After signing Richardson, Minnesota Vikings part ways with Jarius Wright

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Friday that they had come to the decision to release the veteran wide receiver after six seasons together.

It was another exciting day for the Minnesota Vikings on Friday after they were able to agree on a deal with free-agent defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. The Vikings and Richardson agreed to a one-year deal that will pay him at least $8 million in 2018 (he can earn up to $3 million more with incentives).

Unfortunately, the defensive tackle coming to Minnesota came at a cost for more than just the team’s checkbook.

Following the Richardson signing on Friday, the Vikings announced the release of wide receiver Jarius Wright.

Minnesota Vikings

With two years remaining on his deal, Minnesota decided it would be best to part ways with Wright and free up some more cap space rather than pay him around $9 million more over the next two seasons.

After the move, the Vikings gained an extra $2.64 million in cap space this year. With the Richardson signing, the release of Wright, and Latvius Murray agreeing to a restructured contract, Minnesota should still have around $17 million left to spend this offseason.

Wright has been with the Vikings for his entire NFL career. Selected by Minnesota in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, the receiver caught a total of 153 passes for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns in six years with the Vikings.

His best season came in 2014 when he finished with 42 catches for 588 yards and two touchdowns.

Next: Which 2018 free-agents will the Vikings re-sign?

With only 29 total receptions in the last two years, Minnesota clearly felt Wright was not worth a cap hit of more than $4 million in 2018.