Spielman Talks About Winfield’s Future

Rick Spielman has done a great job of being one hundred percent non-committal on about every single subject this offseason.  Thursday, he did such a good job of this that he even managed to become non-committal about something that the team had previously been pretty definitive about.

The Vikings have numerous troubles at the cornerback position, so I am surprised that this is the year that Spielman is willing to acknowledge the idea of moving Antoine Winfield to safety.

 “We’ve talked about that a little bit,” Spielman said. “But we still feel that he has the quickness and effective style to be an effective ‘nick’ (nickel cornerback) as well. Antoine has been a very smart player and been a great player for us since he’s come in. But also you have the age concerns a little bit and the durability concerns – which is normal for a player his age.”

“He was playing good outside last year, but I just think as a guy gets older, his roles change,” Spielman said. “Antoine is still an excellent football player. What that role is has yet to be determined. That’s what the coaches do.”

In January, Antoine Winfield made it very clear that he has no interest in moving to safety.  I, personally, think it would be a mistake to move him away from where he has proven to be most productive, the nickel position.

Still, the fact that a Vikings official is publicly discussing the idea makes it seem like a slight possibility.

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