Relief For 2026 Or A Big Swing?

Wouldn't surprise me if the Vikings keep a good amount of space for the trade deadline on Nov. 5th. If we look playoff bound after week 8, I think we could make a Super Bowl move similar to what the Rams did a few years ago with Ramsey. Maybe Sauce will be sour in New York by then.

No doubt they'll be roster tweaking between now and the opener....

I dont know if they'll make any big splashes? I expect their focus is on the D and they need to add to the rb room too.

they need to be looking at 26-28 ( and I am sure they are) , that is our window, I dont see how adding a 3rd string RB right now is a good use of cap space when this season is largely a crap shoot that will basically be about getting JJ shook down and experience for when we really make a run. I dont want to say its a throw away season, because playoff experience would be very beneficial, but I dont see us really making a lombardi run his first year as a starter and with zero game experience coming in.

If they can find some surprise cuts that will join the team on a very friendly deals, hell yes as long as they arent a 1 and done thing, anybody we should be looking at right now needs to fit a need and also create some cap flexibility for next year.

They are 52 million over the cap for 2026, I suspect they'll roll most of it over.

I think they’ll bring in a CB, update Metellus’s contract, and roll most of the rest over. I don’t agree that we’re slowrolling into a 2026 window, as by all accounts we’re heavily investing into a win now season. I just think, by now, most of the heavy lifting is over. If some great bargains are available, where the production will greatly outweigh the costs, I’m sure we’ll do that, but I think our long term investments are over, and we’re just rounding out the last little bit of the roster.

comet52 wrote:
They are 52 million over the cap for 2026, I suspect they'll roll most of it over.

I think all of it depends on how we look at the trade deadline. If you look at the contracts, there's no doubt the Vikings are gunning for a Lombardi THIS year. So if it looks like we're headed for the playoffs, I think they could make a big move to put them over the top.  

Also have to remember that a lot of the overage in 2026 is in flexible long-term contracts that can be easily restructured. For example, Jefferson's cap hit in 2026 is $38M. No way all of that hits our bottom line. Darrisaw and O'Neill, $23M each. Greenard, Allen and Hargrave, $22M each. Hock, Murphy, Gink, Fries and Aaron Jones all over $15M each. That's a total of $225M, so even if you target a 25% savings, you've covered your $52M overage and then some. And that's not counting the $20M we have in our pocket right now, nor does it count likely savings in smaller contracts for Harrison Smith and Blake Brandel, et al. So a good amount of flexibility there. 

Of course if we suck—if JJ is a bust and we have a losing record at the trade deadline—then that changes everything. They probably roll over all of it and even shed some of the underachieving assets we bought to build a Super Bowl roster. Let's just, y'know, hope that doesn't happen.