Justin Jefferson Reportedly Among Vikings Players to Have Contracts Restructured, Salary Cap Impact

The Minnesota Vikings created some much-needed salary cap relief with a slew of moves on Wednesday.

According to Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Vikings restructured the contracts for star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and left tackle Christian Darrisaw by converting their full base salaries into signing bonuses. Jefferson and Darrisaw's $250,000 workout bonuses were also converted into signing bonuses.

In total, Goessling revealed that the Vikings created nearly $38 million in salary cap space through the three contract restructures. Minnesota needed to create some room after starting the day with less than $1 million in cap space, per Spotrac.

The Vikings failed to build off the success of their 14-3 finish to the 2024 campaign and went 9-8 this past season to fall short of the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.

Jefferson managed to record his sixth straight 1,000-yard season while Minnesota rotated between quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, but he finished with career lows of 1,048 yards and two touchdowns despite appearing in all 17 games. Those figures were less than his injury-riddled 2023 campaign in which he was limited to 10 games.

The Vikings will be looking to add talent this offseason as they try to return to playoff contention in 2026, and Wednesday's contract restructures will surely help them with their pursuits in free agency.