Vikings Post Senior Bowl/Pre-Combine/ Mock Draft and Free Agency Plan v.2.03749b

For those of you that find mocks and off season plans useless and a waste of time, well, now is a good time to stop reading.

I will start off with the basics from the MTC. It has these numbers for the Vikings ...

Salary Cap: 145,000,000
Player Salaries: 131,722,708
Dead Money: 264,728
Carryover: 5,723,960
Reserved for Draft Picks: 5,000,000
Cap Space Remaining: 13,736,524

I am going to show the top cap savings players and not all

Name | Position | Cap Hit | Dead Money | Cap Savings
Adrian Peterson | RB | $15,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $13,000,000
Chad Greenway | OLB | $8,800,000 | $1,700,000 | $7,100,000
Greg Jennings | WR | $11,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $5,000,000
John Sullivan | C | $5,750,000 | $1,000,000 | $4,750,000
Matt Cassel | QB | $4,750,000 | $0 | $4,750,000
Phil Loadholt | T | $6,750,000 | $3,500,000 | $3,250,000
Captain Munnerlyn | CB | $3,833,333 | $666,667 | $3,166,666
Jerome Felton | FB | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000
Charlie Johnson | G | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000
Brian Robison | DE | $5,450,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,450,000
Matt Asiata | RB | $2,250,000 | | $2,250,000
Harrison Smith | S | $2,271,355 | $907,918 | $1,363,437
Marcus Sherels | CB | $1,250,000 | $150,000 | $1,100,000
Andrew Sendejo | S | $1,066,668 | $66,668 | $1,000,000
Justin Trattou | DE | $660,000 | $0 | $660,000

At this point the savings are not worth bothering with since the bottom of the roster can churn and the salaries will be pretty much the same.

Now, I have made it clear that I do not believe any running back is worth 13 mil. But the Vikings are in a tough spot as of today. They cannot have contact with AP (but probably can with his agent) which means he cannot agree to any restructure. His agent may agree but the deal cannot get actually signed. So they are basically stuck with that contract for now until he is removed from the exempt list and activated again.

Also, I do believe a trade can be obtained even after April 15th. I know a lot of people do not think it is possible because a team may not have the 15.4 mil available in cap space which is needed to execute the trade. Once a trade is complete then the new team would most likely sign him to a restructured deal.

OK. Fine. But who is going to trade for him and what can the Vikings reasonably expect? Your guess is as good as mine but I am not opposed to accepting a 2016 draft pick after April 15th. I think it is going to be interesting to see what some teams are doing in free agency. Suppose Dallas does not extend Murray and manages (somehow) to have that 15.4 mil available in cap space (not counting the rookie money needed)? Hmmmm ....

The hope is that AP will agree to a new reasonable deal with the Vikings once he is resinstated.

So without further ado, I will present the first of my plans. Since I have so many I am not sure how to present it without getting too much detail. I will do my best.

Using the MTC tool I decided to cut the following players with the exception of Felton who opted out and is not reflected yet ...

Name | Position | Cap Hit | Dead Money | Cap Savings | Age before season is over
Chad Greenway | OLB | $1,700,000 | $1,700,000 | $7,100,000 | 32
Greg Jennings | WR | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 32
Matt Cassel | QB | $0 | $0 | $4,750,000 | 33
Captain Munnerlyn | CB | $3,833,333 | $666,667 | $3,166,666 | 27
Charlie Johnson | G | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000 | 31
Jerome Felton | FB | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000 | 29
Brian Robison | DE | $5,450,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,450,000 | 32
Matt Asiata | RB | $2,250,000 | | $2,250,000 | 28
Andrew Sendejo | S | $66,668 | $66,668 | $1,000,000 | 28
Total cap savings = $30,716,666

I then was able to sign the following players to these deals ...

