Posts tagged: Erin Henderson

Vikings Re-Sign Erin Henderon and Devin Aromashodu

March 24, 2012, by 10 comments
Erin Henderson

(Sorry we didn’t provide any update on this news yesterday – Adam is a under the weather and I was gone all day on a business trip.)

I assume most of you know now that yesterday, the Vikings re-signed linebacker Erin Henderson and wide receiver Devin Aromashodu.

Erin Henderson, who had taken to Twitter to express his frustration with the lack of contract talks with the Minnesota Vikings, was signed to a one-year, 2 million dollar deal. Henderson, considered to be of a top 5 linebacker in this year’s free agency by some, did not play every down last year and still managed to record 70 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He is young, coming out of his first contract and has lots of potential to be great (exactly what Spielman says he is looking for).

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Erin Henderson Takes To Twitter To Express Dissatisfaction

March 17, 2012, by 1 comment

If you visit our Tweet GRIDiron, you will quickly realize that free agent linebacker Erin Henderson is quickly growing unhappy with the Vikings attempts to retain him.

Henderson began the day by stating, “I wish I [could] speak freely on twitter…”

Then, probably against the wishes of his agent, Henderson proceeded to speak freely on Twitter.

Henderson went undrafted four seasons ago, but last year got a chance to start alongside his brother E.J. as the team’s weakside linebacker.  He also pulled some duties in the middle, when E.J. needed to be spelled due to injury.

“What’s crazy is I’m not even asking for big money,” Tweeted Henderson. “All I want is respectable money for what I’m asked to do…”

Henderson clearly plans on continuing to be a starter in the NFL, but it sounds like the toll it takes on his body is worth more to him than the $1.2 million he made in 2011.

“I got a taste of what it means to be a starting [linebacker]. [T]rust me if the money aint right it doesn’t make sense at all…” Henderson continued.

“In a nutshell… market value and franchise value aren’t always going to match,” Henderson said. “If someone can play [three] positions [for you], their value has to go up. … I watched every single [one] of my games from last [year] [ten times] over. I know what I’m worth.”

The Vikings have reportedly been in contact with Henderson’s agent at multiple points throughout the offseason, and they have expressed their desire to keep him on the roster, but there is currently no standing offer out there.

“Not to mention they [haven't] even [given] me an offer….” Henderson lamented on Twitter.

Henderson’s choice to vent his frustrations in a public setting may not be a wise one, and will be even less wise for Rick Spielman to respond in a public setting.

The truth is probably less sinister than some of the conspiracy theories floating around out there at the moment.  The free agency period has been very slow for the linebacker position, and much of the top talent is still available.  By all appearances, Henderson has yet to receive substantial interest from any other teams, and it is hard to blame the Vikings front office for holding tight and waiting to see where the market sets Henderson’s value.

The risk with this approach, of course, is that Henderson will grow so frustrated that he decides to ignore the Vikings moving forward and turns his attention from moving on from Minnesota.  Henderson’s risk, on the other hand, is that team’s will be turned off by his public rants and decide to pursue other talent… of which plenty is available.

Henderson needs to realize he isn’t the team’s only option to fill his shoes.  The Vikings, however, need to realize that solid talent only 25 years old is exactly what this roster needs now, and in the future.

The needs and wants seem mutual, and now we just need to see how the process plays out.

You Asked And I Try To Answer

March 17, 2012, by 5 comments

Friday evening I solicited questions from the audience and I will try to hit as many as I can in this segment.

A few of them were too silly to answer in this post, but I’ll try and match the silliness and reply to them in the comments section.

Here we go.

NORSEMAN66:  Is there going to be a live chat during the draft (each day)?

ADAM:  Yes!  Brett and I plan to host live chats here at VT for every selection of the 2012 NFL Draft and we are way excited!  Barring any last minute major changes, you can consider this a done deal.  One thing I might be interested in, though, is recruiting one or two of you to be a moderator during the chats to help out with the work load.  If you have interest, click the “Contact Us” tab at the very top of the page and let me know your availability that week.

BJOHNNY:  What are your thoughts on Speilman? Is he in over his head, clueless or a crafty genius?

ADAM:  Where is the “other” option, Johnny?  I think Spielman’s approach to free agency makes this year’s Draft even more important to him.  Building through the draft is regarded by almost everyone as the best way to put together a winning football team, but you still have to draft well to see those results.  Let’s wait and see how the Draft and the next few waves of free agency go (and maybe even a football game or two) before judging the approach too harshly.

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Spielman Does Some Splainin’

March 14, 2012, by 5 comments

It has become clear that your average Vikings fan is frustrated with how Rick Spielman has conducted himself in the first 30 hours of so in free agency this offseason, which is his first as General Manager of the Vikings.

Wednesday, however, Spielman explained the team’s approach and strategy while urging the fan base to be patient.

