Make no mistake: Brian O’Neill is locked and loaded for the 2025 season.
The towering right tackle is a cornerstone player for the Vikings, a key leader who will be tasked with keeping J.J. McCarthy upright. The issue is simply that he’s nearing the end of a beefy contract extension that’s paying him major money. In fact, Mr. O’Neill demands the largest cap hit during the upcoming season: $26,019,114. Is there a time coming up when he could actually be cut?
Brian O’Neill & The Possibility of a Cut
Best guess is that an extension, not a cut, is what gets the job done. One could certainly make a rock-solid case that that’s the wisest route.
Next season, the Vikings are scheduled to have negative cap space. The folks at Over the Cap explain that the 2026 budget is projected to be more than $9 million … over the cap. No doubt, there are a ton of options to clear cap room, but one of the easiest ways to wipe out that debt — while, crucially, giving the team financial flexibility — is to cut Brian O’Neill.
A simple cut for O’Neill would mean accepting just $3,703,892 in dead money while recouping $19,500,000 in open room. All of the sudden, the Vikings are working with more than $10,000,000 in room.
Now, here’s the other detail to keep in mind: an extension could also liberate plenty of cap space.
Pursuing an extension has a double benefit: keeping the stud right tackle in the Twin Cities for a little while longer while also gaining back some cap space for the short term. An extension has the potential to free up $14,160,000. Not as lucrative as a cut when we’re only considering 2026 cap space, but still lots of potential to gain back room while keeping the veteran.
Minnesota’s front office went on a pretty major spending spree during the 2025 offseason, fully leaning into their financial abundance to beef up both lines. The additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave should make the d-line considerably better; similarly, the additions of Ryan Kelly and Will Fries should help the o-line to take a large step forward.
And then, of course, there were the other medium-to-large deals involving Aaron Jones, Isaiah Rodgers, Byron Murphy, Harrison Smith, Jordan Mason, and Theo Jackson. Add it all together and the future financial freedom has vanished. Or, at least, temporarily vanished. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah happens to be excellent at navigating an NFL budget. Guaranteed, the GM is already well aware of many of his options for clearing cap room next season.
Brian O’Neill will turn 30 on September 15th. He stands at 6’7″ and weighs 310 pounds, giving him an ideal build to be an offensive tackle. He’s a very good athlete, running a 4.82 forty leading into the draft (he snagged a 9.60 RAS score, an elite number). Rick Spielman made him the No. 62 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft before then putting together a five-year, $92,500,000 extension to keep him in town through his prime.
Last year, O’Neill got dinged with allowing 2 sacks, 0 QB hits, and 19 pressures (per PFF). Some pretty tidy numbers, especially since Sam Darnold had a habit of holding onto the ball longer than most. He did, however, commit five penalties while working on his 80.8 PFF grade.
Mr. O’Neill has been to the Pro Bowl a pair of times in his career. Before it’s all said and done, O’Neill could snag another honor or two, so the Vikings would be wise to pursue a solution that allows him to continue calling Minnesota home.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.