Minnesota Vikings have a bevy of salary cap issues, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has many avenues to fix it
Despite being $56 million over the salary cap in terms of effective cap space, the Minnesota Vikings have a multitude of paths to fix it.
This will be a crucial offseason for the Minnesota Vikings.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell are projected to be $48,999,691 over the salary cap in 2026 in terms of effective cap space. That includes all the projected draft picks, along with the Vikings’ current contracts per Over The Cap. They also have $20,791,954 in cap space to roll over, which would put them at $28,207,740 based on a projected $295 million salary cap.
The good news for the Vikings is that they have a multitude of options at their disposal to make it happen. There are eight players the Vikings will likely either move on from or restructure the contract. Here is what that will look like.
Minnesota Vikings salary cap saving options
Extend Brian O’Neill
Salary cap hit: $23,115,657
New cap hit: $8 million
Savings: $15,115,657
The Vikings would be wise to extend O’Neill, and with his age, that will likely be something like a three-year deal. Put it at about $60 million with $45 million guaranteed and a $15 million signing bonus. Not only did O’Neill end up getting a raise, he gets a short-term deal here that would allow him to hit the market again before he turns 35.
Restructure Jonathan Greenard
Salary cap hit: $22,150,000
New cap hit: $8.94 million
Savings: $13.21 million
With a base salary of $18.39 million, $17 million of that will end up getting split with the final four years of his deal, two of which are void years. Greenard is going to be a massive part of this team for years to come, and keeping him should be a priority for the Vikings. Because he’s going to be part of the Vikings for a long time, moving money around isn’t a big deal.
Cut or restructure T.J. Hockenson
Cut Salary cap hit: $21,296,176
Dead cap hit: $12.425 million
Savings: $8,871,176
Cutting Hockenson is something that many want to happen due to his lack of production. It’s not all his fault. While he has lost a little bit of his juice, Hockenson didn’t get to run his full plethora of routes consistently. With the offensive line issues, Hockenson was always chipping, which prevented him from being as impactful. Cutting him also only saves about 40% of his cap hit.
Restructure Salary cap hit: $21,296,176
New cap hit: $12 million
Savings: $9.33 million
A restructure makes the most sense for the Vikings. Hockenson has no guaranteed money left, which is why many believe he could be cut. However, moving on from Hockenson means that a major hole opens up at tight end, which would require an immediate fix for the Vikings.
Restructure Justin Jefferson
Salary cap hit: $38,987,600
New cap hit: $21.9876 million
Savings: $16.99 million
Jefferson has a large base salary of $24.99 million, but his massive signing bonus prorates to $7,487,600, along with a $6 million option bonus. You can only squeeze out so much cap relief with Jefferson, but he’s a near certainty to be on the team throughout his contract.
Restructure Christian Darrisaw
Salary cap hit: $22,524,282
New cap hit: $12.56 million
Savings: $9,968,947
Darrisaw is the left tackle, not just for today, but for the future. It’s certainly frustrating that he’s yet to play a full 17-game season since the Vikings selected him 23rd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Even so, he’s a top-three left tackle in the NFL when he does play. Even though the injuries are frustrating, he’s still the guy.
Cut Javon Hargrave
Salary cap hit: $21,453,382
Dead cap hit: $10,955,882
Savings: $10,497,500
This is the easiest one of the bunch. Hargrave was a good pass rusher, but he didn’t perform nearly well enough to warrant bringing him back at that price. He does have $4 million fully guaranteed, which the Vikings would end up saving if they are able to trade him. It’s unlikely, which means cutting him feels like a near certainty. There is a chance that Hargrave comes back on a restructured deal, especially if it saves the Vikings significant money. That amount could be more than what he would get on the open market.
Cut Aaron Jones
Salary cap hit: $14,550,000
Dead cap hit: $6.8 million
Savings: $7.75 million
Jones is going to be the most interesting player to discuss on this list. He is still very impactful for the offense, but is always injured, even if he plays. That injury history is incredibly frustrating, and that’s why the Vikings could move on, because it’s not going away.
Cut Ryan Kelly
Salary cap hit: $11,715,147
Dead cap hit: $3,367,500
Savings: $8,347,647
Kelly is going to be interesting. The Vikings would love to have the player back, but three concussions this year could lead him to retirement. He already considered it last offseason, and the 2025 season could be the reason why.
Salary cap space
Keeping Hockenson: $90,750,927 ($62,543,187 in cap space)
Cutting Hockenson: $91,206,751 ($62,999,011 in cap space)
All of these moves would create a ton of cap space to improve the Vikings in the short term, but they would be pushing a lot of money into the future. All of these being done isn’t likely, but a combination of these moves will happen in some form. The 2026 Vikings will look much different next season.