{"id":96441,"date":"2024-02-26T14:41:28","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T14:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=96441"},"modified":"2024-02-26T14:42:59","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T14:42:59","slug":"rumors-of-vikings-trading-20-million-star-gain-momentum-after-cap-spike-report-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/rumors-of-vikings-trading-20-million-star-gain-momentum-after-cap-spike-report-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Rumors of Vikings Trading $20 Million Star Gain Momentum After Cap Spike: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

The longer\u00a0Justin Jefferson\u00a0remains without an extension, the more likely it is that the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0end up backed into a corner on the All-Pro wide receiver\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"Kwesi<\/p>\n

It is nearly unthinkable that any franchise would trade a generational playmaker on a Hall of Fame track before his 25th birthday. However, that is an outcome that is gaining \u201csteam\u201d in Minnesota, per\u00a0Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, steam continues that the Vikings could make Justin Jefferson available for trade,\u201d Walters wrote on Saturday, February 24.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NFL Salary Cap Leap Likely to Strain Contract Negotiations Between Justin Jefferson, Vikings<\/h2>\n

\"Justin<\/h2>\n
\n

The\u00a0catalyst of the momentum\u00a0behind the Jefferson trade rumors is no mystery. Walters wrote his story one day after the NFL\u2019s salary cap leapt\u00a0$30.6 million, which\u00a0Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk contended\u00a0will drive the receiver\u2019s asking price up significantly on a new deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one fundamental truth about giving one of your own great players the contract he deserves is that the price will always go up if you wait,\u201d Florio wrote Saturday. \u201cAs of Friday, with the salary cap shooting to $255.4 million per team, Jefferson\u2019s price goes up even higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florio added that the holdup between Minnesota and Jefferson is the contract structure, specifically the amount of guaranteed money he will receive. Vikings GM\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah\u00a0has made it a point not to fully-guarantee any salary beyond the first year of a contract, though he hasn\u2019t always been successful in that initiative.<\/p>\n

The franchise has\u00a0drawn a line in the sand on guaranteed money\u00a0for quarterback\u00a0Kirk Cousins, refusing to budge on any guarantees in 2026, which would be the third year of an extension for the QB. If the team is playing that kind of hardball with a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, it\u2019s reasonable to believe Jefferson is fighting the same battle.<\/p>\n

On top of seeking the the richest contract at the position in league history, which would be a figure above\u00a0$30 million annually, Jefferson also\u00a0wants clarity and assurances under center. He happens to be a Cousins fan and now also has more leverage in contract negotiations due to the cap spike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhatever he wanted before Friday, he surely wants more now,\u201d Florio wrote. \u201cJefferson has been very patient. At some point, his patience will run out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin Jefferson to Play on 5th-Year Option in 2024 Absent Contract Extension<\/h2>\n

\"Justin<\/h2>\n
\n

Jefferson is liable to become more vexed with his contract situation as talks drag on, and thereby harder to negotiate with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith each passing day, it\u2019s going to get more and more and more expensive,\u201d Florio wrote of Jefferson\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

Spotrac projects Jefferson\u2019s market value at\u00a0$29.3 million annually, or roughly $117.4 million over a new four-year deal. That projection is probably low, especially considering the cap spike and Jefferson\u2019s new leverage.<\/p>\n

He led the NFL in\u00a0receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809)\u00a0in 2022, earning first-team All-Pro honors in the process, and finished last season with over 1,000 receiving yards and 5 TDs despite missing seven of 17 games.<\/p>\n

Jefferson will play the 2024 campaign on a\u00a0$19.7 million\u00a0fifth-year team option, which the Vikings exercised ahead of last season on the former first-round pick (No. 22 overall in 2020).<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell projected\u00a0in October 2023 that Jefferson\u2019s trade value is two first-round picks and a mid-round selection\/an established starting-caliber player. Were the Vikings to deal the receiver, the team could use the returning capital to try and move up from\u00a0No. 11\u00a0in this year\u2019s draft into the top three and select a potential franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n

In turn, that would allow Minnesota to move on from Cousins and save a boatload of money coming and going at both the QB and WR positions. The team would still have second-year wideout\u00a0Jordan Addison\u00a0and tight end\u00a0T.J. Hockenson, as well as vastly more cap space to improve the roster around a rookie quarterback.<\/p>\n

It is unclear if that is a preferable outcome to the Vikings front office over keeping Jefferson, though the longer the team waits, the more likely all elements of it become.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The longer\u00a0Justin Jefferson\u00a0remains without an extension, the more likely it is that the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0end up backed into a corner on the All-Pro wide receiver\u2019s future. It is… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflquynh.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}