The Official Vikings Offseason Thread!

[Born2Fish]

No way would I or hopefully anyone in their right mind trade Jared Allen for Jay Cutler. Like was stated, we gave up a 1st rounder for him. Right now I do not think Cutler is worth that price either. Plus all I keep hearing is that Denver WILL NOT trade Cutler. Of course that does not mean he can not request a trade or to be released.

[jigging-matt]

No Trade, never.

[Scott K]

A month ago everyone was willing to trade 2 first rounders for Cassel, and now no one would give even one 1st rounder for a more proven, better, younger QB? One that could be the face of our franchise for 10 years.

I agree Allen is a stud, he does it all back there, but in my opinion a very good QB would help the team more then a great DE. I know Allen is tops at his position, and helps our defense alot more then the sacks he gets, but I think if the Vikes had Cutler here, we would do better then having Allen here. Although I would rather have both.

[Tip Up Rookie]

These comments only show how desperate Vikes fans are for a decent QB. Hopefully Chili will stop torturing us with the T-jack experiment and someone special will fall to us in the draft.

[Scott K]

These comments only show how desperate Vikes fans are for a decent QB. Hopefully Chili will stop torturing us with the T-jack experiment and someone special will fall to us in the draft.

I think your right, I just want a good QB here. I just want to feel good when I see the QB release the ball, instead of thinking, oh no! Then be relieved when its only a incomplete pass.

[Scott K]

Quote:

A "little birdie" told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Vikings have no plans to trade for Jay Cutler if he becomes available.

Cutler seems doubtful to be traded in the first place, but the paper claims Minnesota is satisfied with its current quarterbacks. All signs point to Tarvaris Jackson getting yet another shot in a camp battle with Sage Rosenfels.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Born2Fish]

I would never give away 2 1st rounders for Cassell. That would be pretty un-smart. And I can't be as sure to say that Cutler would be more important than Allen. Besides we are not getting cutler. It just will not happen.

[FISHINGURU]

cutler is definatly worth a 1st round pick and then some...guarenteed.

i can't believe the faith and value people put in picks...you'd dream to the ulmighty heavens that you could get a player as good as cutler with our 1st round pick....keep dreaming if you think u can get a 25 yr old pro bowl caliber qb for anything less.

people thought jared wasn't worth a 1st...they'd rather see us spend the same amount to move up and take harvey lol..not hating on harvey he could become a great player but i'd be willing to bet he'll never be a jared allen caliber player...harvey went in the 1st round (8th pick)....19 tackles 3.5 sacks.

picks are a gamble...if i could get a proven player that is still young with my 1st round pick i'd trade it every year personally....unless i was in the top 10 but its still a major gamble...even having the very 1st pick is a gamble.

i'm more of the faithful to my players type of guy.....i wouldn't trade jared or peterson for anyone....the other guys could be available but it would have to be lopsided in my favor lol...i'd trade t-awesome for a stick of chewing gum.

[koonie]

Free agency is for plugging holes. You draft for the future and long term success. If you keep trading picks for players your team always winds up getting older. That's okay for a while but the team needs good young guys to come in and develop.

[Scott K]

A 25 year old QB is young, if the Vikes got Cutler for a 1st and a 3rd they should do it! BY the way QB, is a huge hole for the Vikes!

[jigging-matt]

With the QB's available right now, there is now way that Denver would trade Cutler. Would love to see him in purple, but I am not holding my breath. A good QB is nice to have, but Defense wins championships. Would never trade Allen for Cutler.

[FISHINGURU]

Free agency is for plugging holes. You draft for the future and long term success. If you keep trading picks for players your team always winds up getting older. That's okay for a while but the team needs good young guys to come in and develop.

i hear the logic but really you draft a young player and they don't develop for a few years...on rare occasions a guy is a stud out of the gate and even if he is alot of the time they aren't even 1st rounders.

the only problem i see long term in trading your 1st pick every year is the money issue cause if your trading your 1st pick for a guy you know he's a big contract player.

but most of the time by time a guy is even an impact player that you drafted he's already 24/25/26 yr old anyway....whats the difference if your getting an already proven player that is young with your picks....especially when your team is on the brink of a title....in this case you could draft a qb with your 1st round pick and hope he's a one in a million qb like ryan or flaco or even a qb that plays decent 3-4 yrs from now or you could spend your 1st on a proven pro bowl caliber player...its a no brainer....same situation with jared....same with braylon...same with any of them young players.

the draft is cool though don't get me wrong...its nice when it actually turns out and you see a superstar being made right before your eyes like peterson, kdubbs, ej, greenway, ect....if you actually have a starter or two on your squad a few years after they are drafted its a good draft...but your gonna have way more busts then gems.

