All Things 2023 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

[From the Parkinglot]

Vikings should shed players like it’s going out of style. Take this season as the abnormally not the norm and make the changes that should have been made 3 years ago.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Kendricks, theilen, cook, and Smith all at risk from getting cut.

 

[LakevilleBro]

They have to get some better defensive players and O-Line players. We also have to call better plays, that 3rd and short, and JJ throws the ball to Cousins was awful.

 

[BleedGopher]

We have to get younger and faster on D.

Skol Vikes!!

 

[kg21]

We would currently pick 24, with no second round pick.

My question is how much money can we save by letting go of the likes of Peterson, Kendricks, Hicks, smith, Hunter, and anyone else? I don't think it's all that much.

Our offense will be fine, but we do need interior offensive line help as we have for over a decade.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

We have to get younger and faster on D.

Skol Vikes!!

I watched this game constantly thinking, this could very well be the worst NFL defense I have ever seen take the field. It's really shocking, honestly.

Adding Cine and Booth, regardless of how they turn out, will be like adding a couple of VERY high draft picks next year and should really help on defense.

Ed Donatell has to go though. I don't see any way he sticks around, I just don't see it

 

[Gopherwatcher]

Here's a great website to see the cap numbers for the roster.

Minnesota Vikings 2023 Salary Cap

A real-time breakdown of the Minnesota Vikings 2023 salary cap, including salaries, bonuses, reserve lists, dead cap, cap space and more.

www.spotrac.com

Peterson - Free Agent - Only was a $3.5 million cap hit this past season.
Kendricks - Will cost you $1.5 million in dead cap and save you $9.5 million. GUARANTEED CUT
Smith - Cut after June 1 will cost about $3.9 million in dead cap and save $15 million in cap, but still cost $7.8 million in 2024.
Hunter - Will cost you $7 million and save you $5, BUT would then cost $11 million in cap in 2024. CANNOT AFFORD TO CUT.
Thielen - Would cost you $6.5 in dead cap this year and save you $13 million. and another $7 million in dead cap in 2024.

At least that's how I interpret those numbers.

I hate to say it but Spielman REALLY mortgaged the future the last two years. We will be in cap purgatory for a couple of seasons unfortunately AND Jefferson becomes eligible for an extension this off-season. OUCH.

I EDITED AND UPDATED THE ABOVE INFORMATION AFTER LOOKING A LITTLE LONGER AT THE SITE.

 

[cncmin]

I watched this game constantly thinking, this could very well be the worst NFL defense I have ever seen take the field. It's really shocking, honestly.

Adding Cine and Booth, regardless of how they turn out, will be like adding a couple of VERY high draft picks next year and should really help on defense.

Ed Donatell has to go though. I don't see any way he sticks around, I just don't see it

i think if we paid all of our money to one player, say the 10th best QB in the league, and have no money left for other decent players, that we have the best chance of winning. The game of football is always and always has been a 1-person sport.

 

[kg21]

i think if we paid all of our money to one player, say the 10th best QB in the league, and have no money left for other decent players, that we have the best chance of winning. The game of football is always and always has been a 1-person sport.

If they had drafted anything defensively over the past several seasons, they'd be super bowl contenders.

It's not the money left for other players, it is the crap drafting that has held them back.

 

[WilliamsArenaGuy]

I watched this game constantly thinking, this could very well be the worst NFL defense I have ever seen take the field. It's really shocking, honestly.

Adding Cine and Booth, regardless of how they turn out, will be like adding a couple of VERY high draft picks next year and should really help on defense.

Ed Donatell has to go though. I don't see any way he sticks around, I just don't see it

Most embarrassing defense today I’ve seen in years.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

If they had drafted anything defensively over the past several seasons, they'd be super bowl contenders.

It's not the money left for other players, it is the crap drafting that has held them back.

Well, they DID draft some defensive players recently; Gladney decided to excuse himself from the team, and losing Cine and Booth to start the regular season didn't help either.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Vikings never had a 3 - 4 defense since I started watching

Definitely don't have a good first impression

 

[Gophers_4life]

Vikings should shed players like it’s going out of style. Take this season as the abnormally not the norm and make the changes that should have been made 3 years ago.

That's what we said last year too, and Wilfs were like "lol nope! This is a competitive team!"

Winning 13 games is only going to strengthen their resolve!

Run it back!

 

[Gophers_4life]

Kendricks, theilen, cook, and Smith all at risk from getting cut.

I like this plan.

