July 15
Why should Vikings fans be paying attention to July 15? Well, it’s the final day for teams and players under the franchise tag to agree to long-term deals.
Minnesota has until July 15 at 3 p.m. C.T. to work out a deal with safety Anthony Harris, who was given a franchise tag by the team and signed his tender earlier this offseason.
Not securing a deal before that time still leaves Harris under contract for 2020, but what will happen after that? Who knows?
For the Vikings, it becomes tricky to figure out a long-term deal for Harris this offseason.
Dalvin Cook will reportedly refrain from team-related activities. The salary cap could also be an issue for the Vikings, as the team has just $12.2 million in cap space for 2020, per Over The Cap.
However, there’s always a chance that the Vikings could lessen Harris’ cap hit on this season by giving him an extension. Here’s a suggestion:
A long-term deal could come with a signing bonus and more money in later years, which could maybe mean less money than the franchise tag amount of $11.44 million that Harris will earn for this year. Why would Harris do that? For the long-term security of a deal and more money in total.