2019 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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STrib: Vikings re-sign kicker Dan Bailey to one-year deal

The Vikings, in all likelihood, have their kicker for the 2019 season.

They re-signed Dan Bailey to a one-year deal worth $1 million, a league source confirmed on Tuesday morning. Bailey, whom the team signed to a one-year, $2 million deal after cutting Daniel Carlson in Week 2, made 21 of 28 field goals last season and all but one of his extra points.

His deal includes just $250,000 of guaranteed money, meaning the Vikings could make a kicker switch with few financial ramifications if the 31-year-old should struggle this season.

Bailey can make up to an extra $1 million in incentives, based on his field goal percentage in 2019.

He made his last 14 field goals and extra points in 2018 — while kicking all of them indoors — after a stretch of four missed field goals in three pivotal games against the Packers, Patriots and Seahawks.

Coach Mike Zimmer talked at the NFL combine about possibly adding a specialists coach to the Vikings’ staff this season, which would give Bailey and punter Matt Wile a specific resource under new special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf. If Zimmer found the right person to work with the specialists, he said he’d hope to have the extra coach in place around the time of organized team activities in May.

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-re-sign-kicker-dan-bailey-to-one-year-deal/507353292/

Skol Vikes!!
 

Souhan: Rick Spielman, Vikings playing with fire given their offseason so far

Rick Spielman has a blind spot when it comes to his quarterback’s blindside.

The Vikings general manager has watched spotty offensive line play ruin two of the past three seasons.

To address this glaring need, Spielman has re-signed a linebacker who almost left for the Jets, brought back a defensive lineman who had left to play for the Seahawks, re-signed a kicker and a backup running back and lost a promising guard to New Orleans.

If Spielman had a wart on his toe, he would treat it by taking a cough drop.

The current Vikings roster includes one player who has started an NFL game at guard — Danny Isidora. He has started three — for an offensive line in desperate need of help.

Isidora might develop into a solid player. But the Vikings aren’t trying to slowly develop solid players. They are not playing for 2022. They are trying to win a Super Bowl with an expensive quarterback, a loaded defense and an impressive array of runners and receivers.

The current Vikings offensive line, if they had to play a game tomorrow, would be: Riley Reiff and Brian O’Neill at tackle, Isidora and Aviante Collins at guard and Pat Elflein at center. If they sign free agent Josh Kline, they will have a veteran guard to pair with Isidora but will remain under pressure to add quality in the draft.

The expectation entering the NFL free agency period was that the Vikings would lose linebacker Anthony Barr and use their increased salary cap space to sign a quality offensive lineman, or two.

Instead, Barr was welcomed back and the Vikings whiffed on all of the best free agent offensive linemen, meaning they will need wizardly coaching, dramatic improvement from Isidora and/or Collins and a draft that yields at least one offensive line starter.

http://www.startribune.com/rick-spi...-fire-given-their-offseason-so-far/507388612/

Skol Vikes!!
 


bottlebass said:
The O line is going to ruin another season.
Click to expand...

bingo. We just signed a guy that might be good, but might be another Alex Boone.

Unless some star at safety, TE, or DT (to replace Sheldon R) drop to Vikings at 18, they better pick an OL and then pick another one in second round.
 



bottlebass said:
The O line is going to ruin another season.
Click to expand...

It is just baffling how Spielman has chosen to ignore this for so long. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say if the OL doesn’t play considerably better this year, it’ll be his undoing. Even if he uses their first and second rounders on OL ( which I think he should), that’s a big gamble on rookies, and that’s assuming there aren’t injuries. It seems they are also assuming Elflein will bounce back after a worse second season than rookie season.

I really wouldn’t be shocked if he blows the first pick on a DL (but the class is so deep and somebody “fell” to us!), gets an OL in the second round and thinks that’ll be good enough.
 

forever a gopher said:
It is just baffling how Spielman has chosen to ignore this for so long. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say if the OL doesn’t play considerably better this year, it’ll be his undoing. Even if he uses their first and second rounders on OL ( which I think he should), that’s a big gamble on rookies, and that’s assuming there aren’t injuries. It seems they are also assuming Elflein will bounce back after a worse second season than rookie season.

I really wouldn’t be shocked if he blows the first pick on a DL (but the class is so deep and somebody “fell” to us!), gets an OL in the second round and thinks that’ll be good enough.
Click to expand...

He had the problem when in Miami. Only difference here is the defense is so much better.
 