Mark Sanchez (QB) accepted your 5 year offer for $3,500,000 per year
Hakeem Nicks (WR) accepted your 3 year offer for $2,750,000 per year
Clint Boling (G) accepted your 6 year offer for $7,750,000 per year
Derek Newton (T) accepted your 4 year offer for $4,250,000 per year
Jason Pierre-Paul (DE) accepted your 7 year offer for $12,500,000 per year
Stephen Paea (DT) accepted your 5 year offer for $6,250,000 per year
Byron Maxwell (CB) accepted your 6 year offer for $7,750,000 per year
Rahim Moore (S) accepted your 5 year offer for $6,800,000 per year
Taylor Mays (S) accepted your 5 year offer for $1,750,000 per year
Paul Posluszny (ILB) accepted your 4 year offer for $5,750,000 per year

I am sure there are questions and concerns about the players I signed and the salaries given too. I will try to explain my thinking as best I can.

I think Cassel is not too good and I definitely do not want to see the Vikings pay him 4.75 mil for one more year. I know it is "security" but how much "security" is it going to be if he does, in fact, have to play? Sanchez is younger, better (slightly), and may still have room to improve especially under the tutelage of Norv Turner. At least that is the hope.

Nicks may or may not be an upgrade over Jennings but he comes in at a far lower price. If I could get Nicks for 2.75 mil then I am going to take it. I think he has a lot to prove still and looked decent last year in his limited snaps. At least he is a veteran.

Boling needs no explanation. Neither does Pierre-Paul. They are obvious upgrades and needed too (IMHO).

I like Newton to be a veteran backup. The team needs one if someone gets injured and after this past season it is time to pay a little more in that area. Maybe it is too much but it was hard to get him for less.

I like Paea better than Tom Johnson because of his age and ability to play more snaps. Since Zimmer likes to rotate his players it is wise to have decent ones. Johnson was decent for sure but he turns 31 this year while Paea is 27. Also, I am a little wary of players that do well in their contract year.

Maxwell is an upgrade over Robinson more than likely. But it does leave the slot position in doubt. I think Maxwell may be able to handle the slot and maybe Robinson will get better there too. Doubtful but now that Zimmer is coaching him who knows what will happen?

Posluszny was a surprise cut and I think he provides that "veteran leadership" and at least prodcution that we probably can use even if we draft a young LB or two. He is two years younger than Chad so that was major consideration as well.

Moore is a better safety than Blanton or Sendejo so I thought that would be a decent upgrade there to really take the secondary to another level. But who knows? Maybe he is not better than Blanton and this was a waste of money?

Mays was not really necessary but if I am replacing Blanton then he probably is going to want to go somewhere where he has a chance to start after this next season. Signing Mays provides a decent backup safety and special teams player going forward while still being able to develop Exum and possibly Dixon.

Here is how the free agent signings went day by day ...

