The Vikings are passing in Bleacher Report’s latest offseason rankings, but they’re not exactly doing so with flying colors.
The outlet did say that the grade of C+ could improve, depending on the quality of Minnesota’s upcoming draft class. But Bleacher Report also said this:
“But the Vikings were in a far from ideal situation relative to the salary cap this year. They just didn’t have enough cash to make many moves, even after freeing up some in 2020 with an extension for Kirk Cousins.”
That’s definitely true. Minnesota was strapped for cash this offseason, which meant that any moves the team made would likely be done for cheap. BR went on to say this:
“Trading Stefon Diggs and releasing veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes freed up some space. But even then, a parade of defensive players—cornerback Trae Waynes, defensive end Everson Griffen, safety Andrew Sendejo, cornerback Mackensie Alexander and defensive tackle Linval Joseph—are all gone after playing significant roles during last year’s playoff run.”
That’s a lot of names, so we’re going to have to see whether Minnesota can replace them with rookies, and what’s left in salary cap space.