2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

A forum for the hard core Minnesota Vikings fan. Discuss upcoming games, opponents, trades, draft or what ever is on the minds of Viking fans!

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
Mothman
Defensive Tackle
Posts: 38292
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Chicago, IL
x 409

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by Mothman »

Texas Vike wrote:Usually this kind of crap is borne out of insecurity. His ego must hurt that we let him walk.
Based on what he said, I think his ego IS hurt but it may not be because they let him walk (he seems happy to be out of Minnesota. He's been criticized for being less productive since leaving the Steelers and it sounds like he attributes that to his surroundings, not himself:
“I’ll show everybody,” Wallace said of joining the Ravens. “I’ve been taking a lot of heat for about three years in a row. So we’ll see about that. I promise I’ll get the last laugh.”
http://www.twincities.com/2016/03/15/mi ... is-tongue/
User avatar
VikingPaul73
Hall of Fame Candidate
Posts: 3371
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:07 pm
x 141

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by VikingPaul73 »

well the fact that even he realizes that he needs to be in the perfect fit to be successful shows that he probably knows his "one trick pony" label is fairly accurate. A good, well rounded WR can be successful in multiple systems.

I think Wallace will be much more productive in Baltimore and a big-armed down field QB like Flacco is perfect for Wallace's game.

He wasn't a good fit in Minnesota - he should just cash his huge check, thank the Vikings, and move along. It's just stupid to publicly trash his former team and QB on his way out of town.

Good riddance.
mansquatch
Hall of Fame Candidate
Posts: 3836
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:44 pm
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
x 117

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by mansquatch »

VikingPaul73 wrote:
He wasn't a good fit in Minnesota - he should just cash his huge check, thank the Vikings, and move along. It's just stupid to publicly trash his former team and QB on his way out of town.

Good riddance.
That is my view of it. Why even open his mouth? This coaching staff went out of it's way to say good things about him. Just moronic to burn the bridge this way. Oh well, we are rid of him, so who cares.

Has anyone heard about movement on Reggie Nelson?
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
Bigwehrm
Starter
Posts: 186
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2013 1:50 pm
x 6

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by Bigwehrm »

What about Will Hill or to big of a risk?
dead_poet
Commissioner
Posts: 24788
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:30 pm
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
x 108

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by dead_poet »

Bigwehrm wrote:What about Will Hill or to big of a risk?
Suspended 10-games
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
dead_poet
Commissioner
Posts: 24788
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:30 pm
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
x 108

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by dead_poet »

Nice to hear about Asiata. He fills his role nicely
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
Bigwehrm
Starter
Posts: 186
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2013 1:50 pm
x 6

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by Bigwehrm »

dead_poet wrote: Suspended 10-games

Had not heard thatvhe had been suspended when I asked the question. Man these guys just can't get it together.
S197
Fenrir
Posts: 12790
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:28 pm
Location: Hawaii
x 662

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by S197 »

Feels like half the team is on 1-year contracts. Either a lot of these guys will "prove it" this year and the Vikings are going to have to break the bank or we'll see a lot of turnover after 2016.
mondry
Hall of Famer
Posts: 8455
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:53 pm

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by mondry »

S197 wrote:Feels like half the team is on 1-year contracts. Either a lot of these guys will "prove it" this year and the Vikings are going to have to break the bank or we'll see a lot of turnover after 2016.
I love it, it gives us so much flexibility down the road not being locked into these types of players for the long term. Every season you're going to have a few positions where you could use a few more bodies and this let's you take a look at some of those guys without giving them 3 years / 12 million to do it. If someone does perform above expectations or looks like they can actually fill the position long term you have the inside track to sign them to a longer deal and because you used so many 1 year deals the ones that don't work out come off the books and you got money to play with.

Essentially it band-aid's a weakness and gives you time to find a replacement in the draft and develop talent without committing resources long term. Given we will have guys like Smith, Rhodes, Floyd, etc coming up for contract extensions I think that's very wise.
S197
Fenrir
Posts: 12790
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:28 pm
Location: Hawaii
x 662

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by S197 »

mondry wrote: I love it, it gives us so much flexibility down the road not being locked into these types of players for the long term. Every season you're going to have a few positions where you could use a few more bodies and this let's you take a look at some of those guys without giving them 3 years / 12 million to do it. If someone does perform above expectations or looks like they can actually fill the position long term you have the inside track to sign them to a longer deal and because you used so many 1 year deals the ones that don't work out come off the books and you got money to play with.

Essentially it band-aid's a weakness and gives you time to find a replacement in the draft and develop talent without committing resources long term. Given we will have guys like Smith, Rhodes, Floyd, etc coming up for contract extensions I think that's very wise.
That's a good way of looking at it but it's a double edged sword as well. Lets say the re-shuffled line works out. You're basically looking at 3/5ths of your O-line up for contract negotiation (assuming Harris pans out over Fusco). That plus Smith, Rhodes, Floyd, etc., means someone's gotta go. Probably means more that one's gotta go.

I think "prove it" contracts are good for resource management as you mention but I also feel like you can take it too far as well. I think I'll feel better if we can extend some of the guys like Smith/Rhodes/Floyd this year with the roughly $17M we have remaining.
mondry
Hall of Famer
Posts: 8455
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:53 pm

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by mondry »

S197 wrote: That's a good way of looking at it but it's a double edged sword as well. Lets say the re-shuffled line works out. You're basically looking at 3/5ths of your O-line up for contract negotiation (assuming Harris pans out over Fusco). That plus Smith, Rhodes, Floyd, etc., means someone's gotta go. Probably means more that one's gotta go.

