The Minnesota Vikings had one of the best records in football last season yet never quite seemed like one of the best teams in the league. In the 2023 NFL offseason, the team needs to make some major salary cap moves to help the team next season and in the future. Here are four bold Vikings offseason predictions as to how they do that, including giving the bag to Justin Jefferson.
Minnesota went 13-4 last season, posting the second-best record in the league, only behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the gaudy record, though, the Vikings weren’t always that impressive in their victories.
The team needed overtimes, last-second field goals, a Josh Allen fumble on his own goal line, and the biggest comeback in NFL history to get to 13 wins. Now, in the 2023 NFL offseason, the Vikings must address the underlying issues the team had last season that made them a one-and-done team in the playoffs.
Along with upgrading the talent, the team must also deal with serious salary cap concerns, which come with paying Kirk Cousins over $36 million. To do so, the Vikings have some tough decisions to make, which we’ll deal with here in the bold Vikings offseason predictions.
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4. A Justin Jefferson extension makes him the highest-paid WR
While there will be some bolder Viking offseason predictions on this list, let’s start with the no-brainer. That’s a Justin Jefferson extension that makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
Jefferson has been the best WR in the league in his first three seasons and is besting records set by greats like Odell Beckham Jr. and Randy Moss. Now, in the final year of his rookie deal and with only a fifth-year option left in 2024, it’s time to pay the man his money.
Tyreek Hill is currently the highest-paid wideout with a $30 million average annual value. That’s the number Jefferson and the Vikings will be shooting for.
And the team can get there without breaking the bank in 2023. The contract can be structured in a way where the big cap hits come later after the team is out from under the Kirk Cousins contract.
Even with some creative accounting, though, the team still needs to clean up its cap this NFL offseason in order to give out the Justin Jefferson extension he deserves.
3. The Vikings part ways with long-time wideout Adam Thielen
One way to save some cap space is to cut long-time pass-catcher Adam Thielen. The WR will turn 33 in August, and his production is slipping. In 2023, he caught 70 balls for 716 yards with six touchdowns. Thielen hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season now since 2018.
And his cap hit — $19.9 million in 2023 — is a lot to pay for a 700-yard receiver.
The team has floated Thielen taking a pay cut, but the nine-year vet didn’t seem interested. That means the bold Vikings offseason prediction here is that the team cuts the wideout and saves $13.5 million in the process.
2. The team drafts Zay Flowers in the first round to replace Thielen
Continuing the WR theme in these bold Vikings offseason predictions, if the team cuts Adam Thielen, they still need a solid pass-catcher to play opposite Justin Jefferson. That’s why the team takes Boston College WR Zay Flowers with pick No. 24 in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Flowers is small in stature at just 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, but he plays bigger than his size suggests. He is not just an inside slot guy. He can play on the outside and run underneath routes or stretch the field.
In many ways, Flowers is similar to former Penn State WR Jahan Dotson, who the Washington Commanders took at No. 16 last season. And at best, he can become Steve Smith Sr., an undersized wideout who dominates the league like he’s 6-foot-3.
1. Vikings trade Za'Darius Smith
The last bold Vikings offseason prediction has nothing to do with wide receivers but everything to do with the salary cap.
This NFL offseason, the Vikings need to trade pass-rusher Za’Darius Smith.
Smith was the team’s big free-agent signing last NFL offseason, and he had a good year in purple, recording 10.0 sacks and making the Pro Bowl. However, Smith has a $15.4 million cap hit in 2023, and trading him will save $12.1 million.
That savings is huge for a team with $-20,199,469 in cap space, which is the third-worst figure in the league this NFL offseason.
The Vikings need to trade Smith, get a premium Day 1 or 2 pick for him, and reinvest that in a young (cheaper) pass rusher from the deep EDGE class of the 2023 NFL Draft.
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