Vikings LB Anthony Barr Done For The Season
More tough news for the Vikings, as head coach Mike Zimmer announced Monday the team will be placing veteran linebacker Anthony Barr on injured reserve. He’s got a torn pec.
It’s the last thing this Minnesota team, which has looked awful through two games, needed. Since it’s a torn pec, Barr will be done for the season. The ninth overall pick of the 2014 draft, Barr has been with the Vikings his whole career. He’s one of the leaders of the defense, and made the Pro Bowl four straight seasons from 2015-18. In his absence, rookie fourth-round pick from Oregon Troy Dye will be counted on to play a more prominent role.
Luckily for Barr, he just locked himself into a huge contract last offseason. In March of 2019 it was reported he was leaving to sign a deal with the Jets, only for the UCLA product to change his mind at the last second and return to Minnesota on a five-year, $67.5MM contract.
Last season he had 79 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four passes defended, and an interception in 14 games. Minnesota’s usually stout defense has struggled mightily so far, and it’s not hard to see why with all the departures. Star pass-rusher Danielle Hunter is on injured reserve, and key defensive contributors like defensive tackle Linval Joseph, defensive end Everson Griffen, and cornerback Trae Waynes all left in free agency.
It’s looking like it could be a long year for Zimmer’s unit, and they’ll be significantly shorthanded for their pivotal Week 3 meeting with the Titans. Barr, who will turn 29 in March, is signed through the 2023 season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. There are many, as teams take advantage of the rule change allowing 55-man rosters ahead of regular-season games. Teams can dress 48 players for games this season, up from 46.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: TE Jordan Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: LB Deon Lacey, LB Andre Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: DT Woodrow Hamilton
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Devante Bond
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: G Eric Smith
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB LeVante Bellamy, LB Derrek Tuszka
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: DT Kevin Strong, DB Dee Virgin
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: TE John Lovett, DL Willington Previlon
- Placed on IR: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Houston Texans
- Promoted: RB C.J. Prosise
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: TE Farrod Green
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: TE Ben Ellefson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DT Braxton Hoyett
- Placed on IR: DL Khalen Saunders
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: RB Darius Bradwell
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: LB Natrez Patrick
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: CB Mark Fields
New England Patriots
- Promoted: DT Nick Thurman
New York Giants
- Promoted: DB Sean Chandler, DB Ryan Lewis
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: OL Hroniss Grasu
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: DT Anthony Rush
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, TE Tanner Hudson
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: WR Cameron Batson, RB Jeremy McNichols, CB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: LB Jared Norris, WR Cam Sims
Danielle Hunter Unhappy With Contract?
When Danielle Hunter signed his Vikings extension in the summer of 2018 — a five-year, $72MM pact — most viewed it as a team-friendly agreement. With Khalil Mack soon raising the edge rusher price ceiling to $23.5MM per year, Hunter’s contract quickly became a bargain for the Vikings. On average, Hunter’s $14.4MM-per-year price now ranks 17th among edge defenders. Zero-time Pro Bowlers like Dante Fowler and Arik Armstead signed for more than Hunter makes this offseason. Perhaps unsurprisingly, whispers have emerged that the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end is unhappy with his contract, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (Insider link). Hunter has three 12-plus-sack seasons and has recorded 14.5 in each of the past two. While Fowler expects the Vikings to address the issue at some point, they have him under team control through 2023. The 25-year-old defensive end is currently on Minnesota’s IR list.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/20
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: TE Mason Schreck
- Placed on IR: TE C.J. Uzomah
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: C Brett Jones, S Josh Metellus
- Waived: DB Nate Meadors
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: WR Richie James
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: TE Antony Auclair
Vikings Place Pat Elflein On IR
The Vikings will be without one of their starting offensive linemen for at least three weeks. They are placing guard Pat Elflein on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The team announced the decision.
Elflein has previously dealt with injuries during his NFL career and just began in a key season; his rookie contract expires at year’s end. The Vikings have not disclosed Elflein’s injury, but NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes that the fourth-year blocker suffered a thumb malady during Thursday’s practice (Twitter link).
Minnesota drafted Elflein in the third round in 2017 and slotted him as its starting center as a rookie. The team moved him to guard in 2019, upon drafting Garrett Bradbury in 2019, and he started as the Vikings’ right guard Sunday against the Packers. Shoulder and ankle maladies plagued Elflein in 2018, but he only missed two games that season.
Dru Samia, a fourth-round pick in 2019, competed with Elflein this offseason and may be called upon to replace him for the time being. The Vikings also have worked with second-round rookie Ezra Cleveland at guard. Cleveland profiles as Riley Reiff‘s potential successor at left tackle, but the Boise State product may be needed to fill in inside at some point this season.
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
Cap management has been extra complicated in the NFL this year. After ~70 NFL players opted out of the 2020 season, teams were left with holes and plenty of available dollars to fill the gaps. At first, the ongoing uncertainty over next year’s salary cap had teams nervous about large-scale commitments. Now, it seems like we’re getting back to business as usual.
