Vikings Free Agency: Exploring Impact of Minnesota's Salary Cap
Before the Minnesota Vikings can begin restocking their roster through the draft, they will explore numerous options in free agency, looking to improve on a mildly successful 2014 campaign as the building process moves forward.
As always, the salary cap will place limitations on what Minnesota is able to accomplish in the free-agent market
With a projected 2015 salary cap of $140 million, Minnesota currently stands No. 19 in cap space for next season, per OverTheCap.com. The team's $16.9 million in free space will go toward bringing back current players who have expiring contacts and acquiring outside talent.
The Vikings could take a few steps to bump that figure upward. Let's explore what Minnesota's cap situation means for the team in the coming months, considering ways the team can increase its space and what can realistically be expected with the available funds.
Goodbye Greenway
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Cutting veteran linebacker Chad Greenway is the most likely step Minnesota takes to free up more space for free-agent contracts and the eventual rookie signings.
Without action, Greenway would count for $8.8 million on the 2015 cap. Releasing Greenway frees up an additional $7.1 million in cap space, which would move Minnesota to No. 16 in cap space. The available space would rise to around $24 million.
However, Greenway could return on a smaller contract in 2015. There could be mutual benefits to bringing him back, as Mike Zimmer and the Vikings coaching staff value Greenway's leadership skills. Greenway has also been a Viking his entire career, so any wish to finish out his career with a single team would lead the linebacker to return, even if that meant sacrificing money.
However things work out between Greenway and the Vikings in the coming months, getting his current contract off the books will happen, opening up the Vikings' possibilities.
Listen to Offers for Adrian Peterson
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The moral and public relations side of the Adrian Peterson saga will certainly weigh heavily on the Vikings this offseason. Financially, though, the Vikings could benefit from releasing or trading the star running back. At the very least, expect the team to listen to offers.
Whether it's due to release or a trade, the removal of Peterson would save the team $13 million on the cap in 2015.
Minnesota will weigh those savings against the possible benefit of having Peterson back. The running game was inconsistent at best without him in 2014, so answers must be found somewhere for Minnesota. If the team thinks those massive savings could be used to address the position by bringing in a different RB through free agency, it would have more reasons to pull the trigger on a potential move.
If the Vikings ultimately move on from both Greenway and Peterson, they will enter free agency with around $37 million in space, No. 8 in the league.
Multiple Extensions
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The first implication of Minnesota's standing in terms of the salary cap relates to retaining unrestricted free agents.
Ten free agents are set to hit the market without restriction, and they are only a small drop in the team's bucket of overall talent. Financially, Minnesota should have no restrictions when it comes to bringing back any number of those players.
Three players stand out as the best candidates for a return.
Tom Johnson, Jasper Brinkley and Joe Berger were all at least average contributors in 2014 and players the Vikings may give the most consideration to when it comes to re-signing. Currently on one-year deals, those three combined for less than $2.5 million against the cap this season. That figure should not rise above $3 million if Minnesota wishes to bring all three back again.
Using space opened up by dropping Greenway, the Vikings will have flexibility with all of their own free agents. Some will certainly not be brought back, but financials will have little do do with it. That should help the team build its depth with enough players who have familiarity in the current schemes.
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Go Cheaper or Younger at Wide Receiver
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Minnesota may make an effort to upgrade its wide receiver corps this offseason, but without significant cap room, the big fish will be out of the equation. Guys like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, who may not hit the market in the first place, are merely pipe dreams.
For context, Eric Decker signed with the New York Jets a year ago for over $7 million in average salary, but with a backloaded contract. The numbers for Washington's DeSean Jackson worked out similarly. A massive signing at the receiver position is possible within the current cap situation, but the Vikings would have to push too much money into the future.
Instead, the Vikings will have to scour the second tier of available receivers or pass entirely and wait for the draft. Baltimore's Torrey Smith would be a more feasible target, assuming Minnesota addresses the position at all in free agency.
If Minnesota opts to draft a receiver in the first round, the cost would be much lower than going the free-agent route. Last year's No. 11 overall pick, Tennessee's Taylor Lewan, only counted a bit over $2 million on the Tennessee Titans' 2014 cap. Any position the Vikings address at that pick would earn similar money.
Careful with Contracts
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The Vikings will keep an eye on the future in all of their dealings in the free-agent market. While splash signings like Bryant, offensive guard Mike Iupati or others would be exciting, they could cause problems down the road.
In order to skimp on money this season, Minnesota would be forced backload contracts. That means guaranteed salaries would be pushed into future seasons, leaving the team with bigger cap hits for those players down the road.
The current state of Minnesota's roster requires the team to look ahead. A strong group of the team's top talent will see its contracts expire in a year or two, requiring big chunks of change to keep them around.
Harrison Smith and Matt Kalil are up in 2016. To keep Smith, Minnesota will have to hand over a stack of bills. The same can be said for Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes, who are up in 2017 along with John Sullivan and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Minnesota will have fifth-year options on those that were first-round picks, which pushes back the need for big-money extensions but still should have Minnesota wary of locking themselves into bad contracts.
The Vikings are building a team around young talent that should compete for many years. Sacrificing future freedom for short-term splashes is risky.
Contract information via Spotrac.com. Salary cap information via OverTheCap.com.
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