2020 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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per Sid:

JOTTINGS

• Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman on how the team is staying healthy during virtual meetings: “It’s just a matter of staying in communication with the guys and you do it through text, you do it through FaceTime, you do it through team meetings now that we’re having our virtual training, which started about a month ago. We do have a few players that come into the facility to rehab. Current players who are injured are allowed.”

www.startribune.com

Unrest in Minneapolis echoes summer of 1967

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Skol Vikes!!
 

SId: Vikings set standard high on defense despite big change


Since Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer teamed up in 2014 the team has been the best defensive club in the NFC, allowing 1,848 points. The next closest squad is the Seattle Seahawks, who have allowed 1,900 points under coach Pete Carroll.

Last year the Vikings ranked second in the NFC, allowing 303 points, which was topped only by the Bears, who allowed 298.

Still, a lot of people around the club, including Zimmer, felt the team could use a fresh start on defense and that, along with the salary cap, has led to a lot of turnover on the roster.

Spielman said that no matter who starts on defense this season, the expectation is that the defense will be among the best in the league.

“The expectations are always going to be very high,” Spielman said. “Even though we have some young guys coming in we still have a core part of our defense together with Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith, we have [Eric] Kendricks and [Anthony] Barr at linebacker, Danielle Hunter, we were able to sign Michael Pierce in free agency when we lost Linval Joseph. We have a core group of young guys that still are the bread and butter of our defense or the heart of our defense.

“And now we’ll implement that in with some of the young guys that we’ll be bringing in and trying to get them up to speed. But when you have that type of talent on defense you just build around those core guys that we do have.”

www.startribune.com

Vikings set standard high on defense despite big change

Last year the Vikings ranked second in the NFC, allowing 303 points. Still, a lot of people around the club, including Mike Zimmer, felt the team could use a fresh start on defense.
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Skol Vikes!!
 


Let him hold out or trade him. Mattison can hold it down for us. Cook isn't worth it. No RB is. We'd regret the deal immediately after the season when his deal would tie up all of our money to sign other players.
 

this is all about the salary cap. according to various projections, the NFL salary cap will be going down significantly in 2021 due to lost revenue thanks to covid-19.

I have seen estimates that the cap will drop by anywhere from $40-million to $75-million a team. To be fair, there are other people speculating that the NFL could avoid a steep drop in the cap by borrowing against future TV revenue or some other mechanism to mitigate any losses this year - but that would have to be negotiated between the league and the players.

Still, the possibility remains that every team in the NFL could find itself in deep doo-doo when trying to manage the salary cap next year.

Any player who is not signed to a long-term deal this year could be in a much worse negotiating position next year. Cook and his agent know that. so they are trying to put the screws to the Vikes to give Cook a deal now - before the cap goes down. remember - the "franchise tag" designation is tied to the salary cap - so a lower cap figure means less money for a 'franchise player.'

the big question for the Vikes - do they give Cook his deal - and potentially put themselves in a worse cap situation next year. Or tell him no, and potentially go into the season without the guy who is - by all accounts - the player the entire offense is being designed around by new OC Gary Kubiak.
 


Do the Vikes even have any money to give Cook? What happens when he inevitably gets injured and you have all that money tied up in him?

Case study #1 for running backs holding out is LeVeon Bell. He could have earned more money from a better team, but chose to sit out a year and make less money from a much worse team, seemingly out of principle alone. I don’t fault Cook for sitting out. The shelf life of a RB in the NFL is so short. With that said, if I’m the Vikes, I’m calling his bluff and letting him sit.
 

This was inevitable and I don't blame him for trying to get a big contract. The cold reality is that it would be a poor allocation of resources by the Vikings. The only mistake the team made is it should have drafted a RB in the fourth or fifth round.
 

Sorry but, my answer is no to Cook. Mattison or whomever else, will do a 90-95% good of job as Cook did. And that would be good enough.

RB is a position in the NFL that is not going to be a super-star, mega millions position, going forward.


So this all but guarantees that Spielman gives him the extension.
 

The new CBA says if a player doesn't report to training camp, then the player doesn't accrue a year of service. That means Cook would be a restricted free agent. We the Vikings have the right to match any offer. I can't imagine Cook would get a big offer when the salary cap drops.

Moreover, here's a list of RBs scheduled to be free agents next year: Cook, Kamara, Henry, Mixon, Jones, Gurley, Fournette, Drake, Carson, Conner.

