How the Vikings cutting Kyle Rudolph affects the 2021 salary cap

With the way the 2021 salary cap will likely be structured, the Vikings are going to have to make some cutbacks.

The team wasted no time making one of those on Tuesday, announcing that it released Rudolph.

Rudolph was a key offensive player on many different Minnesota teams over the years. That said, the 31-year-old seemed likely to be leaving this offseason, on account of the team’s tight end depth and what he said about his contract.

With the team making it official, we can see that Minnesota saved just over $5 million in salary cap money and incurred $4.35 million in dead money, per Over The Cap.

Over The Cap — operating under the assumption that the 2021 base salary will be $180.5 million — has the Vikings a little more than $5 million above the salary cap even with cutting Rudolph.

So if the salary cap does end up being somewhere around there, the Vikings will most likely have to keep cutting back on assets.