Vikings Won’t Tender Chad Beebe
The Vikings will not extend a restricted free agency tender to wide receiver Chad Beebe, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. However, the Vikes are still interested in bringing him back at a lesser rate. 
[RELATED: Vikings’ Barr Takes Pay-Cut, Will Become FA After 2021]
Minnesota could have tendered the former undrafted free agent at $2.133MM, but that wouldn’t have fetched them anything in the event of a signed offer sheet. Now, Beebe is unfettered and free to strike a handshake deal with any team during the legal tampering period.
Beebe had 20 catches 201 yards and two touchdowns in 2020, including a game-winner against the Panthers (to erase his earlier muffed punt). He’s not one of the Vikings’ leading receivers, but he would provide the team with consistency and depth. As it stands, they’re pretty thin at WR beyond Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.
Meanwhile, the Vikings have some extra coin to work with after Anthony Barr agreed to restructure his deal.
Vikings LB Anthony Barr To Take Pay-Cut, Become FA After 2021
It looks like the Vikings are close to making a major adjustment to Anthony Barr‘s contract. Minnesota and the veteran linebacker are working on a restructured deal that would see Barr reduce his $12.3MM salary for 2021, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Vikings will get some immediate cap relief, and in return Barr will enter free agency after this season. Previously Barr’s contract ran through 2023, so he’s about to get the last two years knocked off his pact. There had been some speculation that the team could move on this offseason due to his hefty cap hit, but this move will ensure he’s on the Vikings’ roster come Week 1 while also potentially setting things up for a divorce next offseason.
The ninth overall pick of the 2014 draft has been with Minnesota for all seven of his pro seasons. There’s been plenty of drama along the way, like when Barr agreed to sign with the Jets in March of 2019 before pulling out at the last second and returning to the Vikings. A separation has appeared likely several times, but they always have found a way to make things work.
Barr got a five-year, $67.5MM deal to stay last time. The UCLA product made the Pro Bowl four straight times from 2015-18, but only played in two games this past year due to a torn pec. He’ll turn 29 later this week.
Vikings Likely To Re-Sign QB Sean Mannion
Sean Mannion appears in the picture to reprise his role as Kirk Cousins‘ backup. The Vikings are likely to bring their QB2 back on a third contract, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
The Vikings initially added Mannion in 2019, and he stuck around on a second one-year contract last year. Mannion played at the veteran-minimum rate last season; a similar Vikings pact should be expected.
Originally a third-round Rams draft pick in 2015, Mannion did not make inroads to being a starter in St. Louis. And the Rams traded up for Jared Goff upon moving to Los Angeles ahead of Mannion’s second season. The Oregon State product has done well to land jobs that have not required him to play in games especially often.
Mannion’s only two career starts — Week 17 in 2017 and Week 17 in 2019 — have come when his respective team has rested starters ahead of the playoffs. Cousins has not missed a game due to injury in three Vikings seasons. Mannion, 29 next month, is 45 of 74 for 384 yards and three INTs in his six-year career.
NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2021 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2021 draft.
These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2020 offseason. This year, the NFL awarded 36 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The Cowboys top the list (shared below) with a league-high four selections.
A change to this year’s formula took place, with the NFL awarding four picks to teams who saw one of their minority staffers become a head coach or GM. The 49ers, Rams, Ravens and Saints earned third-round comp picks this year. They will receive additional third-rounders in 2022. The Rams added a third-rounder after losing college scouting director Brad Holmes (Lions GM); the Ravens lost quarterbacks coach David Culley (Texans HC); the Saints lost assistant GM Terry Fontenot (Falcons GM). In losing VP of player personnel Martin Mayhew (Washington GM) and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (Jets HC), the 49ers will have an additional third-round pick in 2023 as well.
