Has Anthony Barr Played His Last Snap as a Viking?
Ali Siddiqui
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Even before the start of the season, you had to wonder if this season would have been his last with the Vikings.
He is due $15.5 million next year, but the team will save $7.7 million by releasing him.
Barr was the team’s ninth overall pick in 2014 out of UCLA and played very well in his first two seasons. He struggled in 2016 partly due to a wrist injury, played well in 2017 and has been average at best since.
His rookie year especially brought plenty of optimism. He did miss the final four games due to a knee injury, but when he was on the field he certainly did not disappoint. He was also named NFC Defensive Player of the Week when he returned a fumble 27 yards for a game-winning touchdown in week eight against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the salary cap expected to drop to $175 million, the team will be around $9.3 million over the cap according to spotrac. Releasing Barr certainly sounds like a no-brainer. Could he be released and brought back cheap? Perhaps. That would not be a bad move by the way. Barr knows this system and although he has not been the player many of expected he would be by now, bringing him back cheap would not be a terrible idea. They certainly need to address other issues first though, so it would be best to move on altogether.
That deal is not looking very good. It did look like an overpaid deal earlier, but was still a good move to have him back as he has been one of their top defensive players since entering the league. The deal though has looked like an even bigger overpay since last season though.
If they move on from Barr altogether, that would be the best decision, but bringing him back cheap will be something Rick Spielman and his staff could very well consider and wont be terrible. It may be time for both sides to move on and start fresh. The salary cap decreasing will make things difficult for every team and the Vikings have other big decisions ahead too.
Maybe Barr will perform better for a different team too. Fresh starts can sometimes be the best thing for some players. Regardless, it is unfortunate things did not work out as well as the organization and fans all hoped and expected.