With The First Pick
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Minnesota Vikings: Looking forward to the 2021 NFL Draft

By Geoffrey Godfrey

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 28: A general view of U.S. Bank Stadium as the Minnesota Vikings practice during training camp on August 28, 2020 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 28: A general view of U.S. Bank Stadium as the Minnesota Vikings practice during training camp on August 28, 2020 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Vikings: Looking forward to the 2021 NFL Draft
2021 NFL Draft: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

2021 Cuts, Cap casualties, trades for Vikings

As it stands the Vikings have several key players with contracts that expire next year or will be a possible cap casualty.

2021 free agents- Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, outside linebacker Ben Gedeon, offensive guard Pat Elflein, defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson, safety Anthony Harris, and outside linebacker Eric Wilson. They would have also been faced with Dalvin Cook, but the two sides recently agreed to an extension.

So, right there we see five starters on defense and two on offense. However, three of them in Yannick Ngakoue, and Anthony Harris are massive impact players for the purple and white. With just $29MM currently in cap, it will be hard to resign all three of them and have money during a solid free-agent class to fill other needs or sign all 10 of their draft picks.

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Where can they free up some cap space?

Due to the current cap situation here are some possible guys who could be cut or traded to free up some cap space:

Quarterback

Kirk Cousins $31MM cap hit, while they would save more money if they cut him in 2022, he should be at the top of this list. If nothing else, expect his name to come up around draft time via trade.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph $9.5MM cap hit, they can cut him and save about $5MM, with the rise of the young tight end Irv Smith I would expect this cut to be almost a lock.

Strong Saftey

Harrison Smith, while Smith is a great talent his current cap number in 2021 is $10MM they can cut him and will not take a hit. If he does get released I would expect them to bring him back, but adjust his contract.

Left Tackle

Riley Reiff next year will be 32-years-old and carries a $14MM cap hit in 2021, they can save $12MM by cutting him. Due to his age and cap number, vs the large selection of offensive linemen in 2021 this should be a lock.

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