2023 Vikings Off Season Thread

[nicksaviking]

As expected, Kendricks was released:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/06/vikings-release-eric-kendricks/

He's been my favorite defensive player since they drafted him. It was time though. And I hope he's not the only tough decision they make.

[gunnarthor]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

As expected, Kendricks was released:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/06/vikings-release-eric-kendricks/

He's been my favorite defensive player since they drafted him. It was time though. And I hope he's not the only tough decision they make.

No surprise but I hope he does well where ever he lands. Fun player to root for. 

[Mike Sixel]

He just looked out of position and slower last year. Could have been the coaching.... Good luck to him. Always liked him.

[Vanimal46]

4/$160 extension for Daniel Jones. $82 million guaranteed in the first 2 seasons. The QB market is just disgusting 

[nicksaviking]

4 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

4/$160 extension for Daniel Jones. $82 million guaranteed in the first 2 seasons. The QB market is just disgusting 

Get'em while they're young.

But get a good one, or else you'll be stuck paying an average one a lot of money anyway I guess. 

The Giants fell into the trap. They think they're close (but they're really not) so they did the best they could do. Now they'll be mediocre at best because they don't have a top end QB but they're stuck with Jones for several years. Would have been better to sign a stop-gap and look for your future QB in the draft or elsewhere, but too many people in charge think being 10-7 is so much better than 7-10.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

Get'em while they're young.

But get a good one, or else you'll be stuck paying an average one a lot of money anyway I guess. 

The Giants fell into the trap. They think they're close (but they're really not) so they did the best they could do. Now they'll be mediocre at best because they don't have a top end QB but they're stuck with Jones for several years. Would have been better to sign a stop-gap and look for your future QB in the draft or elsewhere, but too many people in charge think being 10-7 is so much better than 7-10.

Maybe it is. This is a business

[nicksaviking]

15 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Maybe it is. This is a business

Sure, it is from a business standpoint. 10-7 gets you a playoff game. Likely meaningless if you don't have a top QB, but it'll make bank.

[Danchat]

Lamar Jackson can be whisked away for 2 1sts on the non-exclusive franchise tag. No team has reached out,  as talk is that he wants a fully guaranteed deal like Watson’s, something like $250M. For a guy who has not been able to finish a season healthy since 2020, that’s a lot to ask. Some are crying collusion, but the Watson deal is not something other teams actually want to do.

 

On Jones, the Giants should have played chicken and let him realize that his price tag would be lower after he hit the market. Its insane he’s now only a few mill a year under Mahomes and Allen now.

[nicksaviking]

5 hours ago, Danchat said:

Lamar Jackson can be whisked away for 2 1sts on the non-exclusive franchise tag. No team has reached out,  as talk is that he wants a fully guaranteed deal like Watson’s, something like $250M. For a guy who has not been able to finish a season healthy since 2020, that’s a lot to ask. Some are crying collusion, but the Watson deal is not something other teams actually want to do.

 

On Jones, the Giants should have played chicken and let him realize that his price tag would be lower after he hit the market. Its insane he’s now only a few mill a year under Mahomes and Allen now.

Jackson would be tempting, and while I mention him with the top tier QBs, I'm hesitant with him. Why doesn't he have an agent? I wonder about his priorities. Was he too hurt to play at the end of last year, or was he trying to demonstrate his value to the team? Which is immense. Also worried he's not a good enough passer, though he's never had good WR so I'm not going to stick firm to any opinion at this point.

[Danchat]

15 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Why doesn't he have an agent?

That's a concern, as the NFLPA is giving him guidance and some think that they are part of the reason why he's asking for a 100% guaranteed deal, the players want the NFL to become more like the other leagues.

15 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Was he too hurt to play at the end of last year, or was he trying to demonstrate his value to the team? Which is immense.

The reports I read said that his knee just wasn't healing. It was a PCL sprain, which tend to be on the milder side of knee injuries, but sometimes it happens. I don't question his toughness. Reminds me of Sam Bradford...

However, there was some scuttlebutt that other players on the team were frustrated with him, and I believe he didn't show up to their playoff game in January... lol, there's an article about Michael Vick calling him out for it. There seems to be more going on behind the scenes.

15 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Also worried he's not a good enough passer, though he's never had good WR so I'm not going to stick firm to any opinion at this point.

That is true, though Mark Andrews is a stud. Their plan at WR last year was dumb, they need to go heavy on investing in WRs. Good thing it's a historically bad WR crop in free agency and a below-average WR crop in the draft...

[Mike Sixel]

I want no part of him at that price. 

[gunnarthor]

Honestly, I don't think it's realistic for the QB of the future to drop into our laps in this draft and Cousins isn't going anywhere so it's likely that the Vikings try to reload instead of a rebuild next year. The offense should still be pretty good. Draft defense, see what a new scheme and good coaching can fix, hope to catch fire at the right times again. Depending on how Detroit is, the North should be winnable. But I don't see any realistic scenario for a new QB right now. The Vikings aren't going to tank the season. 

[nicksaviking]

Could the Vikings possibly sweep in and move Cousins to the Jets instead of Rodgers? Who'd actually be the more attractive QB at this point? Cousins is statistically better, and by a lot. He's younger and he's not a complete PR and ego liability like Rodgers is. Rodgers is obviously the bigger name and has the intangibles.

I'm sure it won't happen, but it'd sure help the team both reload with players/picks AND more importantly it'd help them refocus on the future instead of chasing the past.

[Danchat]

There’s been zero talk of Cousins to the Jets… you’d think teams would want him if he’s as great as the Kirk stand say he is, but I don’t think the Jets think he is going to get them over the hump. 

[nicksaviking]

32 minutes ago, Danchat said:

There’s been zero talk of Cousins to the Jets… you’d think teams would want him if he’s as great as the Kirk stand say he is, but I don’t think the Jets think he is going to get them over the hump. 

I agree, it's unlikely.

I'm going to be jealous if GB gets a good return though. By all rights they should get next to nothing. With his contract and his ability to fake retire, Rodgers should be able to screw them over and leave them with only a token return.

[Vanimal46]

Well that’s awkward. 

[Parfigliano]

On 3/8/2023 at 12:07 PM, Danchat said:

Lamar Jackson can be whisked away for 2 1sts on the non-exclusive franchise tag. No team has reached out,  as talk is that he wants a fully guaranteed deal like Watson’s, something like $250M. For a guy who has not been able to finish a season healthy since 2020, that’s a lot to ask. Some are crying collusion, but the Watson deal is not something other teams actually want to do.

 

On Jones, the Giants should have played chicken and let him realize that his price tag would be lower after he hit the market. Its insane he’s now only a few mill a year under Mahomes and Allen now.

Only CLE is dumb enough to do that Watson deal.  Jackson is often injured so no one is going to fully gaurantee him what he is asking for.  No matter how great his mommy/agent tells him he is.

[nicksaviking]

5 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Well that’s awkward. 

So last year the Vikings signed free agent defensive players in Smith and Patrick Peterson. Peterson already complained and is gone, now Smith complains too. I'm thinking this has more to do with the system/DC than anything else, but I do not know the minutia so it's only a guess.

Also a guess, the Vikings trying to save money probably won't put up much of a fight, but they probably want to make sure he's untradeable first. 

[nicksaviking]

So there are than a dozen free agent RBs this year who were starters at some point, therefore I expected Dalvin Cook to have no trade value. But of the clear top three RBs, Barkley, Jacobs and Pollard, I thought two would hit the market, now none have. The Vikings may get lucky after all.

By my count that leaves Miles Sanders, David Montomery, Jamaal Williams, Devin Singletery, D'Onta Foreman, Kareem Hunt, Damien Harris, James Robinson, Alex Mattison, Darrell Henderson, Jeff Wilson,  Raheem Mostert, Melvin Gordon and Rashaad Penny. Corderralle Patterson and Leonard Fournette will likely join them and Joe Mixon may too, but he might be too toxic.

Still a ton of RBs, some more usable than others. I personally wouldn't have Cook at the top of my list, but he's probably the biggest name so some team might. Fifth round pick maybe? Really no clue at this point.

On another note, with that many RBs available and so few spots to put them, it seems pretty likely that one of those guys will end up on the Vikings on a very minimal contract. I'll put my money on Henderson with the O'Connell connection, but Foreman, Harris and Robinson seem like possibilities too. Some good upside with Penny, for the five games you'll get to use him of course.

[Vanimal46]

Unfortunate but expected news. Good luck to him in the final years of his career. 

[Vanimal46]

Today is probably the day we’ll see a flurry of moves. I don’t know if we’ll see ZaDarius Smith cut loose or wait out a trade. My guess is O’Niell gets restructured and Dalvin Cook gets traded. 

[nicksaviking]

I'm surprised there has been no talk of Harrison Smith getting cut. Not saying they should, but he's clearly lost a step so I'd think there'd be some chatter.

[Mike Sixel]

Sad, but necessary move. I like they took the whole hit this year. Accumulating assets for next year, including cap space, is the goal for me.

[nicksaviking]

23 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sad, but necessary move. I like they took the whole hit this year. Accumulating assets for next year, including cap space, is the goal for me.

I was trying to think where he might end up. Seems like a team with young WR that could use a veteran safety blanket. First thought was the Jets, but I changed my bet to the Lions. Could have said GB, but I'm not gonna.

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I was trying to think where he might end up. Seems like a team with young WR that could use a veteran safety blanket. First thought was the Jets, but I changed my bet to the Lions. Could have said GB, but I'm not gonna.

I can already see the four TDs against Minnesota if he's a lion 

[gunnarthor]

I think this is the right thing for everyone. He can sign for something somewhere since it's a pretty bad WR free agency crop, maybe for more than what the Vikes were willing to do. And the Vikings can clear his salary and be ready to reload in a year. It also, if nothing big happens, lets Osborn slide into the #2 receiver position and, ideally, take another step up. He certainly had a few games where he looked like a legit #2. 

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I can already see the four TDs against Minnesota if he's a lion 

Big day for the Lions, because I already had Jameson Williams scoring 4 TDs against the Vikings every game he plays against them from here out.