.
Nevertheless, the Vikings would do well to keep the edge rusher. Dallas Turner has ample promise but he’s very far behind where Greenard is currently. Extending Greenard could involve liberating handy to $14 million for 2026, but assume that the maximum short-term savings aren’t pursued. Instead, there’s a satisfyingly-easy $10 million subtracted. What’s left is $17 million in added cap space.
Options to consider to put more money back into the mix for Minnesota:
- Restructure Justin Jefferson for $18M in Savings
- Restructure T.J. Hockenson for $9M in Savings
- Cut Ryan Kelly for $8M in Savings
- Extend Brian O’Neill for $14M in Savings
- Extend Blake Cashman for $4M in Savings
Folks, none of those above options are pure fantasy. Until reality arrives, these are plausible fictions; do note, however, that they’re all plausible.
At the end of the day, the Vikings are going to be capable of pushing the cap space up to a reasonably rotund total in time to lure talent to the Twin Cities. For a little while, I’ve been insisting on open cap space somewhere around $25 million.
Jumping into bidding wars for high-end talent is going to involve losing money very quickly. What can be financed, though, is restrained, shrewd spending while possibly splurging on a top-tier add (or two).
NFL free agency gets started on Monday, March 9th with legal tampering. All of free agency — complete with players being able to sign deals — begins on Wednesday, March 11th.
The league-wide cap sits at $301.2 million.