Recent deals for Saints star Alvin Kamara, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and others demonstrate the league’s long-term confidence. In turn, we’ve seen cap figures change dramatically in September.
Here’s the rundown of each team’s estimated cap space for the 2020 season, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.4MM
- New York Jets – $28.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $27.5MM
- New England Patriots – $26.3MM
- Washington Football Team – $25.8MM
- Denver Broncos – $25.7MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars – $25.2MM
- Philadelphia Eagles – $20MM
- Detroit Lions – $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $16.7MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $14.2MM
- Los Angeles Chargers – $11.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals – $11.6MM
- Arizona Cardinals – $11.4MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $11.3MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $11.2MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $10.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $9.9MM
- New York Giants – $9.6MM
- Houston Texans – $9.6MM
- Tennessee Titans – $9.4MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8.8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $8.7MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7.7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $7.4MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.9MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $6.6MM
- Buffalo Bills – $6.5MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $6.2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $3.7MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $3.3MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $2MM
Vikings To Sign George Iloka To The Practice Squad
The Vikings are set to sign George Iloka to their practice squad, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter). From there, Iloka is likely to be flexed into the active roster, giving the Vikings some sorely needed support at the safety position. 
[RELATED: Vikings, Kendricks Agree To Reworked Deal]
As it stands, the Vikings have Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith at safety with recent callup Nate Meadors serving as the only reserve for both players. That’s less than ideal, especially since Meadors is a converted cornerback. Iloka, on the other hand offers years of NFL experience, including three seasons under Mike Zimmer‘s tutelage.
Iloka hasn’t seen live action since his 2018 season with the Vikings. In that season, Iloka appeared in all 16 games while starting in three. He’s best known for his time with the Bengals, where he played for six years and served as a starter for five. During his run with the Bengals, the Boise State product registered nine interceptions and made 446 tackles.
In other Vikings news, the club has restructured the contract of Eric Kendricks to free up millions in cap space. With cooperation from the veteran linebacker, they were able to formally ink running back Dalvin Cook to his brand new five-year, $63MM extension.
Vikings Expected To Sign S George Iloka
George Iloka met with the Vikings for a second time this year, working out Tuesday. That is expected to lead to a reunion.
The veteran safety is going through COVID-19 testing protocols and is expected to sign with the Vikings later this week, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
The Vikes were not especially interested in bringing Iloka back last week, due to his vested-veteran status mandating his salary become guaranteed at the season’s outset, Tomasson adds (on Twitter). With that no longer an issue, it appears Mike Zimmer will have a familiar face back in his secondary.
A former Bengals draftee who played for Zimmer in Cincinnati from 2012-13, Iloka last played in the NFL in 2018 with the Vikings. Although he played in 16 games with Minnesota that season, he was out of football in 2019. The Vikings previously met with Iloka in mid-August.
In Week 1, the Vikings carried just two pure safeties on their active roster — starters Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris. They promoted Nate Meadors from their practice squad last week, however, and have converted him from cornerback to safety. Iloka, however, brings extensive experience at the position and has three seasons in Zimmer’s system. Iloka, 30, was a full-time Bengals starter from 2013-17.
Vikings, Eric Kendricks Agree To Reworked Deal
The Vikings just agreed to a five-year extension for running back Dalvin Cook, and in order to create sufficient cap room for that deal, the club restructured the contract of LB Eric Kendricks. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Minnesota converted $6MM of Kendricks’ base salary into a signing bonus to spread out his cap charge (Twitter link).
This is the second year in a row that the Vikings and Kendricks have come together on a reworked deal. Last May, the club and Kendricks agreed to a similar restructure that may have allowed TE Kyle Rudolph to remain in Minnesota.
Of course, these types of kicking-the-can-down-the-road maneuvers always carry some risks, especially considering that the 2021 cap is expected to decrease. But Kendricks, who signed a five-year extension in 2018 that runs through the 2023 campaign, continues to play at a high level. As of right now, it looks like he will see the end of his contract — or sign another extension before then — so the dead cap charges that increase in a restructure like this one may never come into play.
Kendricks, 28, posted his fourth consecutive 100+ tackle campaign in 2019. He tallied 110 tackles in 15 games (all starts), and he graded out as the second-best LB in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. That effort led to a Pro Bowl nod and First Team All-Pro selection in 2019, the first such honors of his career.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Many of these roster decisions involve practice squad promotions. Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to promote two P-squad players without corresponding roster moves per week. Teams can carry 55 players on their rosters for game days and can have up to 48 active.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB D.J. Foster
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Jordan Richards
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: K Cairo Santos
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe, S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Kenny Wiggins, RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Krys Barnes
- Promoted: LB Tipa Galeai, TE John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Ben Ellefson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: G Ryan Groy, FB Gabe Nabers
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Brooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Promoted: K Nick Folk, DT Xavier Williams
- Placed on IR: WR Gunner Olszewski
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Bennie Fowler, DL Margus Hunt
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Anthony Lanier
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams, WR Josh Malone
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT T.Y. McGill, G Sua Opeta
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: C Hroniss Grasu, CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Cam Sims