OG Josh Kline signing with the Vikings is a very solid, if unspectacular addition to the Vikings' offense. He fills a need, a veteran, very good in pass protection, close enough to average in run blocking. He knows the offense the Vikings will run.

O'Neill taking a big step forward, as many OL do in their second years, will go a long ways towards solidifying things. Sure, they're still a few pieces short but the Kline addition fills a major hole with a more than adequate piece.

Elflein really needs to get his sh*t together to lock down the Center position. He needs to be much better this year

EDIT: Damn. I just saw the Saints signed Marcus Sherels. That sucks.
 




per Sid:

Patient Vikings

The Vikings front office has manipulated the salary cap as much as possible to create space to re-sign the top players and also have room for free agents and signing draft choices going forward. According to spotrac.com, they still have $5.5 million in salary cap space.

The only way the Vikings were able to accomplish this was with the talents of Rob Brzezinski, the executive VP of football operations.

General Manager Rick Spielman said that combining the financial side of football operations with the player development side has been hugely important.

“Rob is incredible, the job and what he does with our cap and how we manipulate it,” Spielman said. “He understands what we’re trying to do and accomplish. He is part of the process. As we go through this and we do this move, what are the domino effects? We have a great working relationship.”

The Vikings have seen a number of free agents leave over the past few weeks. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson signed a three-year, $37 million deal with the Browns. Center Nick Easton and running back Latavius Murray signed with the Saints, Easton for four years and $24 million and Murray for four years and $14.4 million. Strong safety Andrew Sendejo signed with the Eagles and guard Tom Compton with the Jets, both one-year deals.

O-line being reshaped

The biggest question is what the Vikings are going to do with the offensive line and how the departures of Compton and Easton will affect those positions.

They made their first big move to answer that question by signing veteran guard Josh Kline (three years, $15.75 million) away from the Titans earlier this week.

Spielman said the team will continue to try to navigate the free-agent market but said fans need to understand the process will last into training camp this summer.

“We’re continuing to monitor the market. We’re going to be patient,” he said. “There are specific things, once Kevin Stefanski was named offensive coordinator and bringing in [assistant head coach Gary] Kubiak and [offensive line coach and run game coordinator] Rick Dennison, you know we have an idea of what type of offense we’re going to run and the traits we’re looking for in offensive linemen. We’re going to be very selective.

“We want to make sure we’re bringing in the guys with those physical traits to be able to do what this offense is going to require them to do.”

The NFL draft is coming up April 25-27, and according to cbssports.com 32 of the top 200 players in the draft are offensive linemen. The Vikings have five picks in the top 200, including Nos. 18, 50 and 81 in each of the first three rounds.

“It’s a very deep draft class,” Spielman said. “I am sitting here now working through some things and getting reports done and once we get together in April after the pro days and what we were able to see in the Senior Bowl, and what we were able to do in the combine, we’ll come up with a [ranking]. It is a deep draft. You can get quality throughout the draft on the offensive line.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...ets-up-rematch-with-michigan-state/507493852/

Skol Vikes!!
 


Kline had a very poor season with Tennessee. His pass blocking grade was as bad as our Guards per pro football focus. I'd say not a better or worse signing just a push to losing Easton. So we have not improved there.

The Vikings gave up an NFL-most 227 quarterback pressures in 2018. Kline allowed 38 total pressures, which ranked him at the bottom of his position across the NFL. According to ESPN, some of those issuies could have been related to a change in scheme.
 

Zimmer with some strong words for Rhodes:

As Xavier Rhodes returns to the Twin Cities next month for the start of offseason workouts, at the beginning of his seventh season with the Vikings, he’ll have some work to do to move beyond a 2018 season that the cornerback said was his hardest in the NFL.

Coach Mike Zimmer effectively said as much during the coaches’ breakfast at the NFL owners’ meetings on Tuesday morning, telling reporters in Arizona that Rhodes “needs to play better,” and that he’ll make sure that happens.

“I just don’t think he played as well as he can play,” Zimmer said. “He needs to play up to his ability level. We’re paying him a lot of money. He needs to play up to that contract.”

Rhodes’ $10.4 million base salary for the 2019 season became fully guaranteed on March 15, and he figures to remain one of the keys to the Vikings’ defense at age 29 this season. Zimmer said on Tuesday morning it’s more about Rhodes returning to his proper technique than about any decline in the cornerback’s ability, and the coach’s prodding of the former first-round pick has helped Rhodes reach two Pro Bowls while earning a first-team All-Pro nod in 2017.

As it relates to last season, however, it’s difficult to separate Rhodes’ slippage on the field from his struggles to stay healthy.

