Harrison Smith agrees to pay cut, will return for 13th season

Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith will return for his 13th season after agreeing to a pay cut.

The Minnesota Vikings continue to make moves but this time they did so in house with by restructuring the contract of safety Harrison Smith. The news was reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Smith took a pay cut of $6.7 million to stay in 2023 and he didn’t quite take that much this year. He will be making $9 million in 2024, a pay cut of $5.45 million.

Smith was excellent for the Vikings in 2023 and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who allowed him to finally be the player that earned multiple Pro Bowl appearances and an All-Pro: a rover that is great on the blitz.

Smith is a key piece to the Vikings defense and he will be a key cog in 2024.

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Vikings don’t tender Cam Akers and Khyiris Tonga

The Vikings declined to extend RFA offers to Khyiris Tonga and Cam Akers, allowing both to hit free agency as the new league year begins.

The new league year has begun, and with it comes a flurry of free agency deals becoming official. It also means that new players are hitting free agency, as is the case with a couple of now former Minnesota Vikings players.

Minnesota opted to not offer Restricted Free Agent tenders to running back Cam Akers, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and others according ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.

There are four tender options with the RFA tag that organizations have that they can place on players: First-round, second-round, original round, and right of first refusal. Each tag comes with descending price tags and less compensation for the club should they decide not to match any offer sheets.

The decision to not tender Akers makes sense for the Vikings, as Akers isn’t likely to have received an offer and Minnesota now has a solid backfield with last year’s emergency of Ty Chandler and the recent acquisition of former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.

The decision on Khyiris Tonga is a little more interesting. Tonga played well for the Vikings in a reserve defensive tackle role. With the departure of Marcus Davenport and Danielle Hunter in free agency, Minnesota is getting thin along the front seven.

A ‘right of first refusal’ tag would have been a significant increase for Tonga, as that tag comes with a price tag of nearly $3 million versus the $940K Tonga made last season.

Both players are now available on the open market and free to sign deals with any team in the league.

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Aaron Jones stiffs Packers, gets more money with Vikings

Aaron Jones signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a 1-year, $7 million deal that includes a $6 million base salary and $1 million incentives.

The Minnesota Vikings struggled mightily in the ground game all throughout the 2023 season, but help is on the way. A day after being released by the Green Bay Packers, running back Aaron Jones has agreed to terms with the Vikings on a one-year deal, the terms of which are now being reported.

According to Matt Schneidman, Packers beat reporter for The Athletic, the deal includes a $6 million base salary, with additional incentives totaling $1 million, to bring the potential total up to $7 million, as was initially reported by NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Schneidman goes on to illuminate on why Jones ultimately chose the Vikings over re-signing with the Packers, showing that the Packers’ offer to Jones was for base salary just under $4 million, but had a bump in incentives to $2 million.

Ultimately, Jones chose the higher base salary and will be running for the purple and gold next season, joining Brett Favre, Greg Jennings and a handful of other Packers who went on to don the Vikings colors.

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Kirk Cousins wins negotiation again, gets no trade clause from Falcons

Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins got a no-trade clause from the Atlanta Falcons in his massive four-year contract.

On Monday afternoon, the inevitable news came out that quarterback Kirk Cousins was leaving the Minnesota Vikings to join the Atlanta Falcons and his contract is even better for him than initially reported.

According to The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, Cousins got a no-trade clause from the Falcons along with a whopping $62.5 million in cash this year.

Once again, Cousins wins at the negotiating table.

Cousins scored six years of fully guaranteed money while having a no-trade clause for the majority of his time in Minnesota. It’s an incredible deal for Cousins who is coming off of a torn Achilles tendon suffered against the Green Bay Packers last October.

The Vikings were never going to give him the kind of contract that he wanted and it ended up best for both parties. Cousins will be the quarterback of the Falcons for the next four years and the Vikings will be searching for theirs in the NFL draft.

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David Quessenbery contract terms revealed

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reveals the terms of David Quessenbery’s contract as he re-signs with the Minnesota Vikings

One of the more fun exercises in free agency is figuring out how these free agency contracts are structured and how the money is allocated to the player.

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling gives an in-depth look at the one-year contract given to David Quessenberry to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings. According to Goessling, Quessenberry’s deal is a one-year, $1.885 million deal, with $1.375 million guaranteed.

The contract also comes with a $625,000 signing bonus, a $1.210 million base salary ($750,000 guaranteed) and a $50,000 workout bonus with up to $200,000 in incentives.

Minnesota’s offensive line was one of the more stout in the NFL last season, ranking as the tenth-best offensive line at the end of the season, according to Pro Football Network. One of the concerns for the unit heading into this season was the depth behind the starting five. Re-signing both Quessenberry and Blake Brandel was a major step in fortifying the interior and keeping continuity along the line.

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Report: Blake Brandel gets 3 year, $9.5 million contract

The Minnesota Vikings signed Blake Brandel to a 3 year, $9.5 million contract on Monday to solidify their offensive line.

The Minnesota Vikings found a way to not just bring in three outside talents in free agency but also sign two of their own.

One of those players was offensive lineman Blake Brandel. He didn’t just sign the restricted free agent tender, he signed a three-year contract worth $9.5 million with $4.75 million guaranteed. The numbers were initially reported by The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.

