The Minnesota Vikings, and the other 31 NFL teams, are a week away from the chaos of the "tampering window." That's the two-day prelude to free agency in which all of the illegal discussions/negotiations that have been going on for weeks can be done legally. It's a fun time. Free agents can agree to deals with new teams but they can't sign those deals until the actual start of free agency on Wednesday, March 18 at 4pm ET. But the "legal tampering" begins a week from today.
The Vikings have some work to do between now and next week. They have more work than most teams because they presently have so little cap room to do that work. According to the salary cap maestros at Over the Cap, the Vikings are about $1.4 million under the projected salary cap. They might get a few more million if the actual salary cap is higher than current projections. Either way, that isn't much room with which to play the free agency game.
The Vikings have the following players set to become free agents on Wednesday, March 18 at 4pm ET.
Unrestricted Free Agents
Anthony Harris
Everson Griffen
Trae Waynes
Andrew Sendejo
Mackensie Alexander
Marcus Sherels
Jayron Kearse
Kentrell Brothers
Stephen Weatherly
Sean Mannion
Ameer Abdullah
Laquan Treadwell
Rashod Hill
Dakota Dozier
Brett Jones
Dan Bailey
Britton Colquitt
Restricted Free Agents
C.J. Ham
Eric Wilson
Unfortunately, many of the above won't be back. The top of my "wish list" for return is safety Anthony Harris. I'd be real surprised if that happened. He's due for a big contract and the Vikings simply aren't in position to meet that. Harrison Smith is a well-compensated safety. The team can't afford a second well-compensated safety. The money is better spent elsewhere.
I'm expecting defensive end Everson Griffen to return. Last month, he opted out of the remaining years of his contract but the Vikings would like to bring him back at a lower contract number. It sounds like both sides are interested in this happening so I'm expecting that it will.
But the Vikings won't be able to bring Griffen, or pretty much anyone, with only $1.4 million available. Some contract juggling will have to happen over the next week. Contract extensions for quarterback Kirk Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook could create more cap room. Some restructuring of current pricey contracts could create even more room. Finally, unfortunately, a player, or two or more, could be cut as a cap casualty. The Vikings will have to do a few things over the next week in order to create cap space. They have to sign some of their own free agents. They won't be able to be big players in the league's free agent market but they will have to sign some players to round out the roster.
I believe that the Vikings have to re-sign the following:
Dan Bailey
Britton Colquitt
C.J. Ham
Eric Wilson
I start with those four because I think that they need to be re-signed and they shouldn't be too expensive to re-sign.
Harrison Smith is currently the only safety on the roster that is signed for the 2020 season. Something has to be done with this position. Anthony Harris played his way out of the Vikings' budget. Andrew Sendejo and/or Jayron Kearse could be brought back for some experienced safety depth or as a projected starter. The cornerback position is also set to take a free agency hit. Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander could sign elsewhere and Xavier Rhodes could be a salary cap casualty. Those have been the team's top three corners for the past few years. Perhaps it's time for a complete overhaul at the position. The Vikings do have some young players like Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, and Kris Boyd that might be ready for much more significant roles. Maybe the Vikings find a way to keep one of Waynes or Alexander to keep some continuity and a little leadership at the position.
At defensive end, I'm expecting Griffen to back and I'd like to see Stephen Weatherly return. On the offensive line, it'd be nice to re-sign one or more of Rashod Hill, Dakota Dozier, and Brett Jones. Each would provide valuable depth at their positions.
So, I'd like to see the Vikings do what they need to do over the next week to, at the minimum, bring back the following:
Everson Grffen
Stephen Weatherly
Andrew Sendejo
Rashod Hill
Dakota Dozier
Dan Bailey
Britton Colquitt
C.J. Ham
Eric Wilson
Griffen probably takes the biggest chunk of the limited, available cap space but it shouldn't be a crippling amount. Whatever needs to happen for the Vikings to craft their 2020 roster should start happening in the coming days.
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