Minnesota Vikings: Pre-Free-Agency Salary-Cap Update

Following a pair of recent transactions, the Minnesota Vikings are set to enter free agency with a considerable amount of spending money.

NFL free agency officially begins on March 10, and Minnesota was not expected to really be a factor—especially considering general manager Rick Spielman's comments. Given the amount of salary-cap space the Vikings now have, however, it seems like it would be more surprising if the team didn't make a few moves next week.

At the end of February, Minnesota was sitting at around $17 million in cap space, per Ben Goessling of ESPN:

"

Per @ESPNStatsInfo, #Vikings would be $17.6 million under a $143M cap. That's with AP's contract and no other restructurings.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) February 26, 2015"

Since that time, however, Spielman and the Vikings have created a pretty considerable amount of salary-cap space—and did so without cutting ties with running back Adrian Peterson.

The first move was expected; the Vikings released veteran guard Charlie Johnson.

"

#Vikings release Charlie Johnson. It's part of a necessary upgrade, but his personality will be missed. Class act and a stand-up guy.

— Mark Craig (@markcraignfl) February 27, 2015"

According to Spotrac, this move freed $2.5 million in salary-cap space for Minnesota. Simple math would put the Vikings at roughly $20 million in estimated cap space based on the previous number listed by Goessling.

The second transaction Minnesota made, which took many by surprise, was a trade of veteran quarterback Matt Cassel (and a late-round draft pick) to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a pair of 2015 late-round selections.

"

Bills announced that they've traded for Vikings QB Matt Cassel.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 4, 2015"

Referring back to Spotrac, this trade shed another $4.75 million in salary-cap space for the Vikings. Again, simple math would put Minnesota at roughly $25 million in available spending money following the Cassel transaction.

Goessling stated in a recent article that the Vikings have $24.885 million in available salary-cap space, confirming estimations that can be made with Spotrac figures. In addition, Goessling notes that Minnesota is carrying just $264,727 in dead money—the lowest figure in the league—following this pair of transactions.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Simply, the Vikings currently have roughly $25 million in available spending money despite not having announced restructured contracts for Chad Greenway (due $8.8 million in 2015), Greg Jennings (due $11 million in 2015) or Peterson (due $15.4 million in 2015). Although it remains to be seen if Minnesota will take more money off its books through contract reductions, the team is sitting in a nice spot financially prior to making any other moves.

Essentially, the Vikings have created enough salary-cap space to take on a big-name free-agent contract—free safety Devin McCourty recently stated that he may not be back with the New England Patriots next season—and re-sign safety Harrison Smith to a lucrative contract extension.

Spielman may have said that his team won't be a major player in 2015 free agency, but the Vikings' quietly increasing salary-cap space suggests otherwise.

Salary-cap figures courtesy of Spotrac, unless otherwise noted.

For more news, statistics and discussion, find me on Twitter @RobertReidell.