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The Vikings entered this week roughly $45 million above the NFL salary cap, giving them plenty of work to do ahead of free agency and the start of the new league year next week. With a series of reported moves, they've now gotten below the cap. But Rob Brzezinski and company still need to pull more levers in order to have ample room to go out and sign some free agents.
Below, we'll go over all of the Vikings' cap-clearing moves and how much space they create from the starting point of -$45 million. As additional moves are reported, they'll be added.
Aaron Jones cut: 7.75 million
Unless they can find a trade for him, the Vikings will be releasing Jones at the start of the league year. A trade would save the Vikings an extra $2 million in cap space, but it seems rather unlikely that any team would part with even a late-round pick to acquire a 31-year-old running back who they know will otherwise be cut. Jones has been a good player and valued locker room presence for Minnesota over the past two seasons. They'll now look to get younger at RB alongside Jordan Mason.
Javon Hargrave cut: ~11 million
Hargrave is another player who will be released next week, barring an unlikely trade. The 33-year-old didn't have the kind of impact the Vikings anticipated when they signed him to a two-year deal last year. If you ask Hargrave, Brian Flores' scheme held him back, but that didn't exactly stop Jalen Redmond from having a big season.
Jonathan Allen cut: ~6.5 million
The Vikings are moving on from both of the ex-Pro Bowl defensive tackles they signed to big contracts a year ago. Allen led the DT room in snaps (just ahead of Redmond) but didn't shine as a pass rusher enough to outweigh his struggles with run defense and tackling. The Vikings will be eating a major chunk of dead money (roughly $17 million) just to get off of Allen's contract one year into a three-year, $51 million deal.
Justin Jefferson restructured: ~18 million
This was always an obvious move from the Vikings. Jefferson is their franchise player and isn't going anywhere, so it's easy to do a simple restructure by converting base salary into signing bonus money that spreads out across the remaining years on his contract. To clear up some common misconceptions, this isn't a pay cut of any sort and it isn't something Jefferson has any say over. It's just a simple accounting move that pushes some money into the future.
Christian Darrisaw restructured: ~9 million
The Vikings did the same thing with Darrisaw, who remains one of their key core players even though he dealt with the lingering effects of his 2024 knee injury all throughout last season. They hope that this offseason will help him get back to full strength so he can return to dominance this fall.
Byron Murphy Jr. restructured: ~11.3 million
Another player the Vikings have restructured, per Alec Lewis, is their top cornerback. Murphy has two years left on the contract he signed last offseason. He was a Pro Bowler in 2024.
Current estimated cap space: ~18.5 million
Other players/contracts to watch: Ryan Kelly, T.J. Hockenson, Brian O'Neill
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