Image courtesy of Vikings.com
Many, including this writer, have predicted that Minnesota Vikings core defender Anthony Barr will not be in Purple next season thanks to the combination of the Minnesota Vikings’ cap situation, his paycheck, and the COVID cap reduction that is pending. Those that thought Barr would stay in Minnesota banked on Barr taking a pay-cut via a contract restructure. Turns out the former may have been right as it was reported today on The Scoop w/ Doogie that Barr is anti-“Any Sort of Restructure” this off-season.
That’s a huge deal as Barr is currently the third-to-second-to-fifth highest paid Viking on the roster depending on what metric you’re using.
GRAPHIC
That may lead the Vikings to trade Barr, something the head coach Mike Zimmer might resist at all costs as he asks Barr to do A LOT on his defense. However, the Vikings saw little drop off when Eric Wilson stepped in for an injured Barr in 2020, so the combination of Barr’s reluctance to restructure and that fact might mean we’ve seen the last of Barr in purple.
If the Vikings were to cut Barr they’d have a dead cap hit of $7.8m in 2021 ($5.6m in 2022 and $2.8 in 2023), but they may be able to find a trade partner as Barr is still in his prime and could especially dominate in a 3-4 defense.
Stay tuned for updates!
View Comments
Wilson's run D and tackling were horrible, and his splash plays were almost all over by Game 8 or Game 9. His coverage is better than Barr's, and maybe his pass rushing, but that's pretty much it.
I never thought Barr was going to be forced to take a pay cut this year, although the team could restructure his deal without his permission to lower the cap hit (but not his compensation) this year while increasing it in 2022 and 2023. A gamble, but given the odds of the salary cap increasing substantially both of those years, a reasonable one if they haven't worked out extensions with Hunter and Cousins (potentially $10 million each in cap savings this year), Smith and Reiff ($5 million apiece) and/or even Stephen ($3 million, I think). In my noodling on this topic, unless Barr has a killer comeback season, I see his and the team's "come-to-Jesus-moment" being postponed to 2022.
I’m not the biggest fan of PFF, especially when it comes to posting those numbers and walking away from a debate as if they’re so objectively correct that nothing else needs to be said. But Barr’s numbers and play across the board have been declining and his deficit to Wilson in coverage weren’t negated by his rush D numbers. Especially considering his paycheck and apparent reluctance to restructure.
Kendricks is the heart and soul of the defense. Sans Barr, and through a myriad of other various injuries, the defense battled admirably until Kendricks went down. So long Anthony. You were a good player, but never lived up to your 8th overall draft slot. Should've take Aaron Donald, Zim.