The Vikings’ $12.5M Cap Boost is Arriving Very Soon
The Vikings’ $12.5 million cap boost felt far off until recently. Weeks, not months, now separate Minnesota from the financial windfall.
Back in March, Rob Brzezinski opted to move on from DT Jonathan Allen and S Harrison Smith. The former has since landed a meaty deal to become a Bengal while the latter is still uncertain about his playing days. Since both were designated as post-June 1st cuts, the team has had to be patient. Soon, the patience is going to pay off.
The Vikings’ $12.5M Cap Boost is Soon to Arrive
Right now, the team is sitting atop $15.8 million in open room (OTC). Putting that into a league-wide context means seeing the Vikings as being in the bottom half of open room without being downright destitute.
Moreover, there’s the financial dealings that haven’t yet been brought across the finish line. Most prominent is 1st-Round selection Caleb Banks, who is going to put pen to paper on a four-year agreement coming in close to $21.3 million (there’s a 5th-year option Minnesota will decide on after the DT’s third season). Banks alone will take a good bite out of the cap space pie. Next up are the other picks — LB Jake Golday, DT Domonique Orange, and the others — who are similarly going to diminish the team’s financial resources.
Now, that’s not to say that picking these young lads was a bad thing or something to worry about. On the contrary, bringing in draft picks is the single greatest salary cap strategy. Seeing these newcomers shine early will mean Minnesota experiences a nice financial boost since they’ll offer strong ball under artificially-cheap contracts.
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The point, folks, is simply to suggest that Minnesota’s estimated $15.8 million in cap room is going to end up around $10 million or lower.
But just as things dip due to the draftees, the number will shoot back up. In fact, there will be a pretty meaty boost, a cap space influx that’s going to come in at $12.5 million. Most of that is coming over from Allen, who is soon to see $11.3 million liberated from his cap charge.
Part of what makes the soon-to-arrive financial uptick fascinating is the uncertainty about what the Vikings decide to do. More than a few people in Minnesota are hoping that WR Jauan Jennings arrives at a deal with the Vikings. The well-built, physical veteran is looking for a meatier payday than the Vikings have been willing to pay, but maybe that changes after some time. Maybe they meet in the middle as he lowers his ask and they up their offer.
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At the very least, Jennings should get to a team in time for training camp, if not earlier. Doing so would mean the pass catcher has a nice on-ramp to the highway that is the regular season. In a rough sense, that’s about two-and-a-half months away.
Perhaps the Vikings decide not to meet Jennings’ asking price. Instead, there could be a pivot toward help at pass rusher or someone to play center. A tight end, a running back, and/or other positions can’t be totally ruled out, either.
The sneaky option? Sit atop the pile of gold and roll it over into 2027. Opting for ongoing patience isn’t exciting in the same way that a major trade or free agency deal is, but the path does have the merit of wisdom.
There could even be the decision to sit atop the financial abundance to see how things go in the early weeks of the season, possibly waiting until the NFL trade deadline to bring another contract to town. After all, the Vikings boast an impressive collection of draft picks for 2027.
All that to say that the Vikings have options. In the end, that’s what open cap space affords: the possibility of adding talent. Minnesota will have the ability to throw their weight around afresh once June arrives.
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