Rhodes battled foot, hamstring and groin injuries all season, missing a pair of home losses against the Saints and Bears and being listed as questionable on the team’s injury report five times. He played only 74 percent of the team’s defensive snaps — down from 90.8 percent in 2017 — as injuries turned his brief in-game absences from an amusing social media meme to a nagging concern. He traded defensive series with Marcus Sherels early in the Vikings’ Dec. 2 loss to the Patriots, playing even after a pregame workout showed his inability to move efficiently because of a hamstring injury that had limited him to a few snaps in practice that week. At the end of the season, Rhodes suggested his attempts to fight through injuries might have been counterproductive at times.

“You can’t control injuries in this game. You just can’t,” he said on Dec. 31. “I tried this season to do the most, but it happens, so I’ve just got to be better at maintaining my composure, not doing too much, maybe I was overdoing it, overworking my body this year, and one injury happened, I was just trying to get back on the field as fast as possible and it caused another one, so maybe that was a lesson learned for me to not do too much when I have an injury lingering.”

http://www.startribune.com/first-st...tract-with-vikings-staying-healthy/507683352/

Skol Vikes!!
 



BleedGopher said:
per Sid:

Patient Vikings

The Vikings front office has manipulated the salary cap as much as possible to create space to re-sign the top players and also have room for free agents and signing draft choices going forward. According to spotrac.com, they still have $5.5 million in salary cap space.

The only way the Vikings were able to accomplish this was with the talents of Rob Brzezinski, the executive VP of football operations.

General Manager Rick Spielman said that combining the financial side of football operations with the player development side has been hugely important.

“Rob is incredible, the job and what he does with our cap and how we manipulate it,” Spielman said. “He understands what we’re trying to do and accomplish. He is part of the process. As we go through this and we do this move, what are the domino effects? We have a great working relationship.”

The Vikings have seen a number of free agents leave over the past few weeks. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson signed a three-year, $37 million deal with the Browns. Center Nick Easton and running back Latavius Murray signed with the Saints, Easton for four years and $24 million and Murray for four years and $14.4 million. Strong safety Andrew Sendejo signed with the Eagles and guard Tom Compton with the Jets, both one-year deals.

O-line being reshaped

The biggest question is what the Vikings are going to do with the offensive line and how the departures of Compton and Easton will affect those positions.

They made their first big move to answer that question by signing veteran guard Josh Kline (three years, $15.75 million) away from the Titans earlier this week.

Spielman said the team will continue to try to navigate the free-agent market but said fans need to understand the process will last into training camp this summer.

“We’re continuing to monitor the market. We’re going to be patient,” he said. “There are specific things, once Kevin Stefanski was named offensive coordinator and bringing in [assistant head coach Gary] Kubiak and [offensive line coach and run game coordinator] Rick Dennison, you know we have an idea of what type of offense we’re going to run and the traits we’re looking for in offensive linemen. We’re going to be very selective.

“We want to make sure we’re bringing in the guys with those physical traits to be able to do what this offense is going to require them to do.”

The NFL draft is coming up April 25-27, and according to cbssports.com 32 of the top 200 players in the draft are offensive linemen. The Vikings have five picks in the top 200, including Nos. 18, 50 and 81 in each of the first three rounds.

“It’s a very deep draft class,” Spielman said. “I am sitting here now working through some things and getting reports done and once we get together in April after the pro days and what we were able to see in the Senior Bowl, and what we were able to do in the combine, we’ll come up with a [ranking]. It is a deep draft. You can get quality throughout the draft on the offensive line.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...ets-up-rematch-with-michigan-state/507493852/

Skol Vikes!!
Click to expand...

Sendejo won’t make the Eagles team, he is that god awful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BleedGopher said:
Zimmer with some strong words for Rhodes:

As Xavier Rhodes returns to the Twin Cities next month for the start of offseason workouts, at the beginning of his seventh season with the Vikings, he’ll have some work to do to move beyond a 2018 season that the cornerback said was his hardest in the NFL.

Coach Mike Zimmer effectively said as much during the coaches’ breakfast at the NFL owners’ meetings on Tuesday morning, telling reporters in Arizona that Rhodes “needs to play better,” and that he’ll make sure that happens.

“I just don’t think he played as well as he can play,” Zimmer said. “He needs to play up to his ability level. We’re paying him a lot of money. He needs to play up to that contract.”