The structure of the contract is as follows:

  • $2 million signing bonus
  • 2024 base salary: $1.1 million fully guaranteed
  • 2025 base salary: $2.6 million, $1.65 million fully guaranteed
  • 2026 base salary: $3.35 million
  • Per game roster bonuses of $100k each year
  • $500k playing time incentive in 2024 and 2025
  • $750k playing time incentive in 2026

 

This is a really good signing for the Vikings who needed to build up the depth on the offensive line and keep a homegrown player at a very inexpensive cost.

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Johnny Mundt contract terms revealed

Details of Johnny Mundt’s contract revealed by the Star Tribune

When the Minnesota Vikings re-signed Johnny Mundt to a one-year contract, the details of the deal were mostly unknown.

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling gave a more in-depth look at the terms of the re-signing. According to Goessling, Mundt will earn $2 million this year with a $1.125 million base salary, $85,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $40,000 in workout bonuses. He also has a $750,000 signing bonus and up to $500,000 in performance incentives.

Slightly over the predicted number of $1.5 million, Mundt’s cap hit will be $2 million.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell labeled Mundt “the best tight end three” in the NFL, and the front office rewarded him as such. Since joining the Vikings in 2022, Mundt has been a consistent contributor to the offense behind T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver.

With Hockenson’s return up in the air, the Vikings needed to secure depth in the tight end room. Because of his familiarity with the system and O’Connell, Mundt’s deal was a priority this offseason for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings brass.

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Report: Vikings give Johnny Mundt $2.5 million salary

$2.5 million isn’t a lot for a tight end who will play significant time.

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Friday afternoon that they signed tight end Johnny Mundt to a one-year contract. It signaled that the Vikings were comfortable having Mundt, Josh Oliver and Nick Muse as the tight ends heading into the 2024 season as T.J. Hockenson heals from his torn ACL.

What also signaled that was the case was Mundt’s salary. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, he will make $2.5 million in 2024. The structure of the deal hasn’t been released yet which could be impactful on the Vikings’ salary cap for 2024.

Bringing Mundt back should have been expected, as head coach Kevin O’Connell called him the “best tight end three in the NFL” this past season. He is capable in the offense and knows it very well. The Vikings have many other needs that paying more for another tight end could be argued as a bad business strategy.

With the signing of Mundt, it likely takes around $1.5 million from the Vikings’ salary cap space.

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How does the safety market impact Harrison Smith’s future?

The free agent safety market is flush with talent. How does that impact Minnesota Vikings S Harrison Smith and a potential pay cut?

The Minnesota Vikings have a decision to make with future Ring of Honor and potential Hall of Fame safety Harrison Smith. In 2023, the two sides agreed to a nearly $7 million pay cut that kept him around. He rewarded them with a good season and helped lead the Vikings to the 17th-ranked scoring defense.

Smith has a salary cap hit of $19,215,882 with a base salary of $14.45 million. This is similar to what his cap numbers looked like last year before it dropped to $7.5 million. The Vikings will likely approach him for another pay cut. SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson said as much during his weekly appearance on the Minnesota Sports with Mackey and Judd podcast.

“At this point, I’ll be surprised [if Smith retires]. He took a pretty decent paycut a year ago. To me, he’d have to take an even bigger paycut so we will see how that remains to be seen how that plays out. I’m just saying, I’d be pretty darn surprised if he just walks away… He loves playing for Brian Flores. Brian Flores loves him. But can he win at the level he wants to win at here in 2024. That, to me, is the question to ponder; not whether or not he is going to retire.”

That is a similar sentiment to what happened last year with his last pay cut. No matter what, Smith will have a cap charge of at least $3,915,882 due to his prorated bonus. If they were to cut or trade him, that cap hit would be $7,831,766. Those are important to note, as is a cut would save the Vikings $11,384,116.

How much could the Vikings ask Smith to trim from his salary on a pay cut? That could be a significant amount when you take a look at the safety market. Heading into free agency, the amount of 2024 cash saved is nearly $40 million more than the second-highest position with $103.25 million in money saved for teams.

This could force Smith’s hand a little bit. Then again, he doesn’t strike me as a guy who wants to leave as Wolfson mentioned above. It will come down to how both sides will approach a potential pay cut. My best guess is that he will end up with a pay cut closer to what the cap saving would be if they cut him, likely around the $7-9 million mark. That would help the Vikings and Smith still has some gas left in the tank even at age 35 but a flush safety market that seems to be significantly undervalued by teams.

Should Smith take a pay cut? Considering the market out there, it might be in his best interest as he might not get a better contract elsewhere.

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6 contracts Vikings can adjust to create salary cap space

From Justin Jefferson to Harrison Smith, these six Minnesota Vikings could have their contracts adjusted to create salary cap space.

The Minnesota Vikings’ competitive rebuild approach has been a major talking point among analysts. Why not just tear it down and rebuild from the ground up? Well, if you haven’t been paying attention, they did that while winning 20 games over the last two seasons.

In order to keep things moving in the right direction, the Vikings will need to continue adjusting the cap to meet their needs. The salary cap just went up $30 million, a near 14% increase year over year, something that hasn’t been seen prior to this season.

If they want to create even more cap space to make a huge splash in free agency, they absolutely can do that. What contracts could be modified to fulfill that goal? These six players can have their contracts modified in different ways to create cap space in 2024.