Salary cap 208 million

Vikings in 4th worst shape entering the off season.  7.3 over the cap but they would assume to need another 5 plus million to even fill out the roster so effectively they are 12.5 million over the cap.

So much for the notion of this being a plum job.  Wart number 1 rears its ugly head.

Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

@"JustinTime18™" said: Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

What will be interesting to see is how all those one year contracts on D will help or hinder. 

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"JustinTime18™" said: Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

I think this is exactly correct...That cap is going to go up like mad in future years too.

What will be interesting to see is how all those one year contracts on D will help or hinder. 

@"JustinTime18™" said: Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

at the end of FA we saw a lot of chest pounding over what we were able to accomplish on paper,  but are we really a better team now than we were a year ago?  aside from Darrisaw improving the OL I dont see the improvement,  and part of last years successful cap maneuvering was extending Smith which has looked questionable at best with his play this year.  with the aging players comes higher risk of lost time.. .so our gem siging in PP ended up being what it was,  a risk that didnt pay off.  who else?  honestly the best signing was likely Griff, but that blew up,  Woods has been nice,  but has made his share of gaffs.  

yes they will field a team next year,  but will it be a contender,  or once again another pretender?

Again, did the cap prevent us from signing anyone? Peterson was totally unscheduled. Has their play been good? Mixed bag for sure. But, again, the cap hell is an illusion. Easily circumvented. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"JustinTime18™" said: Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

I think this is exactly correct...That cap is going to go up like mad in future years too.

What will be interesting to see is how all those one year contracts on D will help or hinder. 

I like the 1-year deals. With no long-term investment, Vikings can pick and choose who they want to re-sign. So probably yes to Peterson and Woods. Maybe to Breeland, Griff, Vigil and Richardson. No to Barr and Alexander. 

@"JustinTime18™" said: Again, did the cap prevent us from signing anyone? Peterson was totally unscheduled. Has their play been good? Mixed bag for sure. But, again, the cap hell is an illusion. Easily circumvented. 

yes its easy to maintain that illusion,  but it is just that an illusion,  on paper it looked good but once again this teams season is up in smoke and they are right back to where they were a year ago,  millions over the cap and the only easy way is to restructure players that we shouldnt be restructuring (kicking the can down the road)  or cutting players that just creates more holes that need to be plugged with cheaper and often inferior talent.

@"Knucklehead" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"JustinTime18™" said: Didn't last year prove we can manage the cap? It's at worst a momentary inconvenience.

I think this is exactly correct...That cap is going to go up like mad in future years too.

What will be interesting to see is how all those one year contracts on D will help or hinder. 

I like the 1-year deals. With no long-term investment, Vikings can pick and choose who they want to re-sign. So probably yes to Peterson and Woods. Maybe to Breeland, Griff, Vigil and Richardson. No to Barr and Alexander. 

I believe Cole is also an UFA.

Vikings Defense Died without One Particular PlayerWhen the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Halloween night, dropping that football game turned out to be a footnote for the broader calamity.
Danielle Hunter tore his pectoral muscle in that Week 8 contest, ensuring he’d miss the remainder of the 2021 season. Minnesota lost to Cooper Rush’s Cowboys that evening, but Hunter’s injury was much deadlier.
In the first seven weeks of 2021, the Vikings certainly weren’t cruising on defense – collapses down the stretch of games were still happening – but the unit was performing well outside of crunchtime. While that sounds pathetic, it’s still a big deal for a defense to produce in moments not named “final two minutes of half.” Some good defense is better than no good defense. 

@"Kentis" said: Vikings Defense Died without One Particular Player

When the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Halloween night, dropping that football game turned out to be a footnote for the broader calamity. Danielle Hunter tore his pectoral muscle in that Week 8 contest, ensuring he’d miss the remainder of the 2021 season. Minnesota lost to Cooper Rush’s Cowboys that evening, but Hunter’s injury was much deadlier. In the first seven weeks of 2021, the Vikings certainly weren’t cruising on defense – collapses down the stretch of games were still happening – but the unit was performing well outside of crunchtime. While that sounds pathetic, it’s still a big deal for a defense to produce in moments not named “final two minutes of half.” Some good defense is better than no good defense. 