Day 1
Your Cap Space: 44,153,190
Your Team Needs: CB WR T DT OLB ILB S RB
Your offer results:
Mark Sanchez (QB) declined your offer
Clint Boling (G) accepted your 6 year offer for $7,750,000 per year
Jason Pierre-Paul (DE) declined your offer
Stephen Paea (DT) declined your offer
Paul Posluszny (ILB) accepted your 4 year offer for $5,750,000 per year
Other (notable) signings:
Bruce Carter (OLB) accepted a 1-year offer for $4,200,000 per year from the Falcons
Joe Mays (ILB) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,700,000 per year from the Falcons
Jacob Tamme (TE) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,500,000 per year from the Bills
Jacquian Williams (OLB) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,300,000 per year from the Bills
Paul Fanaika (G) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,700,000 per year from the Panthers
Kenrick Ellis (DT) accepted a 4-year offer for $3,400,000 per year from the Bears
Brian De La Puente (C) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,000,000 per year from the Bengals
Brian Orakpo (OLB) accepted a 3-year offer for $3,800,000 per year from the Bengals
Doug Free (T) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,600,000 per year from the Browns
Matt Hasselbeck (QB) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,700,000 per year from the Broncos
Jacquizz Rodgers (RB) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,800,000 per year from the Lions
Benjamin Ijalana (T) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,800,000 per year from the Lions
Mike Johnson (T) accepted a 2-year offer for $800,000 per year from the Texans
Lorenzo Alexander (ILB) accepted a 3-year offer for $900,000 per year from the Texans
Rob Sims (G) accepted a 2-year offer for $3,500,000 per year from the Colts
Nick Fairley (DT) accepted a 6-year offer for $7,300,000 per year from the Colts
Mike Iupati (G) accepted a 6-year offer for $6,400,000 per year from the Jaguars
Nick Hardwick (C) accepted a 2-year offer for $5,600,000 per year from the Jaguars
Patrick Robinson (CB) accepted a 5-year offer for $6,000,000 per year from the Jaguars
Lance Moore (WR) accepted a 1-year offer for $665,000 per year from the Dolphins
Mitch Unrein (DT) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,000,000 per year from the Giants
Akeem Dent (ILB) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,700,000 per year from the Giants
Ryan Mathews (RB) accepted a 5-year offer for $5,100,000 per year from the Jets
Kroy Biermann (OLB) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,400,000 per year from the Jets
D.J. Williams (ILB) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Jets
Ahmad Bradshaw (RB) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Raiders
Jared Odrick (DT) accepted a 4-year offer for $7,500,000 per year from the Raiders
Nate Irving (ILB) accepted a 5-year offer for $5,100,000 per year from the Raiders
Quintin Demps (S) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,700,000 per year from the Raiders
Davin Joseph (G) accepted a 4-year offer for $3,300,000 per year from the Chargers
Ike Taylor (CB) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,900,000 per year from the Chargers
Kenny Britt (WR) accepted a 4-year offer for $2,600,000 per year from the Seahawks
Robert McClain (CB) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Buccaneers
Jimmy Wilson (S) accepted a 2-year offer for $3,200,000 per year from the Buccaneers
Ahtyba Rubin (DT) accepted a 4-year offer for $7,500,000 per year from the Titans
Jabaal Sheard (OLB) accepted a 5-year offer for $9,400,000 per year from the Titans
Brandon Flowers (CB) accepted a 5-year offer for $10,000,000 per year from the Titans

Day 2
Your Cap Space: 35,865,690
Your Team Needs: CB WR T DT OLB ILB S RB
Your offer results:
Hakeem Nicks (WR) accepted your 3 year offer for $2,750,000 per year
Derek Newton (T) accepted your 4 year offer for $4,250,000 per year
Jason Pierre-Paul (DE) accepted your 7 year offer for $12,500,000 per year
Stephen Paea (DT) declined your offer
Kareem Jackson (CB) declined your offer and accepted a 5 year offer for $10,000,000 per year from the Raiders
Other (notable) signings:
Matt Moore (QB) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,400,000 per year from the Bills
Samson Satele (C) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Browns
Fili Moala (DE) accepted a 3-year offer for $4,800,000 per year from the Browns
Brandon Graham (OLB) accepted a 4-year offer for $7,300,000 per year from the Browns
Darren McFadden (RB) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,600,000 per year from the Broncos
J'Marcus Webb (T) accepted a 1-year offer for $3,300,000 per year from the Broncos
Bradley Fletcher (CB) accepted a 2-year offer for $5,100,000 per year from the Lions
Matt Spaeth (TE) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,300,000 per year from the Texans
Valdimir Ducasse (G) accepted a 3-year offer for $900,000 per year from the Texans
Sam Acho (OLB) accepted a 2-year offer for $5,200,000 per year from the Colts
Larry Foote (ILB) accepted a 1-year offer for $4,100,000 per year from the Colts
Brandon Spikes (ILB) accepted a 4-year offer for $6,400,000 per year from the Jaguars
Dekoda Watson (OLB) accepted a 3-year offer for $665,000 per year from the Saints
Dane Sanzenbacher (WR) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,000,000 per year from the Giants
Wes Welker (WR) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,500,000 per year from the Raiders
Jimmy Clausen (QB) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,100,000 per year from the Eagles
George Wilson (S) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,000,000 per year from the Eagles
King Dunlap (T) accepted a 4-year offer for $6,700,000 per year from the Chargers
C.J. Mosely (DT) accepted a 3-year offer for $4,100,000 per year from the Seahawks
Darryl Sharpton (ILB) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,500,000 per year from the Seahawks
Walter Thurmond (CB) accepted a 4-year offer for $4,000,000 per year from the Seahawks
Roberto Garza (C) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Buccaneers
Stevan Ridley (RB) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,500,000 per year from the Titans
Joe Berger (C) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,900,000 per year from the Redskins

