What Everson Griffen Voiding His Contract Means for Vikings

Entering Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings were approximately $12 million over the projected salary cap, and had several aging players booked for steep cap hits in the 2020 season.

Therefore, it's been widely predicted that the Vikings will undergo a bit of a roster overhaul this offseason.

Well, things got off to an encouraging start in that department when it was reported on Thursday morning that defensive end Everson Griffen has elected to void the remainder of his contract, which will make him a free agent once the new league year starts next month.

#Vikings DE Everson Griffen has opted to void the remainder of his contract, per @CourtneyRCronin, making him a free agent. Griffin had a clause that grants him the option of voiding the rest of his deal if he had 6+ sacks in 2019. He finished with 8. #Vikings save $13.1M in cap.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) February 20, 2020

Griffen's contract contains a clause which allows him to opt out of the remaining three years of his deal so long as he registered six sacks while playing 57% of Minnesota's defensive snaps. He featured in 78% of the team's snaps and logged eight sacks in 2019.

By voiding his contract, Griffen will save the Vikings around $13 million with close to $1 million in dead money. The four-time Pro Bowler was originally set to earn $13.9 million in 2020.

The Vikings' defense is undergoing a transformation. Everson Griffen opted to void the remainder of his contract (2020-22), per source, which creates significant cap space, but there’s more work to be done. A look at other moves to possibly come: https://t.co/XvQGYyEBB1
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) February 20, 2020

Just because Griffen is voiding the remainder of his contract, doesn't mean that he won't return to the North Star State in 2020. ESPN's Courtney Cronin understands the Vikings believe they can work out a deal with the 32-year-old veteran at a discounted price.

This news leaves the franchise with approximately $2 million in the plus column. It's not ideal, but it's a start, and the move indicates that this will be the beginning of a laundry list of settlements from Minnesota as the team attempts to salvage as much capital as possible.