“We’re going to be patient with this,” Spielman said. “We’re going to strike when we feel there’s a player out there that can help us win ballgames. The ownership has always given us the financial backing we need to go get players if we need to get them. But we’re also going to be very patient and prudent as we go through this.”

“I know plenty of our needs are going to be filled through the draft, but we are not done yet,” he continued.  “We are still looking at (unrestricted free agents) as we go along in this process, and we’ll continue to monitor that. There may be a couple guys coming in (for visits) over the next couple of weeks. We’ll continue to add players as we see fit.”

The media pressed Spielman on his conservative approach to free agency.

“I don’t think we’re a player or two away to go out and say you’re going to spend the money that’s being spent on all those players that have gotten contracts early,” he said.  “I think what we’re trying to do, again, is find some players that we think are going to be able to help us win ballgames that are going to contribute and then continually to build this through the draft and keep our draft picks and potentially add more draft picks and keep our roster competitive year in and year out that way.”

Spielman called tight end John Carlson a playmaker while revealing plans to move Letroy Guion to nose tackle, which gives you an idea as to what the thinking was behind those two signings.

Additionally, the Vikings are monitoring the status of Erin and E.J. Henderson, but there is very little urgency surrounding the linebacker position at this point.  As of this posting, not a single 4-3 outside linebacker has signed with a new team, and only a couple low-level middle linebackers are off the market.  Options are still there in this regard, and Spielman may have been wise in waiting for the big money to fly around and get some reasonable contract offers to these guys.

Overall, “patience” seems to be the word of the day.

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.

Things Are About To Happen

March 8, 2012, by 4 comments

Vikings fans are used to being patient.

This team seems to always wait until the very last moment before making transactions.  Whether it signing draft picks, re-signing their own free agents, or jumping into free agency itself, they always keep us waiting.  Heck, one time they waited so much, they forgot to make a first round selection.

Things are expected to start happening this weekend, however, so I want to make sure you are plenty prepared for the action and know what to expect.  Below are the links to my position-by-position breakdown of how I see this Vikings offseason playing out:

The Passers,

The Runners,

The Wide Outs,

The Tight Ends,

The Offensive Line,

The Defensive Tackles,

The Defensive Ends,

The Linebackers,

The Cornerbacks

The Safeties

The Specialists

In the linebackers preview, I project that the team will try hard to retain linebacker Erin Henderson and it appears that they will do just that over the next week or so according to multiple reports like this one.

In the section about the quarterbacks, I predicted that the Vikings will probably bring back Sage Rosenfels to round out their depth chart.  There is a recent rumor floating about that the Vikings and Rosenfels have mutual interest in making his return happen.

In the cornerbacks preview, I mistakenly (undoubtedly due to a lack of research and excess of scotch) thought Marcus Trufant was an unrestricted free agent.  This was not true… but it will be soon.  PFT reports that the Seahawks will release Trufant and his $7.2 million salary soon.  So, let’s just pretend I saw that coming and knew what I was talking about all along, okay?

 

Links Of The Week: Free Agency Starts Soon

March 8, 2012, by No comments yet

Okay, so I know I haven’t been keeping you as up-to-date as I normally like to, but these links should ensure you are all caught up and didn’t miss anything so far this week:

  • Our blogroll has been updated to include another cool Vikings blog.  Check’ em out and tell ‘em who sent you.
  • Could Peyton Manning’s landing spot affect this year’s Vikings draft?
  • Joe Webb is still jumping really high on YouTube.
  • The new Madden video game could, in theory, include either Jared Allen or Percy Harvin on the cover.
  • Unless this is a typo, the “snitch” that spurred “bountygate” was actually a Vikings player.
  • A breakdown of the reasons behind Pro Football Focus’s crush on linebacker Erin Henderson.
  • Chris Cook’s girlfriend testified in court on Wednesday.  Here is a summary of the bizarre testimony that she gave.  He might just be off the hook.
  • Cook’s attorneys argued self defense in court on Wednesday.
  • An argument for a very stiff penalty for the New Orleans Saints.
  • Christian Ponder is preparing (yeah, right) for the possibility of the Vikings drafting another first round quarterback.
  • The Vikings are trying to re-sign linebacker Erin Henderson prior to free agency starting.
  • Some of the key figures involved with the new stadium proposal.
  • Brett Favre says that a referee apologized to him for a missed call in the 2009 NFC Championship game against the Saints.
  • I think some hack blogger has mentioned this before, but gambling is an unpredictable revenue source for a new stadium and could be a sticking point in the proposal.
  • An interesting experiment surrounding the Cris Carter Hall of Fame mystery.
  • Jared Allen takes an even handed approach in answering “bountygate” questions.
  • This mock draft has the Vikings drafting… oh, forget it, you already know.
  • Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.  He is also one of the classiest NFL players of all time.  Any team would be lucky to have a guy like this for as long as Indianapolis had Manning.  So, here it is, your moment of Zen: