Minnesota reportedly acquiring Yannick Ngakoue has financial implications for the team, even if he took a pay cut.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Ngakoue took a pay cut to agree to a one-year $12 million deal with the Vikings. That would still put the team right up against the 2020 salary cap, so a move might be in place to change that.
According to Chad Graff of The Athletic, the Vikings have already gone about trying to make one of those moves. Graff reported that the Vikings have gone to tackle Riley Reiff about restructuring his deal.
As Graff pointed out, the Vikings save $8.8 million in cap savings and create a dead money hit of $4.4 million for 2020 if they decide to cut Reiff.
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported that it sounds like the Vikings have given Reiff a deadline of tomorrow to decide whether he’ll take a restructured deal or be released.
But cutting Reiff might not be the best idea. For one, Minnesota offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak seems to think highly of Reiff, saying earlier this offseason that the team will stick with him at tackle.
“I’m a big Riley Reiff fan,” Kubiak said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
Also, the other options at tackle, like Oli Udoh and Rashod Hill, would probably not be as good as Reiff. Ezra Cleveland is another alternative, but he has switched to guard this offseason.
It sounds like it will come down to whether Reiff will restructure or refuse. We’ll have to wait to see what happens.
