All Things 2022 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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Wally said:
We don't have Burrow as our QB.

First two picks will most likely be defense. Then probably a Guard 3.
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Correct. The more immobile your QB is the better your OL needs to be. That's why our line is such a bad match for Cousins who would be terrific behind a top notch line.
 





GopherWeatherGuy said:
This is why upgrading the defense to just average would make a huge difference this season.
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I keep saying.... people keep bagging on Cousins (who has his shortcomings, no doubt), but I think even if you play each of the last two seasons with a healthy Hunter and Pierce, they probably make the playoffs both seasons. They may not have advanced very far, but it would be a very different conversation.

17 games from Hunter and Z. Smith this season and I think there's zero chance the Vikings don't make the playoffs
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I don't understand why any team would draft any of these QB's in the first round at all.

The talent just doesn't seem to be there. Why hamstring your team by gambling a 1st round pick that one of these QB's MIGHT develop into a Top QB in the next couple of years?

People hate Cousins already, for example. If you don't think one of these QB's are going to be substantially better than a QB like Cousins, why would you waste that pick? Makes no sense. We've established in recent years that you need an extremely high caliber QB to win or to be a big time Super Bowl contender. If you don't think one of these QB's is remotely that guy, it would be dumb to spend that pick.
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I get your point - but that can be a tough sell to the fan base.

"Yeah, we really need a QB, but we're not going to take one this year because we hope we can get a better QB next year."

All I know is that I was reading a mock draft from some NFL writer, and he had the Panthers taking Pickett at #6.

And - there is at least one mock draft out there that has the Lions taking Willis at #2. Hey, it's the Lions - anything is possible.

It only takes one team that sees something in a QB, or thinks they can "fix" them.

as for the Vikes, now that they are committed to Cousins for 2 more years, they may not take a QB in the draft - or if they do, it will be a later-round pick to provide 'competition' for Mond for the #3 QB spot.

But, if the Vikes trade down in the 1st round and get an extra 1st-round pick for '23, I could see them try to move up in the draft next year to get a QB. One early prediction has 5 QB's in '23 who are seen as 'sure-thing' 1st rounders.
 


Vikings' Adam Thielen is getting to know a 'more player-friendly' offense​


The Vikings were only two days into learning coach Kevin O'Connell's new offense when receiver Adam Thielen said the routes are "more player-friendly" and that Kirk Cousins will have more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage.

"There's a lot more feel to [the offense] rather than, 'You gotta do this at this point, at this time,'" Thielen said Tuesday during a break in the team's offseason program. "Not to say there's a wrong way to do it, it's just different [than last season]. Excited about that. … It's definitely an offense that kind of just lets their players do what they do well and go out and beat the defense they're giving us."

Thielen was asked how he thinks Cousins will fit into an offense that's based more on feel and includes more post-snap adjustments that require him and his targets to make the same reads on the fly.

"I don't want to talk too much about that because at the end of the day, I'm a wide receiver," Thielen said. "But I will say this: Kirk feels super comfortable with this coaching staff, with this offense."

Cousins talked last season about not having much freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage. Apparently, that will change under O'Connell, according to Thielen.

"I think there is going to be a little more of, a couple different reads depending on the coverage and then maybe more flexibility for Kirk to make different calls at the line of scrimmage depending on what coverage we're getting," Thielen said. "I think there's a little bit more freedom in his hands to get us in the best position to have success, and that's what you have to do on offense. You have to try to find an advantage somehow."

www.startribune.com

Vikings' Adam Thielen is getting to know a 'more player-friendly' offense

The team is two days into learning new coach Kevin O'Connell's new scheme.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Skol Vikes!!
 



Get ready to pay the man​

Justin Jefferson couldn't lie. He's "for sure" excited about how the financial market for elite receivers has exploded this offseason.

"Excited for them and excited for what I have in store," said Jefferson, who's entering Year 3 of his four-year, team-friendly rookie deal.

The Raiders gave Davante Adams a five-year, $141.3 million deal with $67.5 million guaranteed. The Dolphins gave Tyreek Hill $120 million over four years with $72.2 million guaranteed. And the Bills gave Stefon Diggs a four-year, $104 million extension with $70 million guaranteed.

"Just knowing some of the players that got signed again, I just know that I can have some more great years here with this team," Jefferson said. "So definitely been looking into that and been keeping sight on that. … You just got to do your own thing and follow your own path, follow your own process when it comes to contracts."

www.startribune.com

Vikings' Adam Thielen is getting to know a 'more player-friendly' offense

The team is two days into learning new coach Kevin O'Connell's new scheme.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Skol Vikes!!
 

Hang on to your hats Queen fans! Cook is changing his number from #33 to #4. "They're going to see a version that you've never seen before. You're going to see something special."

Buy your Super Bowl tickets now!!! :p
 

BleedGopher said:

Get ready to pay the man​

Justin Jefferson couldn't lie. He's "for sure" excited about how the financial market for elite receivers has exploded this offseason.

