EAGAN, Minn. -- The theme for the 2018 Minnesota Vikings? On to the next one.

Minutes after Kirk Cousins was introduced in March after signing his record-setting $84 million deal, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was back in the office of vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski -- more commonly known as the team's salary-cap wizard -- working to restructure Latavius Murray's contract. Less than 24 hours later, Minnesota signed defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.

After locking up Danielle Hunter in June for the remainder of his early prime, the Vikings tackled the next priority on their to-do list. Stefon Diggs on Tuesday signed a five-year extension worth a total of $81 million.

The Vikings have made a commitment to keep their Super Bowl window open as long as possible by signing the players they believe in. Thirteen players are under contract through at least 2020, continuity that is rare in the NFL.

Will that number extend to 14 before free agency in March? That's the (multi)million dollar question.

Since the start of the 2018 league year, no other team has doled out more guaranteed money than the Vikings. According to ESPN's Roster Management System, Minnesota has guaranteed $212 million, which includes the $40 million guaranteed to Diggs with his new deal. Diggs will play 2018 on the final year of his $1.9 million rookie salary before his new deal kicks in next season (it's technically five years, $72 million but with $81 million in total value). Diggs' $15 million signing bonus will be spread out over five years to help alleviate some pressure off the cap, therefore he'll carry a $3 million hit this season.

Including Diggs, the Vikings have nine players in 2019 with contracts that average more than $10 million per year in each of their first three seasons.

After locking up Diggs, the Vikings are $9.88 million under the cap in 2018. Might the next deal be for linebacker Anthony Barr, who is set to make $12.3 million playing out his fifth-year option?

Whether the Vikings have the financial wherewithal to make this happen won't affect what Barr and his representation believe he deserves. That is, unless he wants to take a pay cut to stay in Minnesota.

After a strong career at UCLA where he totaled 23 1/2 sacks from 2012-13, Barr was drafted by Minnesota as 4-3 linebacker. In essence, he was not drafted with a primary role of rushing the passer, and considering how many other elements he brings to a defense that was No. 1 in yards gained and points against in 2017, his value is pretty high.

The fact that he doesn't have the sack numbers (10 1/2 over four years, just one last season) might be a reason why a deal hasn't gotten done yet. Other linebackers whose roles somewhat mirror Barr -- outside linebackers who don't have sizeable pass-rushing duties -- are making upwards of $11 million per year. Telvin Smith and Vontaze Burfict are two similar players.

For Barr, who has been working with the defensive line during the early days of camp, expanding his repertoire may help him command a bigger deal down the road.

Given where he stands among other 4-3 outside linebackers, it's reasonable to expect Barr to command $11.5 million to $12 million per year, according to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com. The high end of what he could earn might be about $13 million. A team-friendly deal would be about $10 million per year. This offseason, Minnesota paid Barr's linebacking cohort, Eric Kendricks, a $50 million extension over five years. Pure inside linebackers such as Kendricks don't often see bank-breaking deals. Barr's representation could argue that the 26-year-old's skill set is more diversified and thus deserving of a bigger figure.

Whether Minnesota wants to go as high as the $12 million range remains to be seen. The Browns and Jaguars have paid a higher price for arguably lesser players who have similar roles. The deal Cleveland awarded Jamie Collins, who had 31 tackles, one sack and one interception in 2017, made him the highest paid outside linebacker at $12.5 million per year with $26.4 million of his $50 million contract guaranteed.

Another option is to have Barr play the 2018 season and then utilize the franchise tag, which Minnesota hasn't done often. Assuming the salary cap goes up by $10 million again next year, the cost to tag Barr would be approximately $15.5 million, according to Fitzgerald. With the team's spending money estimated around $25 million in 2019, including carryover from this year, that could make things pretty tight but not impossible.

Adding sack numbers certainly helps Barr's case. Pro Football Focus charted Barr as a pass-rusher on 11 percent of his total snaps in 2017. That number has dipped slightly from where he was as a rookie (14.6 percent). So it's not like Barr hasn't handled the task of going after the quarterback before, even if the sack numbers aren't there.

Whether the Vikings retain Barr doesn't answer all of their questions. Richardson is a free agent after his one-year, $8 million prove-it deal. Given the importance of the three-technique in Mike Zimmer's defense, Minnesota may decide re-signing him is necessary.

Then there's the issue of Adam Thielen and trying to keep some semblance of internal salary consistency. Thielen has two years remaining on his current contract that pays him $4.81 million per year. Given what Diggs is slated to earn after Thielen's 91-catch season in 2017 and what's ahead this season, a holdout ahead of 2019 almost feels inevitable. According to Fitzgerald, an extension of three or four new years could be a possibility, allowing Minnesota to roll the wide receiver's existing money into a contract to make it an overall five- or six-year deal.

And what about other areas of concern? Minnesota's lack of offensive line depth should not be overlooked. Should the remaining spending money go toward a player left on the free-agent market or even ahead of next season? Down the road, what are they going to do about Trae Waynes, whose fifth-year option was picked up earlier this offseason? At this time next year, Waynes could be in a similar situation to Barr, hoping to work out an extension before hitting free agency. Whether they get to that point largely depends on how Waynes plays this season. There are other possible restructures elsewhere on the roster, including the contracts of tight end Kyle Rudolph and safety Andrew Sendejo.

In Spielman and Brzezinski's line of work, these types of questions are a constant. Inevitably, Minnesota won't be able to keep every part of its core in the coming seasons. Relying on their draft strategy will certainly help replace pieces they have to let go because of spending restrictions or other reasons. But the manner in which they've approached etching out new deals to keep this team together as long as they can is the strategy they'll use to check more items off their to-do list.

"We've looked through 2019. We've looked through 2020," Spielman said. "I think Rob does an unbelievable job in the way he structures these contracts. I think it rewards the player, but it's also ideal on how we want our contracts structured. Any time you go into a negotiation, to me, it's not like, ‘Well, we beat you or you beat us.' It's a win-win for both sides when you can go in with an attitude of, 'Listen guy your guy deserves the money he's going to get but we also need some things, too.' So when you can come to a common ground where you're both working -- I mean, we don't want to lose these players, but we have some parameters we have to work in."