Kendricks - will be 31 in 2023, last year of current contract, would save $9.5M cap in 23 with $1.93M dead cap
Thielen - will be 33 in 2023, two more years, would save $13.4M cap in 23 with $6.5M dead in 23 and $7M dead in 24
Cook - will be 28 in 2023, three more years, would save $11M cap in 23 with $3.1M dead in 23 and 24
Smith - will be 34 in 2023, three more years, would save $15.3M cap in 23 with $3.9M dead in 23 and $7.8M dead in 24

 

[forever a gopher]

Here's a great website to see the cap numbers for the roster.

Minnesota Vikings 2023 Salary Cap

A real-time breakdown of the Minnesota Vikings 2023 salary cap, including salaries, bonuses, reserve lists, dead cap, cap space and more.

www.spotrac.com

Peterson - Free Agent - Only was a $3.5 million cap hit this past season.
Kendricks - Will cost you $1.5 million in dead cap and save you $9.5 million. GUARANTEED CUT
Smith - Cut after June 1 will cost about $3.9 million in dead cap and save $15 million in cap, but still cost $7.8 million in 2024.
Hunter - Will cost you $7 million and save you $5, BUT would then cost $11 million in cap in 2024. CANNOT AFFORD TO CUT.
Thielen - Would cost you $6.5 in dead cap this year and save you $13 million. and another $7 million in dead cap in 2024.

At least that's how I interpret those numbers.

I hate to say it but Spielman REALLY mortgaged the future the last two years. We will be in cap purgatory for a couple of seasons unfortunately AND Jefferson becomes eligible for an extension this off-season. OUCH.

I EDITED AND UPDATED THE ABOVE INFORMATION AFTER LOOKING A LITTLE LONGER AT THE SITE.

There are way too many players on this team (especially defense) that have terrible contracts that are essentially impossible to get rid of. I was adamant that Spielman should have been canned one or even two years before he was. He was given too many “win now or be fired” years where he signed all these bad contracts to suck the last viable drops out of guys like Harry and Kendricks, etc. and now we’re left with a shell of their former selves at back breaking prices.

I know the Wilfs would never do it, but what should have been done in 2022, and I would now advocate to occur in 2023 is to just cut all the dead weight and take one year of massive dead cap space and take your lumps with a bunch of cheap vets. Trying to win with these contracts without a QB like Mahomes to bail you out is trying to play with one hand tied behind your back.

Anybody saying we need to trade/cut a bunch of players - look at the contracts - it will be impossible to move those guys unless you’re taking on a bunch of dead cap space, which the Wilfs won’t do because they think we can win while rebuilding.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Vikings never had a 3 - 4 defense since I started watching

Definitely don't have a good first impression

It was really a 2-4-5 defense, for most of the time.

Which means it was really really a 4-2-5 defense, except what normal football fans know as "defensive ends" are instead "outside linebackers" and standing in 2-point stances.

Incredible innovation!

 

[Gophers_4life]

There are way too many players on this team (especially defense) that have terrible contracts that are essentially impossible to get rid of. I was adamant that Spielman should have been canned one or even two years before he was. He was given too many “win now or be fired” years where he signed all these bad contracts to suck the last viable drops out of guys like Harry and Kendricks, etc. and now we’re left with a shell of their former selves at back breaking prices.

I know the Wilfs would never do it, but what should have been done in 2022, and I would now advocate to occur in 2023 is to just cut all the dead weight and take one year of massive dead cap space and take your lumps with a bunch of cheap vets. Trying to win with these contracts without a QB like Mahomes to bail you out is trying to play with one hand tied behind your back.

Anybody saying we need to trade/cut a bunch of players - look at the contracts - it will be impossible to move those guys unless you’re taking on a bunch of dead cap space, which the Wilfs won’t do because they think we can win while rebuilding.

I mean, well, Cousins and JJ & friends did do exactly that in 2022. 13 wins ... they did bail us out .... except when it really mattered.

13 wins is 13 wins. I somehow fear that will just make the Wilfs feel vindicated.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Who cares if we have $40M dead cap??

Cut their asses. Spend as much as you can as smart as you can. Play young guys where you can't afford solid vets yet.

Screw it, play Bynum and cut Harrison. Etc.

Do what it takes to make it right on defense.

 

[Gophers_4life]

2023 is Kirk's last ride with the Vikings, under the current contract, right? The 2024 and 2025 "years" are fake accounting/cap tricks?

There's no way we extend him?? He'll be 35 next year.

How much longer can he play at this level, taking the weekly beating he takes playing behind a Vikings OL?

 

[forever a gopher]

Who cares if we have $40M dead cap??

Cut their asses. Spend as much as you can as smart as you can. Play young guys where you can't afford solid vets yet.

Screw it, play Bynum and cut Harrison. Etc.