There's no way Cook gets anything close to what he wants. He's completely screwed, and he will be lucky to get $6 million per year with the problems the league will face.
 



per Shooter:

Pssst: The Vikings have had only enough salary cap room to offer running back Dalvin Cook an $8 million per year extension, which he won’t accept. Team options: Release a player or ask a player or two to defer salary portions.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Paul Molitor says ‘you’ve got to take your lumps as a high draft pick’

Max Meyer, the University of Minnesota pitcher from Woodbury, was the No. 3 overall pick in major league baseball’s recent draft. It could be a challenge. “I remember I got drilled my first three g…
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Skol Vikes!!
 







howeda7 said:
90%.
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More than likely. And really, why not? Players want to play, the league wants to play, and from a player health standpoint, I couldn't imagine a group of people who would be safer than the players would be at their team facilities and on the football field. This will get done, with some modicum of compromise on both sides.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
More than likely. And really, why not? Players want to play, the league wants to play, and from a player health standpoint, I couldn't imagine a group of people who would be safer than the players would be at their team facilities and on the football field. This will get done, with some modicum of compromise on both sides.
Click to expand...
As with MLB, it's not all about the current situation. It's posturing for the next collective bargaining agreement which isn't far off IIRC. I suspect owners in all major sports will try to squeeze player salaries due to the revenue hit next year for sure and possibly longer.
 

per Sid:

JOTTINGS

• Giving Mike Zimmer a new contract was a no-brainer for the Vikings. The coach’s new deal will keep him with the team through 2023. Assuming the NFL plays this season, it means Zimmer will have a chance to match Dennis Green’s 10 seasons. That would tie for the second-longest tenure in club history behind Bud Grant’s 17.

www.startribune.com

Wolves owner Glen Taylor's local ties saved professional basketball in Minnesota

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Skol Vikes!!
 

per Shooter:

Dalvin Cook must have finally been convinced he had virtually no leverage to hold out from the start of Vikings training camp on Tuesday. If Cook, who turns 25 next month, were not to show up, he would lose a year of eligibility toward unrestricted free agency.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the Vikings would consider trading Cook if they could get a second-round draft pick. The problem is that Cook has had so many injuries, limiting his per-season market value to about $10 million.

Last year, the Vikings were among the NFL’s top eight teams in payroll. This year: 18th.

While the Vikings still need another defensive lineman and offensive lineman, ex-Vikings free agents Everson Griffen and Josh Kline remain unsigned.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s three-year contact extension, reached last week, is estimated to be worth nearly $20 million.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: ‘Normalizing’ baseballs won’t happen at Target Field this season

The Minnesota Twins blasted a major league record 307 home runs last season. At one point last year, there was talk of “normalizing” baseballs by testing them in humidors in certain ballparks. The …
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Skol Vikes!!
 

I don't know if we'd want Kline, but I would think if EG still wants to play football and have some type of role and impact on a team this season ... why not get back on the Viking ship for one more year?

Or do we think we can do better, for cheaper, or whatever?
 

Update - the Vikings' Head Trainer and members of his family have tested positive for Covid-19.

The good news just keeps rolling.
 

per Shama:


Whether Dalvin Cook reports to the Vikings opening of training camp tomorrow is one of the NFL’s trendy stories this week. The gifted running back, after three seasons with Minnesota, wants a new contract presumably paying him $13 million or more annually.

That the Vikings leadership, including general manager Rick Spielman, hasn’t made a deal with Cook and his agent in the offseason indicates how far apart the parties involved appear to be. The Vikings recognize Cook, whose 1,135 yards rushing was 10th best in the league during the regular season last year, is an impact talent, and at 24 years old isn’t even near his peak as a rusher, but there are factors giving them pause including salary cap issues.

Although Cook is the team’s most dynamic player on an offense built for running, he isn’t going to command the NFL’s top salaries for running backs that are reportedly $15 to $16 million. Not only do the Vikings have cap issues, but Cook’s NFL career has been marked by both spectacular performance and injuries that have sidelined him.

Then, too, the Vikings have an NFL caliber starting running back in Alexander Mattison. As a rookie last season playing behind Cook, he rushed for 462 yards and his 4.6 yards per carry was similar to Cook’s 4.5. Mattison may not be as explosive as Cook, but he is a quality runner and was a third round steal from the 2019 NFL Draft.


Skol Vikes!!
 



TruthSeeker said:
Who thinks the NFL season happens? I don't think it will.
Click to expand...
Unless cases and deaths go off to insane levels in the next few weeks, I don't think they'll cancel the season without at least trying it first.

More a question of how many games get cancelled, due to outbreaks and quarentines.
 

and the fun just keeps coming:

Vikings defensive tackle Michael Pierce, the team's Vikings' biggest free-agent acquisition, is opting out of the 2020 season because of asthma concerns. The Vikings signed Pierce, 27, to a three-year, $27 million deal to replace Linval Joseph on the defensive line.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and the fun just keeps coming:

Vikings defensive tackle Michael Pierce, the team's Vikings' biggest free-agent acquisition, is opting out of the 2020 season because of asthma concerns. The Vikings signed Pierce, 27, to a three-year, $27 million deal to replace Linval Joseph on the defensive line.
Click to expand...
DT for the Bears and several guys from the Patriots announced the same thing. I'm sure there will be many more.
 
Last edited:


MplsGopher said:
Unless cases and deaths go off to insane levels in the next few weeks, I don't think they'll cancel the season without at least trying it first.

More a question of how many games get cancelled, due to outbreaks and quarentines.
Click to expand...
It seems the bubble format of the NBA/NHL is the only way to go. As a practical matter, I don't see how football pulls that off. At best, you could pod each division in a city which is 8 bubbles and you'd still have to travel between them 3-4 times.
 

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