Day 3
Your Cap Space: 24,253,190
Your Team Needs: CB DT OLB S RB
Your offer results:
Mark Sanchez (QB) accepted your 5 year offer for $3,500,000 per year
Stephen Paea (DT) declined your offer
Byron Maxwell (CB) accepted your 6 year offer for $7,750,000 per year
Other (notable) signings:
Adrian Clayborn (DE) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,400,000 per year from the Bills
Devin McCourty (S) accepted a 5-year offer for $7,000,000 per year from the Bills
Leonard Hankerson (WR) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,400,000 per year from the Panthers
Chris Neild (DT) accepted a 2-year offer for $900,000 per year from the Panthers
Dannell Ellerbe (ILB) accepted a 3-year offer for $3,700,000 per year from the Bears
Corey Wootton (DT) accepted a 2-year offer for $2,200,000 per year from the Bengals
Louis Delmas (S) accepted a 3-year offer for $5,100,000 per year from the Browns
Curtis Lofton (ILB) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,000,000 per year from the Browns
James Dockery (CB) accepted a 3-year offer for $900,000 per year from the Cowboys
Chad Greenway (OLB) accepted a 5-year offer for $6,800,000 per year from the Broncos
Darrius Heyward-Bey (WR) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,000,000 per year from the Texans
Nick Hayden (DT) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,200,000 per year from the Texans
Frank Gore (RB) accepted a 1-year offer for $3,900,000 per year from the Colts
Tom Johnson (DE) accepted a 4-year offer for $6,000,000 per year from the Colts
Chris Carter (OLB) accepted a 2-year offer for $700,000 per year from the Dolphins
Sergio Brown (S) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,900,000 per year from the Giants
Jah Reid (G) accepted a 4-year offer for $2,900,000 per year from the Eagles
Dwan Edwards (DT) accepted a 1-year offer for $3,100,000 per year from the Eagles
Roy Helu (RB) accepted a 2-year offer for $3,200,000 per year from the Chargers
Osi Umenyiora (OLB) accepted a 2-year offer for $3,100,000 per year from the Chargers
Logan Paulsen (TE) accepted a 1-year offer for $665,000 per year from the 49ers
Jerrel Jernigan (WR) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,600,000 per year from the Buccaneers
Tyler Polumbus (T) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,400,000 per year from the Titans
Alex Carrington (DE) accepted a 5-year offer for $4,600,000 per year from the Titans
Sam Bradford (QB) accepted a 3-year offer for $7,400,000 per year from the Titans

Day 4
Your Cap Space: 17,890,690
Your Team Needs: DT OLB S RB
Your offer results:
Stephen Paea (DT) accepted your 5 year offer for $6,250,000 per year
Rahim Moore (S) accepted your 5 year offer for $6,800,000 per year
Other (notable) signings:
Dawan Landry (S) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Falcons
Andy Studebaker (OLB) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,500,000 per year from the Panthers
Terence Newman (CB) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,800,000 per year from the Panthers
Jarvis Jenkins (DE) accepted a 3-year offer for $3,300,000 per year from the Bears
Cory Redding (DE) accepted a 2-year offer for $4,000,000 per year from the Bengals
Letroy Guion (DT) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,200,000 per year from the Cowboys
Will Montgomery (C) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,700,000 per year from the Broncos
Anthony Spencer (DE) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,900,000 per year from the Broncos
Brad Smith (WR) accepted a 3-year offer for $1,100,000 per year from the Packers
Jeremy Parnell (T) accepted a 3-year offer for $3,600,000 per year from the Colts
Andre Caldwell (WR) accepted a 2-year offer for $665,000 per year from the Patriots
Kelvin Sheppard (ILB) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,900,000 per year from the Chargers
Jarius Wynn (DE) accepted a 1-year offer for $2,800,000 per year from the Seahawks