[MUSKY18]

If the Vikings aren't willing to trade for Cutler because they are happy with their QB situation, that just goes to show how badly we need a management/coaching change. If they are blind to the fact that our QB's are subpar at best, its time to move on. Every other person in the world can see it, why can't they?

[zepman]

What or who do you propose we trade in order to get Cutler? If he is available via trade not only the Vikes but half of the teams in the NFL would be trying to get the guy. Denver would need a starting Q-back and a pick(s) in return and the only team I can think of who could do this would be the Browns.

[Rick]

Sometimes it takes a while for some QBs to develop.

Does anyone remember Rich Gannon or Kurt Warner or Doug Flutie?

[Tip Up Rookie]

Rick, do you think T-Jack could develop into a decent QB? As much as I would like too, I just don't see it. Hopefully we find a gem in the draft...

I gotta run, I am allergic to all this Jay Cutler man love!

[Rick]

I hope a good prospect falls to us as well.

I do think it's slightly possible T-Jack could develop into a good QB. I think he's been over-coached to play it safe because the coach's feel our defense will win games. T-Jack looks tentative and tends to over-control his passes. Just look at the low number of interceptions he's thrown. To me that tells it all. He's been coached to not take chances. Maybe Chili ruined him. Maybe he's not smart enough? Who knows?

In the NFL a QB needs to be coached to make make quick, smart reads and fire off good accurate passes, more often than not in 4 seconds or less.

[crothmeier]

I agree with rick, over coached, its not all his fault. The media and fan attention cant help either. The coaching staff and media have him so paranoid he runs around with the "deer in headlights" look and is bound to make mistakes.

Could any of you guys imagine the amount of pressure to perform the guy has on him? (not defending him in particuler, but all nfl players) but the sport is brutal not only physically but mentally. I think give then chance he could develop into a good quarterback. He has mobility, he can throw the ball a long ways. Get some good receivers in there, and some PROTECTION from the o-line and give the kid a shot without him having to worry about getting pulled if his shoes arent tied up right. he hasnt been given a legitemate shot.

Starting last year the two games then he was pulled. The playcalling was awful, blame needed to be place and instad of giving childress the axe they took the easy way out and pulled jackson.

[FISHINGURU]

Inside Slant

The Vikings haven’t been active in free agency - at least when it comes to signing players outside their organization—but that doesn’t mean the team won’t make any major moves.

Rick Spielman, Vikings’ vice president of player personnel, left the door open for something to happen recently when he failed to end talk of the franchise pursuing a top-flight quarterback.

“I don’t think you ever paint yourself into that we’re set at (quarterback),” Spielman said. “What if a great pass rusher comes available? We have Jared Allen, would we not go get a Jared Allen-type talent.”

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Spielman was referring to the fact the Vikings traded a first- and two third-round picks to Kansas City just before last April’s draft to acquire Allen. Spielman wasn’t tipping his hand about what type of deals or what players at whom the Vikings might be looking.

Two that come to mind are Denver quarterback Jay Cutler and Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb. Getting either would be a long shot, but the Vikings certainly are monitoring the situations.

Right now, Minnesota is set to go into training camp with Tarvaris Jackson battling Sage Rosenfels for the starting job but neither is considered a top-line starter.

Cutler and McNabb would come at an extremely high price but both are familiar with the West Coast system the Vikings play.

Cutler would appear the more likely of the two to end up on the trading block, given that his relationship with the Broncos seems to have been strained since word leaked that new Denver coach Josh McDaniels had tried to get Matt Cassel from New England. McDaniels had been Cassel’s quarterbacks coach with the Patriots before getting the Denver job.

The possibility of adding a top-line quarterback would do wonders for a Vikings team that doesn’t have a lot of excitement surrounding it at this point.

Notes, Quotes

• DT Fred Evans, who made $445,000 last season, was given the second-round tender ($1.545 million) by the Vikings as a restricted free agent. The Vikings have the right to match any offer that Evans receives from another team. The Vikings would get a second-round draft pick if they fail to match.

• OL Marcus Johnson, the lone remaining player from the Vikings’ 2005 draft class, recently had a free-agent visit with the Tennessee Titans. Johnson will not return to the Vikings.

