I think it should be fairly obvious that teams prioritize pass rushers over wide receivers.
The Vikings could keep Barr, Hunter, Diggs, Waynes, Hunter, and give Thielen a raise if they can reach agreement on the extension amounts.
Here is a quick summary of the current cap situation for 2019 and some proposed extensions.
Right now they have Rhodes, Smith, Griffen, Joseph, Barr, &
Kendricks making top dollar with Waynes, Hunter, and Richardson
(hopefully) set to join them.
In 2019, on defense we have these cap hits …
Rhodes – $13,400,000
Smith – $10,750,000
Griffen – $11,900,000
Joseph – $10,700,000
Kendricks – $6,600,000
Waynes – $9,069,000
Sendejo – $5,500,000
Total – $67,919,000
If they give Barr a 5 yr 50 mil deal with a 10 mil signing bonus and a 4 mil first year salary his cap hit would be $6,000,000.
If they give Richardson a 4 yr 48 mil deal with a 8 mil signing bonus
and a 4 mil first year salary his cap hit would be $6,000,000.
If they give Hunter a 5 yr 75 mil deal with a 25 mil signing bonus and a 2 mil first year salary his cap hit would be $7,000,000.
That would be $86,919,000 for 10 defensive players.
On offense you have these players under contract in 2019 …
Cousins - $29,000,000
Thielen - $5,000,000
Rudolph - $7,625,000
Treadwell – $3,161,132
Reiff – $11,700,000
Remmers - $6,350,000
Total – $62,836,132
If they give Diggs a 5 yr 65 mil deal with a 20 mil signing bonus and a 4 mil first year salary his cap hit would be $6,000,000.
If they give Thielen a 4 yr 56 mil new deal with a 16 mil signing bonus
and a 4.35 mil first year salary his cap hit would be an extra
$6,500,000.
That would be $75,336,132 for 7 offensive players.
That would be $162,255,132 for 18 players.
If the cap in 2019 is going to be 190 mil then they would have 27.7 mil left for the other 35 players. That is not counting the 18 mil that they have available right now according to spotrac. After doing these deals with these amounts at the end of the season and carrying over the 18 mil they would have 45 mil left in 2019.
In 2020, I expect the team to look at Griffen, Joseph, Reiff, and Remmers for restructures which would free up some cap space.Obviously, the contract structures will be different as I cannot hold Brez's jock.
The Vikings can sign their current players although it will take some cap
gymnastics and some players may need to redo their deals like Rudolph,
Sendejo, Griffen, Joseph, Reiff, and Remmers.
It’s doable. The only question is the amount of the new deals.
Negotiating what the team thinks is fair and what the player thinks is
fair will be the determining factor IMHO.