Day 5
Your Cap Space: 10,060,690
Your Team Needs: OLB RB
Your offer results:
Arthur Moats (OLB) declined your offer
Taylor Mays (S) accepted your 5 year offer for $1,750,000 per year
Morgan Cox (LS) declined your offer
Other (notable) signings:
Greg Hardy (DE) accepted a 5-year offer for $9,100,000 per year from the Falcons
Nate Allen (S) accepted a 3-year offer for $2,400,000 per year from the Panthers
Kendall Langford (DT) accepted a 2-year offer for $5,700,000 per year from the Browns
Da'Norris Searcy (S) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,800,000 per year from the Jaguars
Mathias Kiwanuka (DE) accepted a 4-year offer for $5,500,000 per year from the Giants
Dan Williams (DT) accepted a 5-year offer for $5,700,000 per year from the Jets
John Carlson (TE) accepted a 3-year offer for $665,000 per year from the Steelers
Antone Smith (RB) accepted a 2-year offer for $1,300,000 per year from the Seahawks
A.J. Jenkins (WR) accepted a 2-year offer for $665,000 per year from the Rams
Brian Hoyer (QB) accepted a 2-year offer for $5,600,000 per year from the Buccaneers

Day 6
Your Cap Space: 9,010,690
Your Team Needs: OLB RB
Your offer results:
Morgan Cox (LS) declined your offer
Other (notable) signings:
B.J. Raji (DE) accepted a 3-year offer for $4,200,000 per year from the Eagles

Day 7
Your Cap Space: 9,010,690
Your Team Needs: OLB RB
Your offer results:
Kyle Nelson (LS) declined your offer
Other (notable) signings:
Ron Parker (S) accepted a 1-year offer for $900,000 per year from the Cowboys
Jake Locker (QB) accepted a 1-year offer for $1,200,000 per year from the Texans
Alan Branch (DE) accepted a 3-year offer for $3,100,000 per year from the Jaguars

Day 8
Your Cap Space: 9,010,690
Your Team Needs: OLB RB
Your offer results:
Kyle Nelson (LS) declined your offer
Other (notable) signings:

Day 9 & Day 10 had no activity besides Kyle Nelson rejecting my offers of less than 1.25 mil per year.

It is OK though as a long snapper will be found.

In summary then ...

Cut Players
Name | Position | Cap Savings | Age before season is over
Chad Greenway | OLB | $7,100,000 | 32
Greg Jennings | WR | $5,000,000 | 32
Matt Cassel | QB | $4,750,000 | 33
Captain Munnerlyn | CB | $3,166,666 | 27
Charlie Johnson | G | $2,500,000 | 31
Jerome Felton | FB | $2,500,000 | 28
Brian Robison | DE | $2,450,000 | 32
Matt Asiata | RB | $2,250,000 | 28
Andrew Sendejo | S | $1,000,000 | 28
Total | $30,716,666

Signed Players
Name | Position | Cap Hit | Age before season is over
Mark Sanchez | QB | $2,100,000 | 28
Hakeem Nicks | WR | $2,062,500 | 27
Clint Boling | G | $4,262,500 | 26
Derek Newton | T | $2,975,000 | 28
Jason Pierre-Paul | DE | $6,875,000 | 26
Stephen Paea | DT | $3,750,000 | 27
Byron Maxwell | CB | $4,262,500 | 27
Rahim Moore | S | $4,080,000 | 25
Taylor Mays | S | $1,050,000 | 28
Paul Posluszny | ILB | $4,025,000 | 27
Total | $35,442,500

... the remaining cap space looks like this ...

Salary Cap: 145,000,000
Player Salaries: 136,198,542
Dead Money: 264,728
Carryover: 5,723,960
Reserved for Draft Picks: 5,000,000
Outstanding Offers: 0
Cap Space Remaining: 9,260,690

... this cap space include AP's full 15.4 mil cap hit. The intention in this plan is to have him redo his deal. He may refuse and cutting Asiata does not give the Vikings much leverage so I might have to go back to the drawing board with this idea. Still, the Vikings paid AP for one game last year basically. He should be amenable to working out something fair to him and that allows the team to improve the roster around him.