• The Vikings have considered having Denver free-agent cornerback Karl Paymah in for a visit but nothing has been scheduled. Paymah, who also plays on special teams, has met with Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

• Free-agent safety Darren Sharper, who has spent the past four seasons with the Vikings, had a visit with New Orleans but has yet to sign. The Vikings plan to go with Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams at the safety spots next season.

• Rick Spielman, Vikings vice president of player personnel, made it clear the team’s lack of activity on the free-agent market has nothing to do with ownership cracking down because of the poor economy. “They’re very supportive ownership, and the Wilf family is very supportive of what we’re trying to do,” Spielman said. “But you have to be realistic, too. You don’t want to pay Ferrari money, for not getting a Ferrari either.” Spielman has said all along he did not feel this was a very strong free-agent market.

Quote To Note: “Every year is different. It’s like the draft. You don’t draft the same position every year, it’s not the same players every year in the draft. … Everybody wants to see, ‘What’s new? What’s new?’ Well, sometimes you don’t want to force anything that’s not there, just to do it to do it because to me I think sometimes it ends up being a waste of money.”—Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman on the team’s approach to free agency, which has been much different than a year ago when it wrote $81 million in contracts to Bernard Berrian, Thomas Tapeh and Madieu Williams in the first three days.

Strategy And Personnel

The Vikings have been active in free agency when it comes to signing their own players but they have yet to land anyone from outside their organization.

The team has kept defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, tight end Jim Kleinsasser, linebacker Heath Farwell and cornerback Benny Sapp. Center Matt Birk, meanwhile, left to sign with Baltimore.

TEAM NEEDS/OFFSEASON STRATEGY

Unlike a year ago when the Vikings were extremely active in free agency, there has been little movement this year.

The Vikings made a strong push to land wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh early in the process but that did not happen and the team did not sign a player from another roster during the opening days of free agency. The Vikings also lost Matt Birk to the Baltimore Ravens after he spent 11 seasons in Minnesota.

The Vikings opened the new league year by trading for Houston quarterback Sage Rosenfels and then re-signing tight end Jim Kleinsasser. They began entertaining Houshmandzadeh last Saturday but ultimately the top-rated wide receiver on the market picked Seattle. The Vikings also let go of two of their own players, releasing Gus Frerotte and linebacker Vinny Ciurciu.

TEAMS NEEDS

1. Right offensive tackle: Ryan Cook was the primary starter but found himself benched because of inconsistent play and penalties. Artis Hicks served as Cook’s replacement but a triceps injury sidelined him. It’s unlikely Cook or Hicks will be the starter in 2009. The versatile Hicks is considered more valuable as a backup.

2. Center: Matt Birk’s departure means the Vikings can either turn to John Sullivan or perhaps move right guard Anthony Herrera to center. The team also could try to sign someone, but the market doesn’t have much to offer at this point.

3. Wide receiver: The Vikings made a run at free-agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh but lost out to Seattle. The team obviously would like to upgrade at this spot, perhaps because of concerns about Sidney Rice’s ability to remain healthy.

Medical Watch: No updates.

FRANCHISE PLAYER: None.

TRANSITION PLAYER: None.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

• DT Kenderick Allen spent the season on injured reserve after injuring his right wrist during the Vikings’ preseason opener. It would not be surprising if he does not return.

• S Michael Boulware spent the year on injured reserve after suffering a broken wrist during the preseason. Could return in a special-teams role in 2009.

• LB Napoleon Harris signed early in the regular season after middle linebacker E.J. Henderson was lost because of a foot injury. Harris, who had been let go by Kansas City before joining the Vikings, likely will be allowed to leave.

• OT Marcus Johnson, the lone remaining member of the Vikings’ 2005 draft class, was a non-factor in 2008 and almost certainly won’t be back.

• S Darren Sharper has been a starter since joining the Vikings in 2005 but likely will be allowed to leave. Tyrell Johnson, a second-round pick in 2008, would be the leading candidate to replace Sharper.

• LB Dontarrious Thomas signed during the season to add depth after Henderson was injured. The Vikings probably won’t try to bring him back.

• DT Ellis Wyms proved to be a valuable backup to 3-technique Kevin Williams. He has expressed a desire to return.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (not tendered)

• DE Otis Grigsby (not tendered as RFA) was impressive in training camp but did little during the season.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

• DT Fred Evans (tendered at $1.545M with second-round pick as compensation) was the primary backup to Pat Williams at nose tackle. Evans is considered to be an ascending player.

