5 potential salary cap casualties for the Minnesota Vikings in 2020
By Adam Carlson
5. Pat Elflein, guard
- 2020 cap hit: $2,381,210
- Dead cap: $234,210
- Potential 2020 savings: $2.15 mil
In the final year of his rookie deal with the Minnesota Vikings, Pat Elflein has struggled to prove that he can be trusted going forward. He struggled badly against all competition, earning a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.7 on the season.
Not only is that a serious disappointment for a player who showed such promise during this rookie campaign, but Elflein already was moved out of the starting center job and moved to left guard in hopes he would bounce back.
On the surface, $2.15 mil doesn’t sound like a lot, but the salary cap situation the Vikings are in means that any place a few dollars can be trimmed could mean the difference between upgrading at positions and staying “Pat” with an underachieving unit.
Conversely, keeping Elflein would mean that there would be a floor to the team’s offensive line in 2020 and things wouldn’t get any worse at the position. This will be a tough decision for Minnesota to make, as even keeping him as a backup for $2.4 million wouldn’t be a horrible position.