Minnesota’s options
The Vikings do have some options if they decide to keep Anthony Harris.
A possible franchise tag will cost the Vikings around $12.735 million for 2020 if they want to wait a year before offering Harris a new deal when their salary cap problems ease somewhat. This might not be welcomed from the safety’s perspective, but it is an option that might be worth considering.
Harris may also be the subject of a transition tag at a cost of about $10.8 million. Again, this is not ideal for long-term security as players do not like running the risk of performing on such a deal due to the violent nature of their job in the NFL.
Any long-term injury for Harris would eliminate the chances of a lucrative deal with Minnesota or elsewhere. But if the Vikings need more time to work out a possible deal, then this is the best way to go.
Minnesota is scheduled to have around $47.8 million in cap space in 2021. But this is only for 31 contracted players and unless sacrifices are made elsewhere, it doesn’t appear there is much wiggle room for Harris.
This is a sad situation, but one the Vikings have brought on themselves. They gambled significantly on winning with their current squad and it has backfired.
Big-time players have under-performed, the fully-guaranteed deal given to quarterback Kirk Cousins has been met with mixed success and a number of those coming through the NFL Draft have been disappointing.