We knew Minnesota was eventually going to move on from certain veterans in the offseason, and on Friday, the team made it official.
The Vikings terminated the contracts of Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph. Joseph, 31, and Rhodes, 29, both commanded large salaries without a lot of dead money.
The move to cut Rhodes frees up $8.1 million in cap space and creates $4.8 million in dead money for 2020, per Over The Cap. The move shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, due to Rhodes’ level of play as of late. Rhodes had no interceptions and just six pass deflections in 2019-20.
The decision to cut Joseph saves the Vikings a little more than $10.4 million in space and creates $2.4 million in dead money for this season, according to Over The Cap. This move isn’t a surprise from a financial standpoint, but Joseph has been serviceable on the defensive line as of late.
“Xavier and Linval were key parts of building this team and establishing the Vikings defense the way we wanted,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said in a statement. “They’re pros and made everyone around them better. I wish them the best, and I know Rick and the personnel staff will stay in communication with them during free agency.”