The Vikings are not a team that is known for their use of the franchise tag.
Minnesota has only used the franchise tag twice since the option has existed, according to Vikings.com (it has not used the tag since again this article has come out).
If Minnesota does use the franchise tag, it seems likely that it would be on safety Anthony Harris. The team could tag Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and others, but I think most of the Vikings free agents either wouldn’t command the price of a franchise tag or would be willing to sign with the team, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Harris is coming off a stellar year in which he had a league-high six interceptions. Harris could also earn a $13.8 million annual salary in free agency, per Spotrac.com. Based off that number, the Vikings could save money by signing Harris to the franchise-tag price for safeties, which is $11.15 million, per Touchdown Wire. Harris will be a player who’s looking for a big contract in free agency and it might be smart for Minnesota to tag him so he stays.
However, the problem with the Vikings using a tag in that situation is that it doesn’t really work out given the current salary cap. The team has just over $1.3 million in cap space.
If Minnesota cut Riley Reiff and Xavier Rhodes, it could save enough money to re-sign Harris, but then the team would be back where it started: right up against the salary cap. Minnesota wouldn’t really have the money to sign other free agents and it probably couldn’t sign some of the rookies it would draft.
The Vikings could also cut Linval Joseph and other veteran players, but then the team is at a point where it lacks too much depth. The Vikings need certain veterans to stay on the team so it’s not a 2020-21 roster of rookies and recent signings.
The deadline for franchise tags is March 10, and Minnesota will have a decision to make when it comes to Harris: should they tag him and be in trouble with the cap, or should they risk letting him walk?