Minnesota Vikings: 5 Offseason moves to improve in 2021

1. Move on from Rudolph and Harris to create some cap space

Going into another offseason here leading up to the 2021 NFL season, the Vikings yet again find themselves in a tough spot in regards to their salary cap situation. Minnesota’s lack of space under the salary cap put the organization in a tough position last offseason, and it might be a similar case now a year later.

One thing that could make the offseason and the lack of cap space more bearable would be to part ways with two key veteran players on the depth chart, specifically tight end Kyle Rudolph and safety Anthony Harris.

Moving on from Rudolph and Harris won’t be an easy thing for the Vikings to be forced to do, but those moves need to be made for the team to try and improve in 2021 and add to other areas of the team this offseason.

Rudolph is currently 31 years old along with holding a $9.45 million cap hit and it appears as though Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin are more than capable of taking over duties at tight end moving forward.

Although Rudolph has been great in Minnesota both on and off the field, it’s time for he and the only team he has played for to part ways if he doesn’t agree to a contract restructure ahead of the 2021 campaign.

When it comes to Harris, the Vikings used their franchise tag for the first time since 2011 on the safety last offseason and took a chance on one more year with Harris in 2020. He ended up having a decline in performance from the year prior and will also turn 30 years old in October.

This offseason, that Minnesota won’t franchise tag Harris and if he doesn’t agree to take less money to return to the purple and gold, the two sides might end up parting ways while the Vikings replace him with another option in 2021.

When it comes to improving the team in the new year and what moves need to be made in order to kickstart that process, Minnesota needs to part ways with two veteran players in Rudolph and Harris.