Do what it takes to make it right on defense.

Problem is the drafting has been garbage for years, so they don’t have enough good young guys to do that and win. I’m ok with that, but ownership won’t be.

 

[BleedGopher]

Souhan: It's time for the Vikings to overhaul their defense, they can start by firing Ed Donatell

Vikings need to overhaul their defense, they can start by firing Ed Donatell

Kevin O'Connell should soon be looking for a new defensive coordinator, and we should assume some defensive standouts will be leaving.

m.startribune.com

Skol Vikes!!

 

[kg21]

Well, they DID draft some defensive players recently; Gladney decided to excuse himself from the team, and losing Cine and Booth to start the regular season didn't help either.

Cine couldn't beat out Bynum, which is shocking

and Booth Jr. has been injured since 6th grade.

Depressing as hell.

 

[kg21]

Who cares if we have $40M dead cap??

Cut their asses. Spend as much as you can as smart as you can. Play young guys where you can't afford solid vets yet.

Screw it, play Bynum and cut Harrison. Etc.

Do what it takes to make it right on defense.

Bynum sucks balls, though.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Bynum sucks balls, though.

And?

Do you see a way to cut everyone who needs to be cut and have every position with at least a non-ball sucker?

 

[kg21]

And?

Do you see a way to cut everyone who needs to be cut and have every position with at least a non-ball sucker?

I seriously believe if you cut all 11 on defense, and picked up all of the best practice squad defenders on NFL rosters, you couldn't be any worse.

Dead Serious!

They forced two punts at home yesterday with the crowd going bananas for most of the game. One was when their guy dropped the pass that going for gawd knows how many yards on 3rd and a mile. The other was when Phillips deflected a pass that probably goes to the house on you guessed it, a crossing route.

 

[kg21]

And?

Do you see a way to cut everyone who needs to be cut and have every position with at least a non-ball sucker?

Oh, and Bynum sucks balls.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Couple extra points in STrib:

1. So what now with Kirk Cousins?​

Sunday's 31-24 upset wild-card loss to the Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium had everything the many Kirk Cousins loyalists love about him and the shrinking "that's-all-you-got?" finish in a must-win situation that his just as many critics argue makes him untrustworthy. The guy who had eight fourth-quarter comeback wins this year completed 79.5% of his passes with two touchdowns and no turnovers. Yet when the Vikings were trailing 31-24 and needed that big-time QB finish, Cousins ended a 13-win season by doing this in his last two drives: Completed 2 of 3 passes for minus-1 yard in a three-and-out; Threw six yards behind the sticks for a 3-yard completion on fourth-and-8 to seal the loss. In nine throws with the season on the line, he never once targeted Justin Jefferson, a unanimous All-Pro selection. Cousins didn't lose this game. He was tough, making several big throws while being knocked down. But … he also shrank when the game needed saving.

...

5. Dexter Lawrence on roughing call: 'I can't explain it'​

Vikings fans love to hate those NFL officials, but this season has seen a number of favorable calls go the Vikings' way. Another one came late in Sunday's game when Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence did nothing wrong but was flagged for roughing the passer, turning an incompletion on second-and-4 at the Vikings' 18 into a first down at the Vikings' 33 with 2:30 left and the Vikings trailing by seven. "I can't explain it," Lawrence said. "I'm going to appeal it if they try to fine me for that." Two plays later, Lawrence destroyed center Garrett Bradbury and pressured Cousins into a 2-yard check down to Dalvin Cook on second-and-10. "I was ticked off, so I took it out on their center, I guess," Lawrence laughed. "I didn't want a bad roughing call to cost us the game. Yeah, I spun [Cousins] down. But he landed on me, on my legs. Bad call there."

 

[Gophers_4life]

So I'll bump this one again, with respect to #1 above, to see if anyone bites:

2023 is Kirk's last ride with the Vikings, under the current contract, right? The 2024 and 2025 "years" are fake accounting/cap tricks?

There's no way we extend him?? He'll be 35 next year.

How much longer can he play at this level, taking the weekly beating he takes playing behind a Vikings OL?

 

[forever a gopher]

So I'll bump this one again, with respect to #1 above, to see if anyone bites:

They’ll take a $12.5mil dead cap hit in 2024 if they don’t extend him. Which means if they don’t want to extend him again, they’ll have to draft a QB on a rookie deal in 23 or 24 (or find a cheap retread and hope they overperform, ala Geno Smith) to make up for the cap hit.

 

[forever a gopher]

In addition to the defense that’s already been discussed, I’ve seen enough of Jalen Reagor to cut him. Dude’s a bum.