After dealing defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 22, the Vikings appeared to be just getting started as the NFL trade deadline approached. Turns out the Vikings were one (deal) and done.

The deadline passed at 3 p.m. Tuesday with few trades being made around the league. Reports in recent weeks had indicated the Vikings were shopping everyone from standouts Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen to safety Anthony Harris, left tackle Riley Reiff and tight end Kyle Rudolph.

But none of those players were moved, despite the Vikings sitting at 2-5 this season after upsetting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field. While the Vikings are not near a playoff spot at this point, it is interesting the NFL is considering adding an eighth playoff team from each conference for this season. That will depend on if all games are played in the regular season.

Afternoon Judd: A question for Vikings as trade deadline passes. pic.twitter.com/mybDKIg2zm

— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) November 3, 2020

While the Vikings did not make any deals on deadline day, they are faced with having to jettison players this offseason. The main reason for this is the NFL salary cap probably is going to drop significantly because of lost revenues from the pandemic. This was a likely factor in why more trades weren’t made on Tuesday.

According to the Over The Cap website, the Vikings already would be $5.7 million over a projected cap of $176 million for the 2021 season. The cap for the 2020 season is $198.2 million and, ordinarily, it would go up to about $210 million next season. But the floor for the NFL salary cap in 2021 could be as low as $175 million.

That means many teams are going to have to get rid of contracts and free agency could be very quiet.