What started as an offseason where the Vikings did not seem to have a lot of cap space to work with, became a moment for Minnesota to offload some veterans.
The Vikings let go of Riley Reiff, Kyle Rudolph and Dan Bailey. This week, the team made another move that frees up cap space: trading cornerback Mike Hughes.
A first round pick in 2018, Hughes’ NFL career has been defined by injuries. He has played in just 24 regular season games during his three-year NFL career so far.
If the Chiefs get a healthy Hughes, then maybe this move works out for them. I still understand why the Vikings traded him, though.
Minnesota saves a little over $1.8 million in cap savings for 2021, while incurring a dead money hit of a little more than $1.3 million, per Over The Cap.
That leaves the Vikings with a little over $9.4 million in cap savings at the moment. However, keep in mind the team still needs to sign rookies, so that number is probably closer to $6-7 million in cap space when it’s all said and done.
Another thing to keep in mind: the Vikings used a post-June 1 designation on Kyle Rudolph’s release, so that’s $7.9 million more in cap savings on the books in June, putting Minnesota at roughly around $14 million in space.