Rhodes’ $10.4 million base salary for the 2019 season became fully guaranteed on March 15, and he figures to remain one of the keys to the Vikings’ defense at age 29 this season. Zimmer said on Tuesday morning it’s more about Rhodes returning to his proper technique than about any decline in the cornerback’s ability, and the coach’s prodding of the former first-round pick has helped Rhodes reach two Pro Bowls while earning a first-team All-Pro nod in 2017.

As it relates to last season, however, it’s difficult to separate Rhodes’ slippage on the field from his struggles to stay healthy.

Rhodes battled foot, hamstring and groin injuries all season, missing a pair of home losses against the Saints and Bears and being listed as questionable on the team’s injury report five times. He played only 74 percent of the team’s defensive snaps — down from 90.8 percent in 2017 — as injuries turned his brief in-game absences from an amusing social media meme to a nagging concern. He traded defensive series with Marcus Sherels early in the Vikings’ Dec. 2 loss to the Patriots, playing even after a pregame workout showed his inability to move efficiently because of a hamstring injury that had limited him to a few snaps in practice that week. At the end of the season, Rhodes suggested his attempts to fight through injuries might have been counterproductive at times.

“You can’t control injuries in this game. You just can’t,” he said on Dec. 31. “I tried this season to do the most, but it happens, so I’ve just got to be better at maintaining my composure, not doing too much, maybe I was overdoing it, overworking my body this year, and one injury happened, I was just trying to get back on the field as fast as possible and it caused another one, so maybe that was a lesson learned for me to not do too much when I have an injury lingering.”

http://www.startribune.com/first-st...tract-with-vikings-staying-healthy/507683352/

Skol Vikes!!
Click to expand...

Zimmer needs to worry about his coaching....which was God awful. He never recovered from the 2nd half of the Saints playoff game.

I guarantee there’s a much larger market for Rhodes the player than there is for Zimmer the Coach.


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Sportsfan24 said:
Zimmer needs to worry about his coaching....which was God awful. He never recovered from the 2nd half of the Saints playoff game.

I guarantee there’s a much larger market for Rhodes the player than there is for Zimmer the Coach.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Rhodes can't stay on the field. Doesn't matter how good you are when you leave 6 games per year early with injury and miss 4 more completely. If you can get a 1st round pick for him, trade him.
 

howeda7 said:
Rhodes can't stay on the field. Doesn't matter how good you are when you leave 6 games per year early with injury and miss 4 more completely. If you can get a 1st round pick for him, trade him.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. When healthy he is very good but he can't stay healthy. If you can get a first round pick or an OL for him I'd do it without even thinking.
 

howeda7 said:
Rhodes can't stay on the field. Doesn't matter how good you are when you leave 6 games per year early with injury and miss 4 more completely. If you can get a 1st round pick for him, trade him.
Click to expand...

Fair points but I’m really not interested in Coach Deflect continuing to throw everyone else under the bus. Again; there a MUCH larger market for Rhodes than there is for Zimmer.


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Sportsfan24 said:
Fair points but I’m really not interested in Coach Deflect continuing to throw everyone else under the bus. Again; there a MUCH larger market for Rhodes than there is for Zimmer.


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Click to expand...

If the market is so good for rhodes he should be easy to get rid of and improve a different aspect of our team.
 


you'd be lucky to get a 3rd rounder for Rhodes. Not sure i would make that trade.
 


Sportsfan24 said:
I think your missing my point.


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Click to expand...

You were commenting more on zimmer than on rhodes and I just took it back to rhodes saying if the market is so good for him take advantage of it.

We aren't trading zimmer.
 

bottlebass said:
You were commenting more on zimmer than on rhodes and I just took it back to rhodes saying if the market is so good for him take advantage of it.

We aren't trading zimmer.
Click to expand...

We also aren’t trading one of the premier lockdown and tackling corners in the NFL either.

Zimmer needs to stop deflecting by tossing folks under the bus. Those players are grown men; if hes cool with it coming back at him.....he should keep it up.

Too your point (its a good one):
Xavier Rhodes
“The most obvious name that people will expect to see in this debate that won’t feature for PFF beyond explaining why he isn’t in the discussion is Minnesota’s Xavier Rhodes. There is no doubt that Rhodes is a good corner, and he has begun to track No. 1 receivers now, but he is just beaten too often for a player who doesn’t offset that with as many big plays in coverage as some others.

Rhodes surrendered 553 yards in coverage last season, three touchdowns, and had significant yardage hidden in the form of penalties, with his nine penalties ranking inside the top 10 among corners, eight more than somebody like Hayward.”
https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-best-cornerbacks-in-the-nfl

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Last edited:

Sportsfan24 said:
We also aren’t trading one of the premier lockdown and tackling corners in the NFL either.

