All Things 2023 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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JimmyJamesMD said:
Not okay with it. Vikings need to do better with the interior line
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The Grim Reacher returns!!

You hit the nail on the head; it's a collective issue, G-C-G, in some capacity, need to get better. With better Guard play on one or both sides, Bradbury is a serviceable player at Center, and probably comes with a high level of comfort for Cousins.

Ed Ingram will be better this year in his 2nd year, and if they can add an upgrade at the other Guard position where Cleveland is, this will arguably be a top 10 OL in the league in 2023. It was actually respectable in 2022; O'Neill and Darrisaw are a pretty damn good bookend foundation.
 


Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The Grim Reacher returns!!

You hit the nail on the head; it's a collective issue, G-C-G, in some capacity, need to get better. With better Guard play on one or both sides, Bradbury is a serviceable player at Center, and probably comes with a high level of comfort for Cousins.

Ed Ingram will be better this year in his 2nd year, and if they can add an upgrade at the other Guard position where Cleveland is, this will arguably be a top 10 OL in the league in 2023. It was actually respectable in 2022; O'Neill and Darrisaw are a pretty damn good bookend foundation.
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Seems like all of the good teams have monster DLs. Vikings can't compete right now with those type of players. Really hoping for improvement from Ingram
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Seems like all of the good teams have monster DLs. Vikings can't compete right now with those type of players. Really hoping for improvement from Ingram
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That's why I'm ok with the Bradbury signing. They need to invest in the DL. I think the struggles with the interior offensive line have more to do with Cousins pocket awareness than anything.

The last time the Vikings spent a pick in the first 3 rounds on a D-lineman was on Hunter 8 years ago, and he was considered a bit of a reach in round 3.

The last time they spent a 1st round pick on a D-lineman was on Sharif Floyd 10 years ago. Prior to that it was Erasmus James 18 years ago. They have not invested top draft picks on defensive lineman in a long time, and it needs to change.
 


so, as I understand the Cousins move - the Vikings are converting a roster bonus into a signing bonus. they are also adding two more void years, allowing the signing bonus to be pro-rated over a longer period and lowering the per-year cap hit. the net effect is that Cousins' cap hit for '23 drops by about $16-million. But, the contract is not extended. '23 is still the last year of the contract. apparently there would be some more dead cap money in '24, but I don't have a clue how all of this "dead cap" stuff works.

I've seen several people claiming that the Vikes appear to be positioning themselves to have maximum cap room for '24.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
so, as I understand the Cousins move - the Vikings are converting a roster bonus into a signing bonus. they are also adding two more void years, allowing the signing bonus to be pro-rated over a longer period and lowering the per-year cap hit. the net effect is that Cousins' cap hit for '23 drops by about $16-million. But, the contract is not extended. '23 is still the last year of the contract. apparently there would be some more dead cap money in '24, but I don't have a clue how all of this "dead cap" stuff works.

I've seen several people claiming that the Vikes appear to be positioning themselves to have maximum cap room for '24.
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This move hurts their cap space for 2024. They want the best of both worlds, to be competitive in 2023 and have a lot of cap space in upcoming years.

Its a bold strategy cotton, lets see if it pays off.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The last time they spent a 1st round pick on a D-lineman was on Sharif Floyd 10 years ago. Prior to that it was Erasmus James 18 years ago. They have not invested top draft picks on defensive lineman in a long time, and it needs to change.
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Thanks for the gentle reminder of one of my earlier "jersey curse" apparel acquisitions. Yes, I bought an Erasmus James Vikings jersey very early in James' short-lived career. That one was only bested by my purchase of an authentic Cardinals Josh Rosen jersey late in Rosen's rookie year. A Henry Ruggs Raiders jersey is among the bunch. A Carlos Gomez Twins jersey is still in the closet as well.

I have a few others. Suffice to say, I've learned to either go with a custom/personalized jersey (not my own name) or just a team polo shirt, or the only other route I would go possibly is a vintage retro, an old team great. For example, for the Vikings I always thought a Joey Browner jersey would be solid; not one very many have, but one everyone knows.
 





GophersInIowa said:
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Good for Murphy to get paid. He was a pretty good player for the Cardinals, but the Cardinals were generally a mess the entire time he was there (and it will likely get worse before it gets better). Good on Murphy for getting out!

Good signing for the Purple!
 

Well, the new NFL League year officially begins at 3:00pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday. So by that point, the Vikings have to be under the cap.

