Everson Griffen reportedly voided his contract with the Vikings on Thursday and is now set to become a free agent.
The move cleared $13 million in cap space and resulted in just $800,000 in dead money. It’s almost a certainty that the Vikings will continue to reduce spending. The team can definitely cut players or restructure other contracts to make more room in the cap, but can they re-sign Griffen to a more team-friendly deal and keep him on?
Though it seems ideal for the Vikings, this move doesn’t seem likely to happen.
Griffen had a promising season in 2019-20: eight sacks and an interception. Griffen’s resume on top of a comeback season will garner some interest in the free agency market, and I don’t think the Vikings can financially match some of the teams that will want the defensive end. If they can, though, I think they should definitely do it. The combo of Griffen and Danielle Hunter on the ends has proven to be tough for opposing teams to stop.
Cutting Xavier Rhodes saves the Vikings a little over $8 million and leaves $4.8 million in dead money, according to Over The Cap. Cutting Riley Reiff saves $8.8 million and makes $4.4 million in dead money. Those moves could possibly be enough to re-sign Griffen if he really likes the situational fit of Minnesota. However, the free agency market is looming, and there will likely be some interested teams.