Zimmer needs to stop deflecting by tossing folks under the bus. Those players are grown men; if hes cool with it coming back at him.....he should keep it up.

Too your point (its a good one):
Xavier Rhodes
“The most obvious name that people will expect to see in this debate that won’t feature for PFF beyond explaining why he isn’t in the discussion is Minnesota’s Xavier Rhodes. There is no doubt that Rhodes is a good corner, and he has begun to track No. 1 receivers now, but he is just beaten too often for a player who doesn’t offset that with as many big plays in coverage as some others.

Rhodes surrendered 553 yards in coverage last season, three touchdowns, and had significant yardage hidden in the form of penalties, with his nine penalties ranking inside the top 10 among corners, eight more than somebody like Hayward.”
https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-best-cornerbacks-in-the-nfl

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Click to expand...

I think the hype around Rhodes got to his head. Zim seems to be trying to motivate him. I don't think he's one of the premier corners anymore, maybe he could be again but he can't stay healthy. But he's definitely been one of the hot picks to trade since last season, it's not really my take, I'm just agreeing they should trade him.

Especially with the way the NFL is going with the PI reviews now, Rhodes is going to have d@mn near 20 penalties this season. It won't be pretty.
 

per Sid:

JOTTINGS

• The Vikings schedule features seven games with teams that reached the 2018 playoffs, and five of those are away from home. Besides facing the Bears twice as usual, the Vikings have a home game against the Eagles and road games against the Chargers, Cowboys, Chiefs and Seahawks.

• It’s hard to believe that the Saints signed four former Vikings this offseason in quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, offensive lineman Nick Easton, running back Latavius Murray and punt returner Marcus Sherels. It was reported that the Vikings didn’t offer Sherels a contract. Also on the Saints roster is former Gophers tight end Nate Wozniak.

• The Vikings have $5.1 million in salary cap space, which accounts for the $6.9 million they would pay their draft picks. Fortunately they were able to sign safety Anthony Harris, who had a great year in 2018, to a deal.

http://www.startribune.com/scandal-plagued-1951-ncaa-title-game-at-williams-arena/507891061/

Skol Vikes!!
 

bottlebass said:
I think the hype around Rhodes got to his head. Zim seems to be trying to motivate him. I don't think he's one of the premier corners anymore, maybe he could be again but he can't stay healthy. But he's definitely been one of the hot picks to trade since last season, it's not really my take, I'm just agreeing they should trade him.

Especially with the way the NFL is going with the PI reviews now, Rhodes is going to have d@mn near 20 penalties this season. It won't be pretty.
Click to expand...

Instead of talking sh**t, Zimmer should be focusing on olineman and figuring out why the side of the ball that he coaches and all the money is spent under performed?

He also should be trying to figure out why he was surprised that the O cord he hired who was known for his passing offense......called passing plays?

As you can tell I don’t like bi*tch ass coaches who try to low key deflect blame.


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Sportsfan24 said:
Instead of talking sh**t, Zimmer should be focusing on olineman and figuring out why the side of the ball that he coaches and all the money is spent under performed?

He also should be trying to figure out why he was surprised that the O cord he hired who was known for his passing offense......called passing plays?

As you can tell I don’t like bi*tch ass coaches who try to low key deflect blame.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yeah I get it, you don't like zim. As far as the Oline goes I think it's more on the GM than zim. I mean zim has influence in personnel but most of those decisions are on the GM.
 

bottlebass said:
Yeah I get it, you don't like zim. As far as the Oline goes I think it's more on the GM than zim. I mean zim has influence in personnel but most of those decisions are on the GM.
Click to expand...

My man that’s my point. Zimmer isn’t going to say anything negative about himself or that could have negative ramifications on himself.

He’s all about publicly throwing subordinates under the bus.


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AP: Vikings' Hill gets 4-game ban for PED violation

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Holton Hill has been suspended for the first four games of the season for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

The league announced the punishment on Friday for Hill, who had a promising rookie year with extensive playing time while starters Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes were injured.

Hill started three games after going undrafted out of Texas last year.

Bleacher Report reported last May that Hill failed the mandatory drug test at the combine. Hill later told NFL Network that he sought help for his issues with marijuana.

Hill can participate in all offseason practices and exhibition games before the four-game ban takes effect.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26450011/vikings-hill-gets-4-game-ban-ped-violation

Skol Vikes!!
 

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