Here’s the full breakdown, by round and by team:
By round:
Round 3: Patriots (No. 96 overall), Chargers (97), Saints (98), Cowboys (99), Titans (100), Rams (101), 49ers (102)*, Rams (103)*, Ravens (104)*, Saints (105)*
Round 4: Cowboys (No. 139 overall), Patriots (140), Steelers (141), Rams (142), Packers (143), Vikings (144), Chiefs (145)
Round 5: Packers (No. 178 overall), Cowboys (179), Falcons (180), 49ers (181), Chiefs (182), Falcons (183), Ravens (184)
Round 6: Buccaneers (No. 217 overall), Saints (218), Falcons (219), Packers (220), Bears (221), Panthers (222), Vikings (223), Eagles (224), Eagles (225), Panthers (226), Cowboys (227), Bears (228)
By team:
- Dallas Cowboys (4)
- Atlanta Falcons (3)
- Green Bay Packers (3)
- Los Angeles Rams (3)
- New Orleans Saints (3)
- Baltimore Ravens (2)
- Carolina Panthers (2)
- Chicago Bears (2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (2)
- Minnesota Vikings (2)
- New England Patriots (2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (2)
- San Francisco 49ers (2)
- Los Angeles Chargers (1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
- Tennessee Titans (1)
* = special compensatory selection
Vikings Release Riley Reiff
Yet another big name player is getting the axe. The Vikings are releasing offensive tackle Riley Reiff, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
We heard over the weekend that Minnesota was looking for Reiff to take a pay-cut, and obviously the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. The release will now save the Vikings about $11MM in cap space for 2021. Reiff had been due a $5MM roster bonus on March 19th, so there was a tight timeline here. With the move the Vikings are now officially under the salary cap as they get ready for free agency.
The cap savings are nice, but they’ll now need a new starting left tackle. Prior to Week 17 when he was placed on the COVID-19 list, Reiff hadn’t missed a snap in 2020. In his nine seasons in the league, Reiff has never played in less than 13 games, which will certainly help his cause on the open market. The Vikings did right by him and gave him a $1MM bonus back in February to make up for the playing time incentive he missed because of that COVID game, which had led to some optimism they’d be able to work something out.
The 23rd overall pick of the 2012 draft, Reiff spent his first five years in Detroit. He then signed a five-year, $58.75MM contract with the Vikings in March of 2017 and has been their left tackle ever since. Minnesota will now either look for his replacement elsewhere, or move Bryan O’Neill from right tackle to left.
Reiff will be hitting free agency again now at the age of 32. Although he’s never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he’s capable of being a solid starter. Plenty of squads should be interested as he joins a strong offensive line market, and a team like the Chargers make a lot of sense on paper.
NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021
The NFL’s 2021 salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, marking the league’s first reduction in a decade. With that, the league has also ironed out the value of this year’s fifth-round option for 2018 first-round picks.
Here’s the full rundown, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter):
1. Baker Mayfield, Browns, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)
2. Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB — $7.217MM (1x Pro Bowl)
3. Sam Darnold, Jets, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)
4. Denzel Ward, Browns, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)
5. Bradley Chubb, Broncos, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)
6. Quenton Nelson, Colts, G — $13.754MM (2x Pro Bowl)
7. Josh Allen, Bills, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)
8. Roquan Smith, Bears, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)
9. Mike McGlinchey, 49ers, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)
10. Josh Rosen, Cardinals, QB*
11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers, S (drafted by Dolphins) — $10.612MM (2x Pro Bowl)
12. Vita Vea, Buccaneers, DT — $7.638MM
13. Daron Payne, Washington, DT — $8.529MM (playing time)
14. Marcus Davenport, Saints, DE — $9.553MM
15. Kolton Miller, Raiders, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)
16. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)
17. Derwin James, Chargers, S — $9.052MM (1x Pro Bowl)
18. Jaire Alexander, Packers, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)
19. Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys, LB — $9.145MM
20. Frank Ragnow, Lions, C — $12.657MM (1x Pro Bowl)
21. Billy Price, Bengals, C — $10.413MM
22. Rashaan Evans, Titans, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)
23. Isaiah Wynn, Patriots, OT — $10.413MM
24. D.J. Moore, Panthers, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)
25. Hayden Hurst, Falcons, TE (Drafted by Ravens) — $5.428MM
26. Calvin Ridley, Falcons, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)
27. Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, RB — $4.523MM
28., Steelers, S Terrell Edmunds — $6.753MM (playing time)
29. Taven Bryan, Jaguars, DT — $7.638MM
30. Mike Hughes, Vikings, CB — $12.643MM
31. Sony Michel, Patriots, RB — $4.523MM
32. Lamar Jackson, Ravens, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)
* Rosen was released from his original contract and, therefore, is not option-eligible
As a refresher, the fifth-year option year is now fully guaranteed. In the past, it was guaranteed for injury only. The values are also dependent on certain performance metrics:
- Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
- One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
- Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
- 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
- 75%+ average across all three seasons
- 50%+ in each of first three seasons
- Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.
