Monday was a wild day for the Minnesota Vikings as they reportedly signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a franchise tag, traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills and placed the franchise tag on safety Anthony Harris.
Tuesday could be wild as well, with NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reporting that the Vikings have informed teams that Harris is on the trade block and “could be had for a mid-to-late round draft pick,”
Getting one of top safeties in the NFL – Pro Football Focus ranked Harris the 12th-best player in the entire league in 2019 – seems like a no-brainer for a team willing to shed a pick in the middle of the NFL Draft.
If a trade like that does happen, it’ll be extremely clear that Minnesota is attempting to free up as much cap space as possible. Trading Diggs cost Minnesota about $9 million in dead money but also freed up about $4.5 million in cap space.
According to Over The Cap, the Vikings – after signing fullback C.J. Ham and punter Britton Colquitt, along with the other moves made Monday – now have approximately $12 million in cap space.
The Vikings would absorb $9 million of dead money in a Stefon Diggs trade, but clear another $4.9 million cap space: pic.twitter.com/4qiXYzL6p0
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) March 17, 2020
What’ll be really interesting is how the Vikings will spend their cap dollars. Remember, running back Dalvin Cook is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the Vikings typical begin contract negotiations after the NFL Draft.
Cook won’t come cheap, but will his annual deal cost Minnesota anywhere near what the highest-paid backs are getting, somewhere in that $12-$14 million range?
