The Minnesota Vikings have some very difficult decisions to make when it comes to their salary cap situation and roster moving forward.
It had to happen at some point, but all the contracts that continually got restructured and rolled over might now be a bit too much for the Minnesota Vikings to swallow for the 2023 NFL season and beyond.
Some players in tough salary cap salary cap situations are ones who have been with the team for a significant amount of time pr have become favorites among the many Vikings fans around the world.
At the moment, Minnesota is approximately $20.3M over the projected salary cap according to Spotrac, meaning restructures or releases will definitely be in order before the start of the upcoming season.
Let’s take a look at six Minnesota Vikings players who could find themselves being released based on the savings the team could create for their tight salary cap situation for the upcoming 2023 NFL season.
Adam Thielen, wide receiver
- 2023 cap hit: $19,967,647
- Savings in 2023 if released; $6,417,647
It’s a little hard to imagine the Minnesota Vikings without Adam Thielen, but that could be a reality in 2023. With a cap hit of nearly $20M, it would be hard for the team to justify paying him based on his performance.
Thielen is a quality receiver, but he was a bit disappointing in 2022 after registering his second-worst season in terms of yards per game at 42.1 and his career-worst in yards per reception and yards per target with 10.2 and 6.7 respectively.
Of course, the Viking pass offense is all about Justin Jefferson these days. However, Thielen still needs to be a reliable second option and he saw that role be overtaken by recently acquired tight end T. J. Hockenson.
Considering the large amount of dead cap if he is cut, the Vikings would likely try to trade Adam Thielen before outright releasing him. A restructure or pay cut isn’t out of the question either to keep him with the team
Harrison Smith, safety
- 2023 cap hit: $19,127,636
- Savings in 2023 if released; 7,379,984
Harrison Smith will be 34 years old when next season rolls around. He seems to defy aging since he was one of the few bright spots in the thirty-first-ranked defense that struggled to stop any opponent they faced.
Minnesota’s safety tied his season-high in interceptions with five last season with double-digit pass defenses. Since the Vikings were without first-round pick Lewis Cine, a lot of responsibility fell on the 11-year veteran.
Since cutting Smith would incur nearly $12M in dead money, it wouldn’t be the wisest move but it might become necessary if the front office struggles to find a way to clear enough cap to be ready for the upcoming year.
Like Thielen, a salary reduction or contract restructure will likely be in order. for the former six-time Pro Bowl defender and one-time All-Pro First Teamer. It’s hard to imagine him playing for another team.
Za’Darius Smith, Edge
- 2023 cap hit: $16,990,186
- Savings in 2023 if released; $13,656,852
After a red-hot start to the season, Za’Darius Smith suffered an injury that hampered his productivity while not sidelining him, making the second half of his season feel disappointing by comparison.
Early on, he was first in pressures and among the leaders in sacks but he only registered half a sack in his last eight games. He still ended the season with 24 quarterback hits, ten sacks, and five pass defenses.
Cutting Smith would leave a small amount of dead money, making it an appealing option to free up cap while losing talent at only one position. The problem is that replacing a talented edge rusher isn’t a simple task.
It would be a little surprising if Smith is let go this offseason, but it would also make sense financially. He should definitely be back to be part of what the Minnesota Vikings defense will look like in the second year under head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Dalvin Cook, running back
- 2023 cap hit: $14,101,272
- Savings in 2023 if released; $7,898,728
Although Dalvin Cook played all 17 regular season games for the Minnesota Vikings last season, there are plenty of reasons the team may not plan on moving forward with the three-time Pro Bowl rusher on the roster.
Cook had a career-low 4.4 yards per carry last season and had some fumbles at very inopportune times. In an era when many teams have moved toward a committee system at running back, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Vikings try to trade the star running backs this offseason before an outright release.
That’s not to say that Cook doesn’t have value in Minnesota. He had some huge plays that turned the tide of multiple games last season to help propel them to the number two seed in the NFC playoffs.
It will be interesting to see how this regime values Cook since $14M is a lot to pay for a running back in today’s NFL. Odds are that the Minnesota Vikings will make a tough decision. on Cook at some point this offseason..
Eric Kendricks, linebacker
- 2023 cap hit: $11,430,000
- Savings in 2023 if released; $9,500,000
If there is one particular place in the Minnesota Vikings defense that was the most disappointing, it was the second layer of the defense where the most mistakes were allowed and too many yards were allowed.
Too many tackles were missed and too many receptions were allowed in this area where Eric Kendricks used to be among the league’s best. Now, he has a massive cap hit coming up and is coming off a season full of missed tackles.
Releasing Kendricks would save nearly $10M and give the team a little more room to deal with when it comes to the salary cap. Plus, the Vikings gave Brian Asamoah some time at linebacker last season and looked good.
it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Minnesota Vikings go younger and faster at linebacker in the team’s defensive scheme. If that is the case, Kendricks could be on his way out of the locker room this offseason.
Jordan Hicks, linebacker
- 2023 cap hit: $6,500,000
- Savings in 2023 if released; $5,000,000
Remember how the middle of the Minnesota Viking defense was so bad last season and Eric Kendricks could be on his way out? Well, the same could be said for his positional teammate Jordan Hicks.
Although Hicks doesn’t have a massive price tag for 2023. that Eric Kendricks does, releasing him causes only a small amount of dead money while freeing up five million. However, it does leave a hole in the defense.
Hicks had the second-most tackles in a season last year and tied for his second-best season in sacks with three. Like Kendricks, he struggled with missed tackles and coverage in the new defensive scheme.
A new defensive coordinator might be looking for a different kind of player than Hicks in the defense. If that’s the case, Hicks’ contract would make it easy to move on from him without doing too much damage to the cap.