Now that the Za’Darius Smith trade is official, the Vikings have gone from last in the league in salary cap space available this season, to 14th with $12,652,813 available per Spotrac. And should the Vikings part ways with Dalvin Cook, as is widely expected, that could bring that number up to over $23 million if Cook is traded, or over $21 million if he’s released with a post June 1st designation. Either way, that would give the Vikings the 6th most salary cap space in the league.
There is certainly no shortage of options for the Vikings to allocate that cap space, but what they actually do with it could prove insightful into the team’s competitive rebuild strategy.