Carving Out $100 Million for the Vikings’ Snug Salary Cap
The pursuit of $100 million in added cap room for the Vikings is satisfyingly large but not going to happen. There is, nevertheless, some merit in the thought exercise given that the machete is soon to get used to trim the budget.
So far, the Vikings’ discourse has considered all kinds of options for Minnesota’s depth chart. Cuts and restructures are a matter of when and not if. Plus, there appears to be merit in pursuing some extensions. With the starting point being at a touch worse than $40 million in cap debt, the Vikings need to push the total up to $60 million for 2026 for the $100 million to have been cleared off. Let’s get started.
The Vikings’ Salary Cap: Adding $100 Million
Begin with the trio of in-house extension candidates considered previously: RT Brian O’Neill, OL Blake Brandel, and LB Blake Cashman.
Extending these three isn’t unrealistic. To the contrary, there’s good reason to believe that all remain part of the roster plans for the next several years. Minnesota could liberate an added $20 million in cap space for 2026 by extending O’Neill, Brandel, and Cashman. Starting there gets us closer to the goal of $100 million, dropping us down to a needed $80 million boost.
Turn the attention toward the restructure candidates.
Identifying who these players are means focusing on those who are well paid and who appear secure on the roster for several more years. With that filter in place, go ahead and see what kind of cap space can be cleared through restructure:
- Justin Jefferson: $18,018,750
- Jonathan Greenard: $12,956,250
- Byron Murphy: $11,328,000
- Christian Darrisaw: $9,245,197
Rounding down these numbers means sitting at $18M, $12M, $11M, and $9M. Of course, there’s far more nuance that can get worked into the mix than just rounding to the nearest low-level million. The point, though, is to get a sense of what’s possible.
Without there being any pre-planning on the author’s end, the restructure candidates add up to clearing off a cool, easy-to-manage $50 million. That’s an amount that gives Minnesota an added $70 million when partnered with the three extensions. Getting to triple digits means finding another $30 million somewhere.
Kick it over to the cut candidates, the most obvious way that a team creates added cap space. Check out some options:
- Javon Hargrave: $10,955,882
- T.J. Hockenson: $8,871,176
- Ryan Kelly: $8,347,647
- Aaron Jones: $7,750,000
- Jonathan Allen: $6,533,332
Somewhere within those players is the ability to bring the savings up by $30 million. Neither of Kelly nor Hargrave look likely to stick around in the Twin Cities, meaning there could be an added $19 million from cutting those two.
Deciding to move on from Hockenson alongside Jones is far from a foregone conclusion. The possibility does exist, though. To clear $30 million in cap space with cuts means finding $11 million more. Cutting the TE1 and RB1 means adding on $16,621,176.
Current fill-in GM Rob Brzezinski is a numbers nerd. He has been in Minnesota for close to three decades because he knows his way around a budget. He’ll have several options for not just wiping out that $40 million in cap debt but in giving the team real financial flexibility to add more talent.
Players who didn’t get looped into the discussion include Andrew Van Ginkel, Isaiah Rodgers, Jordan Addison, and Will Fries (among others). All of these guys could kick back more cap space for 2026 depending on what levers get pulled.
On March 9th, the NFL’s legal tampering portion of free agency will get started. Look for the Vikings to have somewhere around $20 to $25 million in cap space around that time.