"Excited for them and excited for what I have in store," said Jefferson, who's entering Year 3 of his four-year, team-friendly rookie deal.

The Raiders gave Davante Adams a five-year, $141.3 million deal with $67.5 million guaranteed. The Dolphins gave Tyreek Hill $120 million over four years with $72.2 million guaranteed. And the Bills gave Stefon Diggs a four-year, $104 million extension with $70 million guaranteed.

"Just knowing some of the players that got signed again, I just know that I can have some more great years here with this team," Jefferson said. "So definitely been looking into that and been keeping sight on that. … You just got to do your own thing and follow your own path, follow your own process when it comes to contracts."

www.startribune.com

Vikings' Adam Thielen is getting to know a 'more player-friendly' offense

The team is two days into learning new coach Kevin O'Connell's new scheme.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Skol Vikes!!
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Trade him before its time to pay him
 





howeda7 said:
Calm down. We have him through 2024.
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You think he's gonna play in 2023 if we won't give him a huge contract?

Come on


You can already imaginate it. "Yall know I'm a mega star. After everything I've done for this organization, yall gonna do me like that?!?! Hell no!"
 




kg21 said:
When his time comes, they get rid of Cousins. Problem solved.
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That's still $12.5M dead cap for 2024 if they just straight up release him after the 23 season. But that's probably the only way it's going to work.

Who's going to play QB, then? Mond? Hope whoever is drafted in 2023 works out?
 

Gophers_4life said:
That's still $12.5M dead cap for 2024 if they just straight up release him after the 23 season. But that's probably the only way it's going to work.

Who's going to play QB, then? Mond? Hope whoever is drafted in 2023 works out?
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They can sign him to an extension and trade him after either 2022 or 2023. Or just straight up trade him after this season (without extension) and not be responsible for the dead cap hit. He won't be as valuable in a trade in that scenario, but somebody would most assuredly still take him for more than some magic beans.

With the size of contracts players like Cousins are now signing regularly, the "kicking the can down the road" thing will be extremely prevalent (if it already hasn't become prevalent). I have a feeling Cousins will be dealing with that the remainder of his career. Just now the nature of the business. I find it annoying that it can't just be nice and simple (i.e. the amount you pay a player is their cap hit that year, and you can't delay cap hits to future years). But I suppose it keeps guys like Bryzinski employed.
 

forever a gopher said:
They can sign him to an extension and trade him after either 2022 or 2023. Or just straight up trade him after this season (without extension) and not be responsible for the dead cap hit. He won't be as valuable in a trade in that scenario, but somebody would most assuredly still take him for more than some magic beans.

With the size of contracts players like Cousins are now signing regularly, the "kicking the can down the road" thing will be extremely prevalent (if it already hasn't become prevalent). I have a feeling Cousins will be dealing with that the remainder of his career. Just now the nature of the business. I find it annoying that it can't just be nice and simple (i.e. the amount you pay a player is their cap hit that year, and you can't delay cap hits to future years). But I suppose it keeps guys like Bryzinski employed.
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Cousin's extension has a no-trade clause included.

But even if they traded him after 6/1/2023, this says we'd have $6.25M dead cap in 2023 and $12.5M dead cap in 2024: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/kirk-cousins-9915/
(pre 6/1 trade would then be the whole $18.75M cap hit in 2023)


I suppose you are proposing a new new extension that would take care of these, somehow?
 

Gophers_4life said:
Cousin's extension has a no-trade clause included.

But even if they traded him after 6/1/2023, this says we'd have $6.25M dead cap in 2023 and $12.5M dead cap in 2024: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/kirk-cousins-9915/
(pre 6/1 trade would then be the whole $18.75M cap hit in 2023)


I suppose you are proposing a new new extension that would take care of these, somehow?
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Correct. He has two years left on his deal (with additional dead cap hits after that). IF they wanted to deal him, they could do a sign and trade after 2022, or deal him without an extension, with the assurance of whomever is trading for him that he's getting a new deal (ala Deshaun Watson, Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, etc.). An extension (effectively a new contract, which is the way most extensions work) would likely void the remainder of his current deal and send his cap hits to a new city. The Vikes may get hit with some dead cap money of Cousins, but it's entirely likely they'll make a deal where they won't. Even if they do, it would be under the assumption they're paying a rookie QB contract, and can thus afford some dead cap $. Either way, I can't say I'm overly concerned about it.

As far as the no-trade clause, pretty much everybody that has any leverage has one of those, and it rarely prevents a trade. It just means that player has more leverage with their current team to direct them where they want to go. Can you even remember the last time you heard of a player shooting down all deals so they could stay with their current team? Rarely does a player want to stay where they're not wanted.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
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hyundai-forklifts-for-salef68a5e55dc234396955ad7a75515bd23.jpg
 




GophersInIowa said:
The guy in the middle is Garrett Bradbury, starting center for the Vikings. The photo is a little deceiving, Bradbury is a big guy. He's 6'3", 300 lbs.
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Sure as hell doesn't play like 300, with the way he moves and the way he gets pushed back on roller skates.

Plays like he's 270.
 


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