Free Agency

John Carlson To Visit Vikings Wednesday

March 14, 2012, by 15 comments

Alright folks, here it is! The Vikings first real move in free agency.

Adam Caplan, of the NFL Network, has reported that tight end John Carlson will be visiting the Vikings tomorrow (Wednesday).

John Carlson has been with the Seattle Seahawks since 2008, and while has never managed to break through and become an elite tight end, he did have a couple productive years. Unfortunately, Carlson was sidelined all of 2011 with a shoulder injury.

While many may wonder why we are bringing in a tight end of all things, it does make sense. As we’ve said before here on Vikings Territory, with the retirement of Jimmy Kleinsasser and the almost certain (especially after seeing this news) departure of Visanthe Shiancoe, tight end becomes a need for the Vikings. It’s well known that Musgrave wants to implement two tight end sets on offense – something that would be difficult considering the lack of depth at the position.

One thing that leaves me a little confused, though: Spielman has made it clear that his desire is to find young talent as he rebuilds the franchise. Carlson is 28 years old… Only 3 years younger than Shiancoe. Makes me think that maybe they’re simply trying to find a replacement for Visanthe.

When healthy, Carlson’s numbers are comparable to Shiancoe’s and, depending on the price, Carlson could be a great option to immediately fill his hole.

(Side note: Just wanted to let everyone know that my posts may be a little more sparse the next couple of weeks. I broke my finger and recently had surgery to allow it to heal properly. Typing is difficult and takes much longer than regularly. Luckily, we have Adam who did an absolutely awesome job today covering the massive amount of activity due to the launch of free agency. Thanks for understanding. I’ll be back soon!)

Front Office Doesn’t Dive Right In, While Fans Jump From Cliffs

March 13, 2012, by 14 comments

Did you know the sky is falling?

Seriously… look outside your window.  That’s what it looks like when the sky is falling, not to be confused with what it looks like when a giant Teflon roof is falling.

I’ll admit it.  I had high hopes that the Vikings could land cornerback Brandon Carr and wide receiver Vincent Jackson on day one of free agency.  I will also admit, however, that I had in no way anticipated the all-out madness that was day one of the NFL’s free agency period.

Seriously, if I could just have one percent of the money that was tossed around on Tuesday, I would buy all of you season tickets and just name that section “Vikings Territory Seating Only.”

The Vikings are in a rebuilding mode, which will probably span multiple seasons, and their strategy was evident on Tuesday:  We won’t designate too much of our valuable cap space to one player, because no one player can fix what is wrong here.

I’m not saying it will work out for Rick Spielman, and some of these high profile studs will probably continue to play like high profile studs, but to dismiss the strategy as invalid is just plain silly.

The Redskins and the Cowboys have spent enough money in recent offseason’s to make Mitt Romney choke on his caviar.  And where has that got them?

Meanwhile, the Packers haven’t signed an unrestricted free agent in years, and most of them are wearing a big shiny ring right now.  Not only should Vikings fans not feel lonely, they should consider themselves in pretty good company.  The Ravens, Falcons, Patriots, Lions, Giants, and Steelers were all fairly quiet, too.  Let’s face it… the Ravens know how to run a ball club better than the Redskins, so I would much rather see Spielman acting like them instead of Dan Snyder.

In fact, as of this posting only about 14 notable signings have occurred, so there is plenty of players left to spend money on and there should be little doubt that the Vikings can now make their $23 million in cap space stretch further than they would have been able to on Tuesday.  I mean, paying Pierre Garcon $8 million per year makes sense and all, but…

We talked about rumors that the Vikings are interested in offensive lineman Scott Wells and tight end John Carlson.  While no official visits have been reported, it is obvious that Spielman and company are just letting the funny money fly and will take a well-reasoned approach to filling as many of the numerous holes on this roster as possible with quality football players.

So, when the you wake up Wednesday morning and the sun is shining, and you realize the sky has indeed not fallen, get your ass back here to Vikings Territory and we’ll talk some more about the five hundred (give or take) free agents that are still available.

And The Top Receiver Target Is Off The Market

March 13, 2012, by 33 comments

The long anticipated answer to whether or not the Vikings would land wide receiver Vincent Jackson has arrived, and it is sure to cause some grumbling amongst the masses.

Jackson reportedly signed a five year deal with Tampa Bay on Tuesday worth a maximum of $55.55 million, according to Adam Schefter.  $26 million of that is guaranteed.

Wide receivers flew off the shelves on the first day of free agency, and as of this post, the Vikings are not known to have expressed interest in any of them despite their need to stretch the field on offense.

Tight End John Carlson On The Radar

March 13, 2012, by No comments yet

The Vikings got a jump start on the crossroads they knew they would face at the tight end position when the drafted Kyle Rudolph in the second round of last year’s Draft.

This year, they still have to fill some needs at the position, and for now they reportedly have fixed their eyes on former Seahawks tight end John Carlson.

According to this tweet from PFT, the Vikings are not the only team interested in the veteran tight end.  The Colts, Bucs, Bears, Cowboys, and Seahawks have all been in contact while he is set to visit the Chiefs first.

Carlson has never truly lived up to his potential, but it seems most football minds agree that, at the very least, the potential is still there.

Vikings Defer Extra Cap Space

March 13, 2012, by 2 comments

As we had previously mentioned, the Vikings were one of the teams in line to receive an additional $1.6 million in cap space as a result of the Dallas and Washington penalties for dumping cash into the uncapped year.

As it turns out, the Vikings are one of a handful of teams that have opted to not accept that cap space for 2012, and will instead benefit from the award in 2013.

That move wouldn’t have made much sense about four hours ago, but considering the Vikings might lead the league in cap space by the end of the day, I can see their reasoning.

Things are still pretty quiet on the free agency front, folks.

And We Have Interest In (Wait For It)… A Center

March 13, 2012, by 18 comments

As Vikings fans with access to a Twitter account blow up the internet with their, I’ll put this nicely, dissatisfaction with the front office we finally have report of them talking with a player.

You might want to sit down for this one.

Shawn Zobel reports that the Vikings, along with two AFC teams, are “talking to” Packers free agent center Scott Wells.

This is surprising news, especially considering the Vikings gave current starter John Sullivan a hefty contract extension at the end of 2011, but perhaps they envision one of the two starting at guard. 

Wells is not exactly a spring chicken at age 31 and doesn’t play a position of real need, so this one is fascinating if true.

Letroy Guion’s Contract Details

March 13, 2012, by 5 comments

Letroy Guion is a defensive tackle that has flashed plenty of ability but failed to separate himself from the competition despite a golden opportunity in 2011.

The Vikings, however, are apparently sold on his potential and extended him a decent contract on Tuesday that could make him a low-end starter alongside Kevin Williams.

Guion’s contract is worth $9 million over three years.  He received a signing bonus in the amount of $3.565 million.

The money included in this deal suggests that Rick Spielman and Leslie Frazier have high hopes for Guion’s future with the team.  I have to admit, I like this signing, although I was hoping we would be talking about help being brought in from outside the organization by now.