I'm guessing there will have to be some more moves to free up cap space. One way or another, they have to do something with Harrison Smith. O'Neill's contract could also be adjusted.

either way, it could be a "refresh Twitter" type of day waiting for developments.
 

What’s the point in having a cap when you can just make crap up in the contracts? Four void years for Kirk?

And who knows what shenanigans are being played to sign these other guys, with negative cap room in 23.

NFL needs to cancel this silly crap.
 



howeda7 said:
Boo. Last year was as good as he'll ever be. Much rather find a way to get a 2nd round pick and take JMS.
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So instead of the guy we actually did draft in the first round, actually did win the Remington, and who has notably had struggles but did get remarkably better last season …. you want to dump that guy and spend big capital to high-round draft another guy with almost the exact same build and physical abilities, who didn’t win the Remington and wasn’t even awarded the best center in the Big Ten, to start as a rookie.

When we have massive holes all over the place on defense.


Dude, get real
 

Gophers_4life said:
What’s the point in having a cap when you can just make crap up in the contracts? Four void years for Kirk?

And who knows what shenanigans are being played to sign these other guys, with negative cap room in 23.

NFL needs to cancel this silly crap.
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It is remarkable how convoluted and complex the salary cap functions. So much so, I don't bother keeping track. Signing bonuses, roster bonuses, void years, options, incentives, non-guarantee contract, etc all make it beyond my comprehension.

I wonder how it got to that point, who benefits with all the loopholes and how does it affect competitive balance? Feels like at some point there has to be a time to pay the piper, but there always seems to be a way shift the impact to the future.

Someday never comes in the NFL. That is in stark contrast to what the Wild are dealing with in terms of the NHL cap, having cut loose Suter and Parise.

It's created a cottage industry in "capology" and is a talker for sports shows/podcasts. I suppose that's a benefit.
 

Ope3 said:
It is remarkable how convoluted and complex the salary cap functions. So much so, I don't bother keeping track. Signing bonuses, roster bonuses, void years, options, incentives, non-guarantee contract, etc all make it beyond my comprehension.

I wonder how it got to that point, who benefits with all the loopholes and how does it affect competitive balance? Feels like at some point there has to be a time to pay the piper, but there always seems to be a way shift the impact to the future.

Someday never comes in the NFL. That is in stark contrast to what the Wild are dealing with in terms of the NHL cap, having cut loose Suter and Parise.

It's created a cottage industry in "capology" and is a talker for sports shows/podcasts. I suppose that's a benefit.
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The new restructure for Cousins makes for a very light hit on the cap for this year, and $28M in dead cap money in 2024 no matter what they do. The moves they've made to lighten the hit to the 2024 cap, combined with the increase in the cap in 2024 I guess make this a palatable move for the Vikings.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The new restructure for Cousins makes for a very light hit on the cap for this year, and $28M in dead cap money in 2024 no matter what they do.
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Right, no mater what ......... until they invent yet another new thing out of thin air, next year.
 

Gophers_4life said:
What’s the point in having a cap when you can just make crap up in the contracts? Four void years for Kirk?

And who knows what shenanigans are being played to sign these other guys, with negative cap room in 23.

NFL needs to cancel this silly crap.
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It's beyond dumb. Why can't it just be simple - the total dollars spent on a player during the league year counts against your cap, whether it's a signing bonus, a base salary, an incentive, whatever. If you want to back-load contracts (like they do now) so what he's getting paid is more later, fine. But no "void" years BS. If you trade a guy, his contract and thus cap hit goes with him. Have a guy like Matt Ryan (referenced below) that is thus untradeable because of this? OK, don't sign dumb contracts.

There is always a list of long gone players that still are counting against the cap due to contract restructuring. Drew Brees, for example, had $11.5MM in dead cap space for the Saints in 2022. Matt Ryan had $40MM in dead cap space for the Atlanta Falcons. Just dumb.
 

forever a gopher said:
It's beyond dumb. Why can't it just be simple - the total dollars spent on a player during the league year counts against your cap, whether it's a signing bonus, a base salary, an incentive, whatever. If you want to back-load contracts (like they do now) so what he's getting paid is more later, fine. But no "void" years BS. If you trade a guy, his contract and thus cap hit goes with him. Have a guy like Matt Ryan (referenced below) that is thus untradeable because of this? OK, don't sign dumb contracts.

