Vikings Release DLs Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Allen

Dangled in trades recently, Hargrave (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) has been informed he will be released. The move will save the Vikings more than $10MM in cap space while bringing nearly the same amount in dead money. The rumored Allen release is now official as well.

The dead cap amount stems from signing bonus proration and a $4MM guarantee on Hargrave’s 2026 salary. Minnesota gave the former Steelers, Eagles and 49ers D-lineman a two-year, $30MM contract in 2025. This is quite the overhaul for the Vikings’ D-line over the past year. After free agency in 2025, they rostered Hargrave, Allen and Harrison Phillips. With Phillips traded to the Jets last August, all three are now gone.

Minnesota has not made a move to add a D-linemen, but it can be assumed some are in the works. Hargrave, 33, started 15 games last season; Allen, 31, started 17. Hargrave bounced back after an injury-shortened 2024 in San Francisco, but this is the second straight year he has been released. The 49ers designated Hargrave as a post-June 1 cut last year; it is not known if the Vikings are making the same move.

A standard Allen release would bring more than $17MM in dead money. Minnesota not announcing that move until today, however, points to a post-June 1 designation. If the Vikings designate Allen as a post-June 1 cut, they would save $11.2MM this year while taking on more than $12MM in dead cap. Minnesota is designating Harrison Smith as a post-June release; teams are only allotted two, pointing to Allen being the choice over Hargrave.

This also marks Allen’s second straight year being released. The Commanders cut their former first-round D-tackle after eight seasons, and he generated a promising market as a street free agent. The Vikings gave him a three-year, $51MM deal that came with $23.26MM fully guaranteed. That contract has come back to bite the team, one that fired GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah weeks into the offseason. Allen was to see $8MM of his $16.75MM 2026 salary guaranteed. As Adam La Rose’s Vikings Offseason Outlook reminded, Allen’s $23.87MM was the highest figure on Minnesota’s cap sheet.

Allen, 31, and Hargrave each registered 3.5 sacks last season. Both players recovered from 2024 injuries on time; Allen fared better as a pressure artist, recording 11 QB hits to Hargrave’s six. Both players being cut in back-to-back years stands to significantly reduce their earning potential in 2026.