If he does agree to a reasonable extension/restructure (i.e., pay cut) then the next thing I would do is start working on an extension for Smith which will be more than what Moore received in this plan. The Vikings can do it even if AP does not agree to a new deal but this makes it easier. Plus, Ap has to know that he most definitely is not going to see that 15 mil in 2016 & 17 mil in 2017. No way. No how.

One note is that I didnot need to cut Asiata or Sendejo right away.  I could have kept them until after the first week of free agency was over.  But that is not really a nice thing to do to players.  You want them to be able to go out in free agency right away and secure a job.

So now I go onto the draft. The roster looks like this (with some missing perhaps) ...

QB - BRIDGEWATER SANCHEZ
RB - PETERSON MCKINNON BANYARD LINE JOSEY
WR - C. JOHNSON PATTERSON NICKS WRIGHT THIELEN
TE - RUDOLPH ELLISON FORD
OT - KALIL LOADHOLT NEWTON WENTWORTH BYKOWSKI RICHARDSON
OG - FUSCO BOLING YANKEY
C - SULLIVAN
DE - GRIFFEN PAUL CRICHTON TRATTOU
DT - JOSEPH FLOYD PAEA STEPHEN
OLB - BARR WATTS KADDU
MLB - POSLUSZNY HODGES COLE
CB - RHODES MAXWELL ROBINSON SHERELS GREENWOOOD PRICE PRATER
S - SMITH MOORE BLANTON MAYS EXUM DIXON
K - WALSH
P - LOCKE
LS

Here are the draft results using the first-pick.com draft tool ...

1st trade - 1.11 to the Texans for 1.16 & 2.19
2nd trade - 4.11 to the Colts for 4.29 and 5.2 which they obtained from the Titans
3rd trade - 5.11 to the Bengals for 5.21 & 6.21

Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 16 (HOU): Danny Shelton, DT, Washington (A)
Round 2 Pick 13: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma (A)
Round 2 Pick 19 (HOU): Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota (A)
Round 3 Pick 12: Mario Edwards, DE, Florida State (A)
Round 4 Pick 29 (IND): Javorius Allen, RB, Southern California (A)
Round 5 Pick 2 (TENN): Doran Grant, CB, Ohio State (A)
Round 5 Pick 21 (CINN): Jordan Hicks, OLB, Texas (A-)
Round 6 Pick 7 (CHI): Shaquille Mason, OG/C, Georgia Tech (A-)
Round 6 Pick 21 (CINN): Jake Ryan, OLB/ILB, Michigan (B)
Round 7 Pick 11: Matt Jones, RB, Florida (B+)

After the draft the roster looks like this ...

QB - BRIDGEWATER SANCHEZ
RB - PETERSON MCKINNON *ALLEN *JONES BANYARD JOSEY
FB - LINE
WR - C. JOHNSON PATTERSON NICKS WRIGHT THIELEN *GREEN-BECKHAM
TE - RUDOLPH ELLISON *WILLIAMS FORD
OT - KALIL LOADHOLT NEWTON WENTWORTH RICHARDSON
OG - BOLING FUSCO YANKEY
C - SULLIVAN *MASON
DE - GRIFFEN PAUL CRICHTON *EDWARDS TRATTOU
DT - FLOYD JOSEPH PAEA STEPHEN *SHELTON
OLB - BARR HODGES WATTS *HICKS KADDU
MLB - POSLUSZNY COLE *RYAN
CB - RHODES MAXWELL ROBINSON SHERELS *GRANT PRICE
S - SMITH MOORE BLANTON MAYS EXUM DIXON
K - WALSH
P - LOCKE
LS - NELSON (he gets signed after the first 10 days)

* indicates a rookie

Obviously there probably will be a 3rd QB added. Pat Devlin is on the roster now so he could be the guy. I also could see them going without a fullback and letting Ellison handle those duties as needed. That may allow Ford to make the team and one less back. I am leaning towards going with 6 receivers too.

This was fun to do and not likely to happen. Maybe the Vikings can get one or two top free agents but then they will probably have to dial it down.