I think "prove it" contracts are good for resource management as you mention but I also feel like you can take it too far as well. I think I'll feel better if we can extend some of the guys like Smith/Rhodes/Floyd this year with the roughly $17M we have remaining.
I think Smith is most likely their top priority and I think a deal gets done before the years over, not sure on Floyd or Rhodes, I think they have an extra year so they might let that play out a little longer.

I wouldn't worry about things working out better than expected, that's a good problem to have haha. The opposite is much worse, especially if we expect some lineman to be drafted here, why commit to longer deals if our high draft picks are destined to man the position.

I do get what you're saying though, it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
HardcoreVikesFan
Hall of Famer
Posts: 6652
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:28 pm
x 21

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by HardcoreVikesFan »

Something I found very interesting: of the remaining team free agents, all three players play linebacker. At his end-of-the-season presser, Zimmer pointed out that they identified positions to improve at. While I figured linebacker would be an area to improve, I didn't realize Zimmer felt so strongly about it.

Why do I say this? Well, of the team free agent linebackers, only Audie Cole was re-signed. Casey Matthews, Jason Trusink, and Chad Greenway remain unsigned - with no news about their impending contracts. Moreover, Emmanuel Lamur and Travis Lewis were signed immediately when free agency opened. While these players don't scream 'starter,' one has to believe that a linebacker ill be taken early in the draft to compete to become a starter.
A Randy Moss fan for life. A Kevin Williams fan for life.
User avatar
Mothman
Defensive Tackle
Posts: 38292
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Chicago, IL
x 409

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by Mothman »

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:Something I found very interesting: of the remaining team free agents, all three players play linebacker. At his end-of-the-season presser, Zimmer pointed out that they identified positions to improve at. While I figured linebacker would be an area to improve, I didn't realize Zimmer felt so strongly about it.

Why do I say this? Well, of the team free agent linebackers, only Audie Cole was re-signed. Casey Matthews, Jason Trusink, and Chad Greenway remain unsigned - with no news about their impending contracts. Moreover, Emmanuel Lamur and Travis Lewis were signed immediately when free agency opened. While these players don't scream 'starter,' one has to believe that a linebacker ill be taken early in the draft to compete to become a starter.

Interesting observation. I hadn't really taken note of that. You may be right about the draft too. Maybe Zimmer wants to complete a near-total overhaul of the LB corps and have the Vikes draft 3 starters in 3 years at LB.
fiestavike
Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 4959
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:03 am
x 395

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by fiestavike »

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:Something I found very interesting: of the remaining team free agents, all three players play linebacker. At his end-of-the-season presser, Zimmer pointed out that they identified positions to improve at. While I figured linebacker would be an area to improve, I didn't realize Zimmer felt so strongly about it.

Why do I say this? Well, of the team free agent linebackers, only Audie Cole was re-signed. Casey Matthews, Jason Trusink, and Chad Greenway remain unsigned - with no news about their impending contracts. Moreover, Emmanuel Lamur and Travis Lewis were signed immediately when free agency opened. While these players don't scream 'starter,' one has to believe that a linebacker ill be taken early in the draft to compete to become a starter.
Its certainly possible, but I would point out that Trusnik was an injury replacement and Casey Matthews, I believe, was on IR all season. That only leaves Chad Greenway, who is probably still likely to re-sign with the team.

Personally, I think they are taking more or less the same approach to LB they are taking to S and OL. They're trying to address the need with competent free agents so that they don't go into the draft or into the season with the cupboard totally bare.
"You like that!"
-- Cap'n Spazz Cousins
mansquatch
Hall of Fame Candidate
Posts: 3836
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:44 pm
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
x 117

Re: 2016 Vikings Free Agency Thread (Discussion Thread)

Post by mansquatch »

Mothman wrote: Interesting observation. I hadn't really taken note of that. You may be right about the draft too. Maybe Zimmer wants to complete a near-total overhaul of the LB corps and have the Vikes draft 3 starters in 3 years at LB.
Outside of really Greenway, this position has been an eyesore since Ed Mcdaniel was playing. The Leber/EJ/Greenway group wasn't terrible, but they were never great. Recall the horrors of the Foge Fazio era...

So at least from that long term perspective, a complete overhaul is not a total suprise. Up until really two seasons ago, LB was a constant discussion as a top draft need. This is really the first draft where that hasn't been a hot issue in at least 3 years.

The prove it deals are not without their merits. Say for example Loadholt returns to form and has a strong season. The Vikings have the option to up his contract or extend him at any time. A lot of risk/reward in these short deals is the goodwill the team has with these players. As much as Kalil is a goat, the team will have the goodwill with him of paying him his contract this season. They can say "we paid you well beyond what you'd get in the open market, now we are asking you to take a fair deal." Having already given Kalil his money, it isn't a stretch to think he might be more inclined to stay put. If they keep winning, that will make it even easier. Some guys are always going to be greedy and go after the big payday, but the reality is not ever player hits the open market and has a high demand. How many guys like that were there this season? Not many.

For the guys that could command top dollar, it probably behooves the vikings to extend ASAP. This is not uncommon though, most teams do this each year when their premium personnel are in a contract season.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
Post Reply