2015 Offseason - Free Agent/Draft Tracker

Just glancing over the information, a few things stand out to me:

- While we don't have many notable free agents to resign this offseason, I am aware that a number of key contributors will be going into the final year of their contract next season (Harrison, Kalil, Blanton, Walsh, Robinson, Wright, Greenway). With Harrison, I'm absolutely certain they'll at least pick up the fifth year option (barring a long term extension, which might make more sense). It would be interesting to see what they do with Kalil. In any case, my point being, we could see some of these guys get extensions this offseason, in order to lock them up for a few years. I always believe in the philosophy that you try to keep the guys you hit on in the draft, rewarding them for their play, and developing continuity within the organization. So, even though there aren't many contracts expiring this year, I still think we could see some money spent on "in-house" guys this offseason. To what extent, and whom, I don't know for sure.

- I mentioned above that Chad will be entering the final year of his contract. His cap number of $8,800,000 is awfully high. He may be one player worth approaching about taking a pay cut. If he won't, I wouldn't be surprised to see him released. Other players of note with high cap numbers, possibly worth looking into restructure and/or release are Adrian, Jennings, Charlie Johnson, Felton, Cassel, Ben Tate, Robison. I'm very interested to see what happens on this front. I would guess they're going to want to free up some cap space.

- There are reports that the cap could be higher than the estimate produced by the NFL, so there's that.

- Jerome Felton has an option in his contract to void the final year of his deal, thus why he's listed in the UFA section and as 'under contract'. He would be a fool to void the deal, since he'd be unlikely to make that much on the open market. I consider him a prime candidate for restructure/release.

- What a bargain some of these guys are. Charles Johnson's cap hit of $510,000 is peanuts, considering the way he has played lately. Jarius at $765,027 is a great deal as well.

- Everson Griffen is getting a lot of money, but he is certainly earning it in the first year of his contract. As the market for pass rushers grows over the next few years, he will actually be under-paid, IMO. His cap hit of 8,200,000 is currently 11th among all NFL defensive ends. The nice thing about the way his contract is structured, his cap hit doesn't go up from its current number until the last year of the contract (2018), and even then, it only rises to 9,700,000.

- As far as the UFA that we have, I hope they make a good faith effort to bring back Wooton, Tom Johnson, and Joe Berger. Johnson and Berger are getting up there in age, but they are important depth pieces. They should be be able to be had at a fairly reasonable cost. I still think Wooton can be a valuable pass rusher, as part of a rotation. With nary a sack his year, he's been a disappointment, but he's only two seasons removed from a 7 sack season in Chicago and he is still only 27 years old. Should be cheap to retain.

- If Teddy really does turn out to be the real deal, it'll be nice to have an established QB under contract for chicken scratch for a few years. That really provides roster/salary cap flexibility, a la the Seahawks the past three seasons with Russ Wilson.

- I will update the OP throughout the offseason, so we have a handy tool to go off of, as far as tracking player movement for the Vikes in free agency/draft.

Free agent or not, I say we punt Locke away...farther than 15 yards. Far, far away.

"Other players of note with high cap numbers, possibly worth looking into restructure and/or release are Adrian, Jennings, Charlie Johnson, Felton, Cassel, Ben Tate, Robison. I'm very interested to see what happens on this front. I would guess they're going to want to free up some cap space."

Norv isn't going to like you talking that way about his illegitimate son Matt!!!!

Well he won't get solid, consistent QB play from here so............