One thing about the MTC tool offered by fan speak is that it does not show what the cap hits would be beyond that first year. This makes it difficult to figure out what the cap hits will be going forward. You need to know the signing bonus and guaranteed money to figure out if it is viable or if you will be putting yourself iN cap trouble down the line. I do not think that would be the case since the cap is supposedly going to increase over the next few years. That should allow enough room to extend the players the team will need to extend. For example, in 3 years, Rhodes will be do a new deal. By then, all the guaranteed money in Maxwell's deals will likely be paid and his cap hit to release should negligible. Same with Paea when Floyd is looking to get paid. This plan was aggressive but not the most aggressive. I like it though.

Here is a summary of another plan that is more safe. I figure it is one that plenty of folks with be more comfortable with though.

Cuts were ...

Name | Position | Cap Hit | Dead Money | Cap Savings
Chad Greenway | OLB | $1,700,000 | $1,700,000 | $7,100,000
Jerome Felton | FB | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000
Charlie Johnson | G | $2,500,000 | $0 | $2,500,000
Total Cap Savings | $12,100,000

... this left $25,836,524 to use in free agency.
The MTC tool said the needs were CB WR T DT OLB ILB S RB.

On the first day, some of the available players were Randall Cobb, Bryan Bulaga, Jason Pierre-Paul, Torrey Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Greg Hardy, Mike Iupati, Clint Boling, Rahim Moore, & Rolando McClain to name a few.

Here are the players signed and the day ...

Day 1
Clint Boling (G) accepted your 6 year offer for $7,750,000 per year
Bryan Bulaga (T) accepted your 6 year offer for $9,250,000 per year

Day 2
Akeem Ayers (OLB) accepted your 4 year offer for $3,750,000 per year

Day 3
Adrian Clayborn (DE) accepted your 4 year offer for $2,250,000 per year

Day 4
Chris Culliver (CB) accepted your 5 year offer for $4,250,000 per year

Day 6
Curtis Lofton (ILB) accepted your 5 year offer for $4,250,000 per year

Day 7
Kendall Langford (DT) accepted your 4 year offer for $3,950,000 per year

Day 10
Kyle Nelson (LS) accepted your 6 year offer for $1,250,000 per year

The remaining cap space is $3,734,024.

Here is the draft with this plan ...

1st trade - 1.11 to the 49ers for 1.15 & 2.14

Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 15 (S.F.): Landon Collins, SS, Alabama (A)
Round 2 Pick 13: Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan (A)
Round 2 Pick 14 (S.F.): Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma (A)
Round 3 Pick 12: Jalen Collins, CB, LSU (A)
Round 4 Pick 11: Donovan Smith, OT, Penn State (A)
Round 5 Pick 13: David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa (A)
Round 6 Pick 12: Vince Mayle, WR, Washington State (A)
Round 7 Pick 11: Tony Washington, OLB, Oregon (A)

... and here is the final roster ...

QB - BRIDGEWATER SANCHEZ
RB - PETERSON MCKINNON ASIATA JOHNSON
FB - ELLISON
WR - C. JOHNSON PATTERSON MAYLE
WR - JENNINGS WRIGHT THIELEN
TE - RUDOLPH FORD FUNCHESS
LT - KALIL SMITH
LG - BOLING YANKEY
C - SULLIVAN
RG - FUSCO
RT - BULAGA *LOADHOLT WENTWORTH

DE - GRIFFEN CRICHTON TRATTOU
DT - FLOYD LANGFORD
DT - JOSEPH STEPHEN PHILLIPS
DE - ROBISON CLAYBORN
WLB - HODGES AYERS WATTS
MLB - LOFTON COLE
SLB - BARR WASHINGTON
CB - RHODES ROBINSON
CB - CULLIVER MUNNERLYN COLLINS
FS - SMITH BLANTON
SS - COLLINS SENDEJO EXUM

K - WALSH
P - LOCKE
LS - NELSON

*Possible and probable trade candidate

This is not a bad plan and adding Bulaga for that salary is probably overkill. I have to resist making offers to players in order to come up with something more realistic. But if that happened it would be nice no?

I think the team is actually going to be way more conservative but will say that the free agent class has a chance to be pretty good this year. The Vikings could be in prime position to really upgrade the roster if they are bold. It is risky but not that risky depending on how the contracts are structured.  As the build up to free agency begins and some players are extended the plans will get less aggressive.