Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings have done quite a bit of spending this offseason. Starting with the re-signing of several in-house free agents, and then the signing of free agent Greg Jennings, the Vikings used up a lot of their cap space. Once a team that had a lot of money to spend, they now are focusing on the upcoming draft to bolster their roster. Most recent estimates showed Minnesota was about $5 million under the cap, that was until Tuesday.
In a long awaited move, the Vikings successfully restructured the contract of veteran defensive tackle Kevin Williams. Releasing Williams was also no doubt an option, but this was the best possible move for both sides. In total, Williams will reduce his 2013 earnings to $5 million dollars, while saving the team $2.5 million in cap space.
$2.5 mil might not seem like a ton of money in pro sports, but in today’s NFL, that could pay for a key veteran’s services for an entire season.
In addition to the decreased money Williams will receive, he also voided 2014 on his contract, which would have been his final year with Minnesota. Now it’s all but certain, that 2013 will be his last in the land of 10,000 lakes.
This is great news for the Vikings, in the short, and long-term. Williams should be solid this year, and will likely produce as he always does, and now he’ll do it at a much better price for the franchise. It’s always great to see a player take a little less, to play for a team they clearly like. It would have been bad to see this situation go south, and the two sides left with no other choice but to part ways. Luckily, common sense prevailed, and the two sides made a good business deal.
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