The Vikings’ Cap Space and Draft Picks Ahead of a Busy Weekend for NFL Trades

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

GM Nolan Teasley is probably going to have some opportunity to pull off a trade or two over these next few days. At the very least, the Vikings’ cap space and draft picks will allow for an addition(s) if a compelling trade possibility emerges.

Teams around the NFL are moving into a tough weekend. What has been a 90-player roster is going to get shrunk down to 53 players. As Kevin Patra points out, there are going to be close to 1,200 players who are told to pack their bags. Pretty reasonably, teams will seek to add value out of player departures when possible, trying to pull off a trade before needing to accept a cut. Could the Vikings actually accommodate some swaps?

The Vikings’ Cap Space and Draft Picks

At least a few things are needed to pull off a trade.

Most obvious, perhaps, is that there needs to be at least a pair of teams willing to pull off a deal. During cut weekend, there’s going to be no shortage of sellers for the Vikings to consider. Every single team has dozens of players who are getting shown the door; extracting value by recouping a pick(s) for one of these players is a better outcome than moving on for no value coming back. So, that end of things shouldn’t be an issue.

What remains to be seen is if the Vikings will want to be buyers. If so, then they’ll at least have the assets to bring talent to town.

Over the Cap explains that the cap space is a reasonably rotund $22.4 million. Upon first glance, Minnesota is sitting in a really healthy spot, but do note that the cap space will shrink down after the offseason’s top-51 cutoff gets lifted.

Still, though, there’s going to be enough open cap space to bring in talent. Think a touch below $20 million with the potential to create significantly more if the Vikings venture into extensions (see: Van Ginkel, Andrew).

Next up are assets. Sometimes, NFL teams do the player-for-player thing that appears to be more common in hockey, but picks are often the preferred currency in football trades. Minnesota is sitting atop a good cluster for the 2027 NFL Draft (credit to Spotrac):

• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
• 3rd (Jonathan Greenard Trade)
• 5th
• 5th
• 6th
• 6th (Jalen Nailor Compensatory Pick)
• 7th

The Nailor 6th is a likelihood rather than a certainty. Minnesota has some cap nerds in the front office who specialize on the issue, so they’ll have a very good educated guess on how likely that Nailor pick is. The point here isn’t that the Vikings can send this pick out; they can’t do so since it hasn’t been awarded yet. What can occur, though, is a bit more freedom with the other 6th due to the expectation of seeing the Nailor comp pick arrive before the ’27 draft.

Later on today, the Minnesota Vikings will take on the Denver Broncos in the third and final preseason game. All eyes will be on the quarterbacks. Afterwards, Minnesota will need to begin sorting through the carnage that is roster cuts.

Presumably, teams are calling about acquiring J.J. McCarthy. Presumably, the Vikings are calling other teams about acquiring players who could fill an unfilled role on Minnesota’s roster.

The Vikings play the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. That game occurs on Sunday, September 13th. Much remains to be determined between now and then.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos