5 Minnesota Vikings who likely won’t be back in 2021

When he hit free agency in 2019, Barr was apparently close to leaving for the New York Jets before the Vikings swopped in. Hindsight says the Vikings should not have ponied up the five-year, $67.5 million deal. Barr suffered a torn pectoral in Week 2 this season against the Indianapolis Colts, and it became more urgently worth wondering if his time as a Viking was done.

Barr’s deal is very back-loaded, with a cap hit of $15.5 million for 2021 (via Spotrac). If the Vikings cut him before June 1, they would clear $7.2 million in cap space (with a $7.8 million dead money hit).

In Barr’s place for almost the full season this year, Eric Wilson is set to finish as the Vikings’ leading tackler (115 total tackles entering Week 17). Wilson is set to become a free agent, but locking him up  on a multi-year deal with a raise would still not be expensive as Barr. And there’s a legit argument that Wilson is the better player right now.

Barr surely has an advocate in the Vikings’ room, and with it being head coach Mike Zimmer that may be all that ultimately matters. But parting ways with the first first-round pick made under Zimmer should have happened two years ago, and the best business decision now is to move on without Barr in 2021.