MINNEAPOLIS -- Even as they stocked up on veteran offensive linemen last offseason, setting up a competition they hoped would improve the group's performance, the Minnesota Vikings left themselves an escape hatch if it all went haywire in 2016.
The Vikings entered training camp with five veterans in the final year of their contracts (Matt Kalil, Phil Loadholt, Joe Berger, Andre Smith and Mike Harris), and two more (John Sullivan and Brandon Fusco) whose 2017 deals could be excised without financial penalty. They had the two things that pending free agency often guarantee in the NFL: future flexibility and motivated players.