There was little upheaval to the Vikings’ roster in the days leading up to the beginning of the NFL’s league year in 2022. The only significant subtraction came six days before free agency opened when defensive tackle Michael Pierce was released.
Otherwise, new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell brought back many of the starters from Mike Zimmer’s final team. The gamble paid off as the Vikings won 13 games and their first NFC North title since 2017 before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
With just more than a week until the 2023 league year opens, it’s clear the Vikings have a different strategy. That became clear on Monday morning when one-time standout linebacker Eric Kendricks was released, saving the Vikings $9.5 million in salary-cap space and creating $1.93 million in dead money.
The Vikings are still $14,931,007 over the 2023 salary cap and will continue to target some longtime veterans in working to get below that number before free agency opens at 3 p.m. on March 15.
So who might be next? Here’s a look.