The Minnesota Vikings did not use the franchise tag Monday on the last day for them to use it.
1500 ESPN reports Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said, earlier Monday, they likely isn’t using their franchise tag today. The deadline arrived at 3 p.m.
“We’re here,” Spielman said, while at Gophers Pro Day to 1500 ESPN. “You can do some things by phone too.”
The Vikings weren’t expected to use the franchise tag on any of their 16 unrestricted free agents, including defensive ends Jared Allen and Everson Griffen.
Allen, who finished with 11 1/2 sacks, completed the final year of his contract last season. The Vikings have not renewed the 31-year-old veteran’s deal. It means the only way Allen returns to Minnesota is on a new contract.
Allen carried a $17 million cap figure last season, would have cost the Vikings more than $11 million if they had used the franchise tag on him, according to ESPN.
According to ESPN, it seems unlikely that Allen would return to Minnesota, even with the Vikings having the seventh-most cap space in the NFL.
Many reports have the NFL’s salary cap at $133 million, the Vikings would have around $30 million of cap space available to resign some of their free agents or sign others.
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