But since Hunter was shelved for the season six weeks ago, Minnesota’s defense plunged to hell. Zimmer’s men went from a Top 6 bunch to a Bottom 3 group

Dustin Baker
@DustBaker
Vikings Defense,
EPA/play Ranking,
2021:

With Danielle Hunter = 6th
Without Danielle Hunter = 30th
6:49 AM · Dec 6, 2021

Don’t perceive this information as “look what they could’ve done if Hunter just would’ve stayed healthy.” That’s not what this is. Instead, this is an indictment of depth and roster top-heaviness. Without Hunter, Zimmer’s usually-stingy defense crumbled. Plain and simple. It’s the efficiency metric above. Losing players like Patrick Peterson, Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, and Harrison Smith here and there assuredly does not help. Yet, the Hunter subtraction is when the Vikings began the downward descent. The same thing happened in 2020. Per EPA/play (Estimated Points Added), the Vikings defense was the best in the world inside Zimmer’s first six seasons. Beginning in the pandemic season, Minnesota tumbled to ninth-worst. Zimmer’s defense isn’t good anymore. That’s the cold, hard truth. Dustin Baker @DustBaker Vikings Defense, EPA/play Ranking, Since 2014:

2014-2019 = 1st
Since Start of 2020 = 24th

the thing died
7:46 AM · Dec 6, 2021
And it’s likely no coincidence that the supremacy directly followed Hunter’s on-the-field availability. He missed all of 2020 with a neck injury and will miss 65% of the 2021 season, too.
Hunter was the straw that stirred the drink for the Vikings, pressuring quarterbacks and stopping ball-carriers. Other injuries have not helped the Vikings defensive deterioration. However, sans Hunter for the bulk of two seasons now – as the defense on the whole suddenly became stinky – proves the LSU alumnus was the pulse in the defensive trenches.
Unfortunately for Zimmer’s sake, the defensive regression will likely cost him his job in about five weeks.
Finally, Minnesota’s struggling ways in the last two weeks have little prognosis to change. They host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, some four days after losing to the winless Lions. Hunter definitively isn’t playing in the game, and Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Christian Darrisaw, Irv Smith Jr., Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Patrick Peterson, plus Everson Griffencould all miss the game, as well.
https://vikingsterritory.com/2021/general-news/vikings-defense-died-without-one-particular-player

I agree @JimmyinSD …   How can Spielman/Zimmer, who built this roster, turn around & grouse about it being top heavy & lacking talented depth…?  :s 

The way I see it, Cousins likely gets offered an extension to lower the all-at-once cap hit, Hunter's projected hit drops due to his potential fragility (if he doesn't like that, I'm sorry, but we have to let him walk), and so on.  I doubt it'll be the disaster it's annually perceived to be.

@"Zanary" said: The way I see it, Cousins likely gets offered an extension to lower the all-at-once cap hit, Hunter's projected hit drops due to his potential fragility (if he doesn't like that, I'm sorry, but we have to let him walk), and so on.  I doubt it'll be the disaster it's annually perceived to be.

@"Zanary" said: The way I see it, Cousins likely gets offered an extension to lower the all-at-once cap hit, Hunter's projected hit drops due to his potential fragility (if he doesn't like that, I'm sorry, but we have to let him walk), and so on.  I doubt it'll be the disaster it's annually perceived to be.

@"JustinTime18™" said:

@"Zanary" said: The way I see it, Cousins likely gets offered an extension to lower the all-at-once cap hit, Hunter's projected hit drops due to his potential fragility (if he doesn't like that, I'm sorry, but we have to let him walk), and so on.  I doubt it'll be the disaster it's annually perceived to be.

They didn't let the equally fragile Cook walk, I'm thinking they'll pay Hunter too...right or wrong...