A Path to Vikings Cap Space (Without Considering Kirk Cousins)
K. Joudry
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If you were to ask the fine folks from Over the Cap, they’d tell you that the Vikings could create $85,701,559 through just restructures. Pushing restructures to the max would leave the Vikings with $66,046,346 in cap space.
The team, of course, won’t be pursuing this extreme strategy. Doing so would be stealing from Peter to pay for Paul. The team would sink future seasons for the sake of the immediate.
The wiser, more sensible approach is to pursue a middle ground, a via media (if you will). The team should pursue restructures in several areas. The team ought to also look at trades, cuts, and even some straight up pay cuts. Shout out to OTC for all the great contract info.
First, the trades. I think it’s very likely that we see a deal shipping Garrett Bradbury out of town. Such a move would likely bring back a 6th or 7th-round selection while freeing up roughly $2.25 million. Other than Bradbury, there’s no one who looks like a lock to be traded. There’s the QB who won’t be discussed and Danielle Hunter as the next two leading trade candidates. Both will stick in town (at least in my humble opinion).
Now, the cuts. Unless there is one of those aforementioned restructures, C.J. Ham is likely gone. He will be carrying nearly $3.5 million into the 2022 budget. The Vikings can create $1.95 million in cap space by cutting him. That brings the total money up to $4.2 million. Next up is Michael Pierce. Unless he agrees to a sizeable restructure, he can’t be brought back at his current price. He has been good when on the field, but he has barely been on the field. Cutting him frees up $6.5 million, pushing the overall total to $10.7 million.
The Vikings could give that number an unexpected boost by moving on from Eric Kendricks, Harrison Smith (a topic we covered), and/or Adam Thielen (another one we covered). That’d be a decision I’d disagree with, and yet it’s a possibility that can’t be totally overlooked.
The likelier scenario is reworked deals, especially for Thielen and Kendricks. As previously discussed, Kendricks is a prime restructure candidate. It’s plausible that they could rework his deal without sinking their future cap. How could they pull off such a heist?
Well, it’s plausible because Kendricks doesn’t have anymore guaranteed money on his deal. Lots of vets want the security that comes from guaranteed money. Is Kendricks among them? If so, the team could create just over $6.5 million through an extension that tosses in guaranteed money. He’s under contract for two more seasons. Kicking in another year and some more guarantees could get that number down. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, the team finds a way to free up $4 million through redoing Kendricks’ deal. That puts them up to $14.7 million in extra cap space.
Next up is Mr. Thielen. The Vikings’ WR2 can give the team extra cap space if he similarly reworks his deal. Similar to EK, Thielen’s deal lacks guaranteed money moving forward. Again, the strategy ought to involve offering more guarantees in exchange for a more manageable cap hit. OTC indicates that a restructure could offer the Vikings $7.35 million in extra room. For this exercise, let’s say the Vikings free up $5 million. That gives the team an extra $19.7 million.
Finally, the Danielle Hunter situation. The oft-injured DE carries more than a $26 million hit into 2022. A simple solution is simply to cut or trade him. Doing so would give the team $14.64 million in cap space. The consequence is that they’ll take on a nearly $11.5 million cap charge and lose a true DE1 (when healthy).
Currently, Hunter is only under contract for two more seasons. Does he want to trade in his gargantuan 2022 salary in exchange for more long-term security? It’s hard to say. There was a contract stalemate last offseason. Ideally, the team won’t need to deal with another one this offseason. An extension, per OTC, can free up more than $14.7 million in 2022. Again, let’s not push this to the max. Let’s say the team lowers his cap hit by $8 million, perhaps by adding on another year and/or including some incentives. Doing so gives the team $27.7 million.
Let’s recap. The three players who were lost were Bradbury, Ham, and Pierce. Thielen and Kendricks were given more length and guarantees in exchange for a lower cap hit. Hunter’s number was brought down because of incentives and more long-term security. That’s six players and it created just under $28 million in cap room. Oh, and it didn’t involve touching the QB1’s deal.
In other words, the team has plenty of options when it comes to cap space. All of the suggested deals are plausible and possible. The team didn’t even need to tack on void years.
If they were to pursue this precise path, the Vikings would enter free agency with nearly $12.365 million in cap space.
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