4 reasons why the Minnesota Vikings GM opening is unappealing
By Luke Parrish
Minnesota has no salary cap space right now
A big part of the problem on defense has been the lack of salary space. Sure, the Vikings spend a lot of money on defensive starters, but they have not done a good job of getting quality depth players behind those high-investment guys.
With their current cap space being in the negative, it is going to take a lot of work to even think about adding those pieces back into the defense. Kirk Cousins, who I’ll discuss a bit more later, is going to be a vital asset in terms of clearing room for the future.
In order to get back in the positive, the next GM is going to need to make some difficult decisions regarding the roster. Players like Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, and Danielle Hunter could very well be cap casualties.
If Thielen is moved, the GM is going to face a lot, and I mean a lot, of criticism from fans. Thielen is the homegrown hero that has given his all for the franchise, but he also deserves to go win somewhere that is ready to compete right now.
Thielen, 31, is another aging veteran who has battled injuries since reaching the devastating age of 30. His cap hit is not all that team-friendly and the emergence of K.J. Osborn and Ihmir Smith-Marsette has made Thielen slightly more expendable.
Some tough decisions are going to be made, but we all need to remember that the Spielman era is responsible for setting the team up this way, which was understandable at the time. The next regime needs to be given a chance to prove themselves.