Vikings restructure Brian O’Neill’s contract, open up some cap space

As we talked about in the lead-up to the NFL Trade Deadline, there were few teams that were as tight against the salary cap as the Minnesota Vikings. However, they still managed to swing the trade for tight end T.J. Hockenson, and on Saturday made a move that many are speculating could lead to something more.

Field Yates of ESPN is reporting that the Vikings have converted a portion of right tackle Brian O’Neill’s base salary into a signing bonus. This move has created about $1.5 million in cap space for the team.

As Yates points out, the Vikings were tight up against the salary cap, and to be honest they still are. However, this has started speculation that this could lead to the Vikings making another signing to reinforce the roster for the second half of the season.

Said speculation seems to have centered around wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is still out there as a free agent. Beckham suffered a torn ACL while playing for the Los Angeles Rams in their Super Bowl victory last season against the Cincinnati Bengals and has not yet signed with anyone.

If the Vikings were to bring Beckham in, he would not command a huge salary, so this move with O’Neill’s contract could, in theory, lead to that sort of thing happening. Will the Vikings make what would be a pretty bold move to bring in OBJ? I’m not sure if it will happen, but I certainly wouldn’t be against it.

Just one more thing to add some intrigue to what has been a pretty darn good season for the Minnesota Vikings through the first half of the year.