UPDATE 2:20 P.M.
It’s now been reported that linebacker Erick Kendricks restructured his contract. Doing so provided the Vikings with the cap space necessary to sign first-round pick Garrett Bradbury.
I'm told Eric Kendricks converted about half of his base salary, which is $4,150,000 for 2019, to a signing bonus to create the space needed for Garrett Bradbury.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) May 14, 2019
Original story
Where the Vikings got the money to sign Garrett Bradbury is a mystery at this point, but the first-round draft pick has finalized his rookie contract with the Vikings, the team announced Tuesday.
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reports that Minnesota started Tuesday with $664,266 in salary cap space, meaning they need to restructure another player’s contract to be able to make Bradbury’s estimated $2.33 million 2019 salary fit under the cap.
Garrett Bradbury will carry an estimated $2.33 million cap hit in 2019. According to NFLPA's daily public salary cap report, Vikings entered Tuesday with $664,266 in cap room, which is why they need/ed to restructure someone else to create that space to fit Bradbury under cap.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) May 14, 2019
The question now is how the Vikings cleared enough cap space to get the Bradbury deal done.
As Cronin says, restructuring another player’s contract is a possibility, but so is trading a player. Both scenarios are possible with tight end Kyle Rudolph, who on Monday said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay with the Vikings.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported last week that extension talks between the Vikings and Rudolph fell apart, adding that the breakdown in negotiations could lead to a trade.
Rudolph is due to make a base salary of $7.25 million in 2019.
Bradbury is expected to start at center this season, forcing Pat Elflein to move to left guard. According to the Vikings, Bradbury surrendered zero sacks and just two quarterback pressures in 457 pass-blocking plays at North Carolina State last season.
With Bradbury signed, the only remaining draft pick yet to sign with the Vikings is seventh round long snapper Austin Cutting.
