Posts by Adam Warwas

Less Than A Day

March 13, 2012, by 3 comments

In well under 24 hours the NFL will begin its free agency period, and the Minnesota Vikings have been unexpectedly quiet.

On Monday, they signed Sage Rosenfels to a two year contract that should put him third on the depth chart behind Joe Webb and Christian Ponder.  Other than that, not much was happening.

In fact, pending free agent linebacker Erin Henderson took to Twitter to seemingly let us know that his phone has yet to ring.

He tweeted, “Let’s write a letter. I’ll start it…. Dear Vikings,”

By the time a letter arrived at Winter Park, however, free agency will be well underway and those hoping that Minnesota retains their weakside linebacker better hope they use more modern technology, such as a telephone, to contact Henderson.

The Vikings will forego the chance to tender linebacker Kenny Onatolu as a restricted free agent, as Brett wrote Monday, but they still sound interested in retaining him.

Defensive tackle Letroy Guion is close to signing a contract extension, according to a source in this report, and contract talks were described as “fruitful” on Monday.  No news has surfaced regarding safety Husain Abdullah and his status with the Vikings.

The Vikings are thought to be a team gearing up to be active in free agency when it starts at 3:00 Central Lutefisk Time on Tuesday. 

The top targets talked about are wide receiver Vincent Jackson, cornerback Brandon Carr, and guard Carl Nicks.  These are names we have discussed for quite some time on these pages, and the odds are good that by Wednesday night we will know if the Vikings actually land any of them.  The Vikings were thought to be on a road to disappointment in this regard, but major free agency players such as Washington and Dallas are going to have trouble chasing big money players in light of their punishments handed down by the league for dumping too much money into the uncapped year.

We will be here to cover every last second of free agency, so get all your chores done early on Tuesday… it could be a long and interesting evening.

Vikes To Receive An Extra $1.6 Million In Cap Space

March 12, 2012, by 9 comments

Prior to the signing of Sage Rosenfels, the Vikings were expected to have roughly $23 million in cap space, which is plenty of wiggle room to allow them to be active when free agency kicks off tomorrow.

Today, news broke that the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys have been caught cheating.  They didn’t install a bounty hunter program (that we know of) recently, but they did dump a bunch of money into the uncapped year which the league clearly warned teams not to do.

As a result, the NFL decided to shave the Redskins salary cap by a whopping $36 million, while the Cowboys cap penalty exceeds $10 million.  The NFLPA wouldn’t be happy to see that money just disappear altogether, so the remaining 30 teams that did not cheat will each receive an additional $1.6 million in cap space.

That includes the Vikings.

It also should be noted that Washington was expected to be a major player in the Vincent Jackson sweepstakes, but they now have considerable cap issues that could prevent them from doing so.

In fact, they had to cut safety O.J. Atogwe today, who the Vikings have been previously interested in and who just happens to be married to the daughter of Vikings assistant head coach Mike Singletary.

Rosenfels Will Be Back

March 12, 2012, by 3 comments

Brett and I were just talking about our surprise in the lack of Vikings news happening today.

At last, however, we have reason to believe that the lights are indeed still working at Winter Park.

According to this report, the Vikings have agreed to a contract with quarterback Sage Rosenfels which will keep him in the fold as a tutor to Christian Ponder and Joe Webb.

This is the third time the Vikings have acquired Rosenfels.  In 2009, he was acquired via trade with the Texans and then subsequently traded to the New York Giants.  The Vikings claimed him off of waivers last season after Donovan McNabb was released.

Terms of this deal are not known at this time.

Community Mock: Day Eight

March 12, 2012, by 1 comment

Our community poll has decided that the Jaguars will select defensive end Quinton Coples with the seventh pick of the 2012 Draft.

Today, it is the Miami Dolphins that are on the clock, and it appears like there could be plenty of solid options for a team experiencing plenty of transition.

Place a vote.  Leave a comment which may be used as “analysis” in our community mock draft.  Then, keep tabs on the results by clicking here.

Page Signs Dodgers Deal

March 10, 2012, by 3 comments

As we wait to receive word on which, if any, Vikings free agents are retained prior to free agency starting on Tuesday, there is one guy we can pretty much scratch from the list with certainty.

We had mentioned a while back that safety Jarrad Page attended an open tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  As it turns out, he wasn’t just doing it to kill time.

Reports have surfaced that Page, a once promising young NFL player, has signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers as an outfielder.

Griffin Is Out, Too

March 10, 2012, by 16 comments

Well, I have said all offseason long that I was 51% sure that Cedric Griffin and Steve Hutchinson would be back with the Vikings.

It appears I was 100% wr-wr-wr-mistaken.

As mentioned in the post below this one, guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera have been released by the Vikings and now we know that cornerback Cedric Griffin is a goner, as well.

“It was a tough decision as we move forward and prepare for the upcoming season and the future of our organization,” said Leslie Frazier.  “All three individuals have meant a great deal to the Vikings organization both on and off field over the years. We wish all of them the best and thank them for their service to the Minnesota Vikings.”

The Vikings have cleared roughly $13 million in cap space by making these three moves which is expected to give them over $20 million in cap space going into free agency, which starts this week.

We will continue to monitor this fluid situation, but it appears the Vikings are done making moves for today.

Vikings Release Both Starting Guards

March 10, 2012, by 1 comment

In an effort to shave nearly $10 million from their salary cap commitment, the Vikings will reportedly release starting guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera.  The decision, which plays to the notion that they would like a younger roster, was finalized on Saturday according to multiple reports.

Both players have struggled with injuries and seen their production slip in recent seasons, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if Hutchinson is welcomed back under a greatly reduced contract.  He has stated his desire to play one more NFL season.

The Vikings have in-house options to fill the guard position that include Joe Berger, Brandon Fusco, Charlie Johnson, and possibly Chris DeGeare.  Additionally, there is a lot of talent expected to be available via free agency and the draft.

These moves are sure to fuel speculation that the Vikings would like to sign Carl Nicks.