• FB Naufahu Tahi (tendered at $1.01M with no compensation) took over as starting fullback in 2008. Tahi was set to visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHS FREE AGENTS: None.

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED

• FB Heath Farwell: UFA; $7.75M/2 yrs, $3.25M SB.

• CB Charles Gordon: Potential RFA; $535,000/1 yr plus incentives.

• DT Jimmy Kennedy: UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.

• TE Jim Kleinsasser: UFA; $9M/3 yrs, guarantee unknown.

• DE Jayme Mitchell: Potential RFA; 2 yrs, terms unknown.

• CB Benny Sapp: UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

• QB Sage Rosenfels (trade Texans).

PLAYERS LOST

• C Matt Birk: UFA Ravens; $12M/3 yrs, $6M guaranteed.

• LB Vinny Ciurciu (released).

• QB Gus Frerotte (released).

• RB Maurice Hicks (released).

[Scott K]

I hope they have something up their sleeve. They are going to have to spend some money because they are under league minimum, by a quite abit.

I suppose they coulduse some of this years money to lock up our franchise players to longer contracts.

Peterson

Jackson

[FISHINGURU]

forsure...i was thinking we are gonna need to lock up peterson in the next year or two long term....we better have a pretty healthy bank account when the time comes...hate to see us lose him because we can't afford him.

jackson lol....that was a good one

i know people aren't very excited about sage but i'm excited to see anyone back there besides t-awesome or someone that isnt 50...ferotte, brad johnson, ect....but i was excited when ferotte took over for t-awesome....as u can see it doesn't take much to move our offense.

hopefully whoever we get can beat t-awesome out in training camp muahahahahhahahahaahahahahaha!!!!

[Jim Uran]

Remember this guy?? wish we still had him catching passes. HAHA. Just thought this picture was cool.

[koonie]

Originally Posted By: koonie

Free agency is for plugging holes. You draft for the future and long term success. If you keep trading picks for players your team always winds up getting older. That's okay for a while but the team needs good young guys to come in and develop.

i hear the logic but really you draft a young player and they don't develop for a few years...on rare occasions a guy is a stud out of the gate and even if he is alot of the time they aren't even 1st rounders.

the only problem i see long term in trading your 1st pick every year is the money issue cause if your trading your 1st pick for a guy you know he's a big contract player.

but most of the time by time a guy is even an impact player that you drafted he's already 24/25/26 yr old anyway....whats the difference if your getting an already proven player that is young with your picks....especially when your team is on the brink of a title....in this case you could draft a qb with your 1st round pick and hope he's a one in a million qb like ryan or flaco or even a qb that plays decent 3-4 yrs from now or you could spend your 1st on a proven pro bowl caliber player...its a no brainer....same situation with jared....same with braylon...same with any of them young players.

the draft is cool though don't get me wrong...its nice when it actually turns out and you see a superstar being made right before your eyes like peterson, kdubbs, ej, greenway, ect....if you actually have a starter or two on your squad a few years after they are drafted its a good draft...but your gonna have way more busts then gems.

The draft consists of more than one round. More often than not you trade away more than one pick in these deals. You hamstring yourself plain and simple. If trading picks was such a great way to win you'd see alot more of it. Picking up someone in a trade doesn't always work. These guys don't always perform the same way. Look at what Washington has done over the last five years. They spend a ton of money on free agents and trade away multiple picks and now they have nothing. Pretty much every front office guy will tell you the draft is the bread and butter way to set yourself up longterm.

I agree Cutler is worth a couple of picks(1st and 3rd) but you can't keep giving away one, two or three picks for one player. The first round draft picks get a lot of money but the free agents get ridiculous money. So that's pretty much a push. Proven players are great, don't get me wrong, but you need that young talent. Of course, you need to draft well also.

[Scott K]

I would be ok with this!

Quote:

NFL.com's Steve Wyche reports the Rams have released WR Torry Holt.

The move has been coming for weeks but was delayed as the Rams attempted to find a trade partner. Holt was due a $1.25 million signing bonus on March 17, and his release saves the Rams $8 million in salary cap room. Despite his disappointing 2008, the 10-year veteran is expected to draw interest as a possible No. 1 receiver from the Titans, Giants, and 49ers. Holt's home-state Panthers could also be an option. If the season started today, the Rams would be left with Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton as the starting receivers.

Source: NFL.com

[zamboni]

I'd rather have Starvin' Marvin. Long as he fixes his legal troubles.