Cap data from sportrac
| Rank | Team | Cap Space |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | $37,400,428 |
| 2 | Washington Redskins | $35,418,052 |
| 3 | Miami Dolphins | $33,845,970 |
| 4 | Detroit Lions | $28,231,477 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | $24,333,471 |
| 6 | Indianapolis Colts | $24,324,770 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Chargers | $24,273,637 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | $22,233,008 |
| 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | $21,111,472 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | $19,405,681 |
| 11 | Tennessee Titans | $19,365,260 |
| 12 | Houston Texans | $17,657,468 |
| 13 | Denver Broncos | $16,862,356 |
| 14 | New York Giants | $16,408,788 |
| 15 | Seattle Seahawks | $15,847,041 |
| 16 | San Francisco 49ers | $14,092,504 |
| 17 | Las Vegas Raiders | $12,930,093 |
| 18 | Minnesota Vikings | $12,341,635 |
| 19 | New York Jets | $11,913,959 |
| 20 | Green Bay Packers | $10,856,427 |
| 21 | Chicago Bears | $9,515,170 |
| 22 | New Orleans Saints | $9,455,846 |
| 23 | Baltimore Ravens | $8,107,038 |
| 24 | Arizona Cardinals | $6,985,230 |
| 25 | Carolina Panthers | $6,359,432 |
| 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | $5,696,191 |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys | $4,138,043 |
| 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $3,751,955 |
| 29 | Los Angeles Rams | $2,533,512 |
| 30 | Kansas City Chiefs | $1,410,123 |
| 31 | New England Patriots | $1,056,604 |
| 32 | Atlanta Falcons | $963,409 |
Only each team's Top 51 contracts count against the salary cap during the offseason.
The Atlanta Falcons have yet to sign any of their six draft picks. Something's gotta give.
At least the New England Patriots have their entire 10-player draft class signed. They are the only team to accomplish that.
It's interesting to see that the four AFC South teams are among the Top 12 teams in available cap space.
The other 31 teams are just tagging along. This is about the Vikings.
On March 12, a week before the start of free agency, ESPN had the Vikings' with $1,504,204 in cap space. That placed them 32nd among the NFL's 32 teams in available cap space. What could they do with so little cap space? The talking heads honked about a roster purge and rebuild. Instead of a rebuild, the Vikings just went about their offseason business. That business included extending the expensive contract of their soon to be 32-year old quarterback. Talk of a roster rebuild should end there. This has been an offseason of change. There needed to be change. The Vikings had about six years of roster consistency on defense. Perhaps that roster consistency allowed a little stagnation to creep into that side of the ball. Whatever the reason, the defense last year didn't really look much like the strong defense of previous years. A lot of that was due to the play of the cornerbacks. That's why it shouldn't have been surprising to see the top three corners of a year ago depart this offseason. Maybe the defense needed a little shaking, a little change. To retain any number or combination of the three corners would've cost more than the Vikings could afford. Instead of keeping any combination of the three corners, the Vikings decided to keep safety Anthony Harris, a rapidly ascending player. Having excellent, veteran safeties Harrison Smith and Harris in the defensive backfield should help an exceedingly young, overhauled cornerback group. Mike Hughes is now the team's most experienced cornerback. He's only two years removed from his first round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. He's also yet to play a complete 16-game season. Holton Hill, Kris Boyd, and a load of rookies, including first-rounder Jeff Gladney, will populate the depth chart. There's a lot of talent there. There's also a lot of questions. There's something exciting about that. The defensive line will also look different. The Vikings' lone dive into the free agency pool brought defensive tackle Michael Pierce. Linval Joseph had been fantastic as a running stuffing force in the middle of the line for years. Unfortunately, he's nearing the end of his prime years. Pierce is entering his. As much as I loved Joseph's play, presence, and leadership this exchange should be an improvement. As long as he remains unsigned by another team there's a chance that defensive end Everson Griffen could return. Each day that he doesn't return seems to diminish the chances of it happening. In May, it appears that Ifeadi Odenigbo is in line to replace Griffen. Odenigbo played well last year in a rotational role. He should only get better with more experience and playing time. Until that actually happens, he's still an unknown.
This offseason brought a lot of change to the Vikings defense. There was one big change on offense. The trade of Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills was painful. It will always be painful as Diggs was one of my favorite players. For whatever reasons, he didn't want to be in Minnesota. Forcing a player into a situation in which he isn't happy rarely works out well for player or team. Something had to give. The Vikings got a nice return. They added Justin Jefferson, one of the best receivers in a strong receiver draft, with the first-round pick obtained in the trade. Until he proves otherwise, Jefferson is an unknown.
The funny thing about an NFL offseason is that things change. The Vikings started the offseason with a lot of national giggles. They were last in cap space and had a whole bunch of roster questions. They had players that they couldn't afford and free agents that they couldn't keep. Basically, they had an unsustainable roster and no cap space to improve it. A lot has changed since then. They made judicious roster decisions through the early days of free agency. Then they bolstered the roster with a robust, record-setting draft class of 15 football players. The Vikings got younger. They added more talent than they lost. Granted, most of the added talent is unproven talent. I'd rather go with unproven talent than declining talent. It isn't a stretch to say that the Vikings' current roster has more potential than it did this time last year. This offseason, the Vikings went from last in cap space with a lot to do in March to 18th in cap space with most of the work done in May.
It's not a rebuild.
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