There is always a list of long gone players that still are counting against the cap due to contract restructuring. Drew Brees, for example, had $11.5MM in dead cap space for the Saints in 2022. Matt Ryan had $40MM in dead cap space for the Atlanta Falcons. Just dumb.
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How is it not exactly like the bolded, right now?? How did we get here??

Only thing I can think of is if players want guaranteed money up front in actual cash changing hands, but then don't care how that gets "accounted for" within the league cap structure.

But that's still silly. If you sign a contract with a team that guarantees $X, then that team should have to pay $X over Y years (as dictated in the contract), according to some agreed upon payment schedule, no matter what. Unless traded, then the exact contract, as is, just transfers to that team. Or if the team and player agree to void that contract for a new contract the supersedes it, from that point moving forward.

Those should be the only options.
 



kg21 said:
Aaron Rodgers this morning. He will be a Jet. Not exactly breaking news, but good to hear him say it.

www.yahoo.com

Aaron Rodgers: 'It is my intention to play for the Jets'

The longtime Packers QB said Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show he's ready to move on, but trade compensation is still being determined.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
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So ARog wants to play for the Jets. The Jets are all-in on ARog. Doesn't this now give the Packers more leverage in the situation, and the Jets having to trade more to get him, thus in a roundabout way, hurting ARog's new team?

The smarter move by the Jets would have been to slow-play this. The Pack want him, his ego, and his massive contract gone. As more teams either draft a QB or sign a re-tread (the Andy Daltons, Geno Smiths, Derek Carrs, etc. of the world) for decent money, they are no longer potential suitors. Thus, their competition goes down and the price goes down. But it's the Jets, so why am I surprised?

Cousins appears to be head and shoulders the best QB in the division. If ever there was a year for the Lions to win the division, this would be it. A 9-8 record could win the division.
 

forever a gopher said:
So ARog wants to play for the Jets. The Jets are all-in on ARog. Doesn't this now give the Packers more leverage in the situation, and the Jets having to trade more to get him, thus in a roundabout way, hurting ARog's new team?

The smarter move by the Jets would have been to slow-play this. The Pack want him, his ego, and his massive contract gone. As more teams either draft a QB or sign a re-tread (the Andy Daltons, Geno Smiths, Derek Carrs, etc. of the world) for decent money, they are no longer potential suitors. Thus, their competition goes down and the price goes down. But it's the Jets, so why am I surprised?
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Not really, because the packers have let Rodgers know they don't want him back. The pack can't turn back now with all the things being said recently.

Rodgers just said he's done in Green Bay. He thanked Green Bay, thanks their fans, etc.

I'd say the Jets could wait the packers out.
 

Didn't Rodgers also say that it was contingent on the Jets and Packers working out the compensation? So how much do the Packers ask to trade a player they don't want?

p.s. new league year begins in 5 minutes as I type this. still haven't seen anything new on Harrison Smith.
 

howeda7 said:
Boo. Last year was as good as he'll ever be. Much rather find a way to get a 2nd round pick and take JMS.
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You may be right, but I actually read somewhere that with the new S&C Coach (I think?) and one of the other staff the new regime brought in, the work they did together was a big part of Bradbury's somewhat improved play last year; I wouldn't BANK on it, but it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to improve to this year.

Or so we can hope. Obviously one thing that will help Bradbury significantly is something he's barely had since he got drafted by the Vikings; strong play at the Guard position to help him out.
 

Gophers_4life said:
What’s the point in having a cap when you can just make crap up in the contracts? Four void years for Kirk?

And who knows what shenanigans are being played to sign these other guys, with negative cap room in 23.

NFL needs to cancel this silly crap.
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Cancel it? No. Limit the # of void years? Yes. New England played this game with Brady's contract for years. But you can only kick the can so far.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Well, the new NFL League year officially begins at 3:00pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday. So by that point, the Vikings have to be under the cap.

I'm guessing there will have to be some more moves to free up cap space. One way or another, they have to do something with Harrison Smith. O'Neill's contract could also be adjusted.

either way, it could be a "refresh Twitter" type of day waiting for developments.
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Trade Cook. Draft a 3rd or 4th round RB, to go behind Mattison, build both lines.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Well, the new NFL League year officially begins at 3:00pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday. So by that point, the Vikings have to be under the cap.

I'm guessing there will have to be some more moves to free up cap space. One way or another, they have to do something with Harrison Smith. O'Neill's contract could also be adjusted.

either way, it could be a "refresh Twitter" type of day waiting for developments.
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Will be interesting to see how long it takes for the rest of the transactions.
 



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