NFL Contract Details: 3/10/21
Deetz on some of the more recent deals in the NFL, via Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter):
- Texans C Justin Britt: One-year, $3.2MM deal. $500K to sign, $1.5MM salary, $1.2MM in per game roster bonuses, $5MM maximum value.
- Vikings DE Stephen Weatherly: One-year, $2MM deal. $500K to sign, $2M salary
- 49ers TE Ross Dwelley: One-year, $920K deal. $480K to sign, $920K salary, $200K in per game roster bonuses
Britt missed the 2020 season but seems to have a solid opportunity ahead of him in Houston. The Texans just released Nick Martin last week, opening up playing time at the center position.
Vikings Release K Dan Bailey
The writing was perhaps on the wall with the recent signing of Greg Joseph, but now it’s official. The Vikings have released veteran kicker Dan Bailey, a source told Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The move saves Minnesota about $1.7MM in cap space for the 2021 season. Bailey had a $2.7MM salary for this year, and $1.8MM of that was going to become fully guaranteed if he was still on the roster on March 19th, so the clock was ticking. The team wanted to keep him around by re-negotiating his deal, but the two sides couldn’t agree on anything, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.
The team likely wanted him to push back the guarantee date or something along those lines. The move wraps up a tumultuous three-year stint for Bailey in Minnesota. He struggled in 2018 but bounced back with a strong 2019, which earned him a new three-year deal last March.
He was abysmal for the most part in 2020, making only 15 of 22 field goals and 37 of 43 extra points. Once one of the top kickers in the league with the Cowboys, Bailey is now 33 as he hits free agency.
He could be brought into a competition, but likely won’t be handed a starting job at this point. Joseph is now the only kicker the Vikings have on the roster, although they’ll presumably add some competition at some point.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/21
The restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decision deadline is a little more than a week away. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Titans: WR Kalif Raymond (story)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Dolphins: LB Calvin Munson, CB Nik Needham, CB Jamal Perry
Non-tendered:
- Vikings: CB Chris Jones
Vikings Want To Retain RB Mike Boone
With Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Mike Boone, the Vikings have boasted an enviable RB depth chart over the past several seasons. In order to keep that trio together, however, Minnesota will need to make a decision on Boone, a restricted free agent.
As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, the club wants to retain Boone (Twitter link). The question, though, is if the Vikings want to hand him an RFA tender or if they want to non-tender him and hope they can re-sign him to a less expensive contract.
An RFA tender at the original-round level — the only realistic tender for Boone — would cost Minnesota $2.133MM, though it would give the team the right of first refusal if another club signed Boone to an offer sheet. If the Vikings declined to match the offer sheet, they would not receive any draft pick compensation.
A $2.133MM salary for a young and talented insurance policy doesn’t seem like much of a commitment, but the Vikes are still over the 2021 cap at the moment, so they need to cut costs wherever they can. GM Rick Spielman may feel that another team would not offer Boone more than $2.133MM if he were to be non-tendered, and he may be right. Although Boone has flashed during his three professional seasons, he has not had many opportunities.
The Cincinnati product has just 71 career carries to his name, and he had only 11 totes in 2020. He does boast a 5.3 YPC average over that small sample size, and there is reason to believe he would perform well in a larger role, but he probably shouldn’t bank on a significant raise over the $750K he pocketed last year.