Posts tagged: kevin williams

Apparently No K-Will Option Exists

July 4, 2012, by 5 comments

Earlier we mentioned that defensive tackle Kevin Williams picked an odd time to bring up his contract situation due to the existence of a two year option that the Vikings could pick up.  The option would pay him over $16 million for the 2013 and 2014 seasons if the Vikings opted in.

The option has long been believed to exist, as evidenced by this Rotoworld list of contract details for the Vikings.

As it turns out, however, the option does not exist.  Instead, following this season the Vikings will no longer be on the hook for bonuses or guaranteed money and, as explained by Tom Pelissero, the team has the “option” to cut him without negative cap consequences.

This revelation gives us a little more insight into why the issue is coming up now, and where Kevin Williams stands with the organization.  Following this season, he will essentially be an at-will employee and the Vikings could cut him at any point.

If Williams gets back to being a dominant force in the middle of the defense this season, then the best scenario for both sides might be a new contract that eats up less cap space (a pay cut) in exchange for guaranteed money (job security).

At any rate, this will be an interesting one to keep an eye on over the next year or so.

K-Will Looks For A Longer Commitment

July 4, 2012, by No comments yet

Kevin Williams has chosen an interesting time to let it be known that he would like a contract extension, especially since he has almost no leverage whatsoever.

Williams is set to make $7 million this year which is a considerable sum considering that both injuries and a lack of production have made Williams a less-than-stellar defensive tackle over the last couple of seasons.  This could technically be a contract year for Williams, but the Vikings could also pick up an option next offseason that keeps him on the roster for two more seasons at an annual salary of over $8 million.

Nobody currently on the roster has been a Vikings longer than Williams, and speaking from his football camp this week he told reporters that he had previously approached the Vikings about making sure he stays with the team, but isn’t sure how the team feels about his future wearing purple.

“They might not feel the same way,” said Williams. “We have a lot of things to take care of between now and then. My main thing is to have a good year and whatever happens after that happens after that.”

Williams seems to recognize that the option built into his current contract gives the Vikings options next offseason, and he knows that he can’t have a bad season if he wants to earn that extension.

“But I don’t plan on doing that, and I know they don’t plan on me doing that,” Williams said. “I plan on having the best year ever, and we can move on from there. You definitely want to show you can still be one of the top guys, if not the top dog in the league.”

“I think I’ve done enough and proven myself enough in this league where — it’s like your mom tells you when you’re little, if she don’t like you enough, another one will,” Williams said. “As long as I go out and demonstrate my abilities and play at a high level, my legacy will write itself. I just try to put it on the field.”

This story won’t exactly set off some sort of crazy domino effect of reports like Percy Harvin’s shenanigans from last month, but Williams is typically an incredibly quiet dude, so him speaking about this at all just illustrates that how his career ends is weighing on his mind.

Obviously, the best scenario for everybody involved is for Williams to go out and have a killer season.  With any luck, that is exactly what will happen.

What Does Fred Evans Signing Mean?

March 17, 2012, by 7 comments

Brett clued you all in on Friday that nose tackle Fred Evans re-upped with the Vikings on a two year contract.  Given that Evans plays the nose position, and the team also has Letroy Guion and Remi Ayodele in the fold, it seems like the Vikings suddenly have an abundance of nose tackles that have underperformed as of late.

The dollar amounts of the Evans deal are not yet know, but I have seen quite a few waves of speculation around the net, so I thought I would take a look at each one of them:

Kevin Williams is on the trading block:  I highly doubt there is much to this.  At least, if the Vikings planned on trading Williams, I don’t think the presence of Fred Evans would have an impact on that decision one way or the other.

Remi Ayodele is on his way out:  This could be possible.  Ayodele is paid much higher than his production warrants.  His assumed involvement in the Saints bounty scandal has made him the second most disliked Viking on the roster… after Chris Cook.

It Means Nothing:  It wouldn’t be a total shock if Evans took a very minimal deal to return to the Vikings and his presence means nothing more than that he will really have to battle during training camp to make this roster.

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.

The Number Is In: $115.3 Million

February 9, 2012, by 6 comments

One of the greatest mysteries surrounding this offseason is how things will shake out one year following the new Collective Bargaining Agreement being put into place.

Kevin Seifert over at ESPN has just about figured it all out… or at least seems close.

The NFL salary cap is not expected to grow much from where it was last year, which was $120 million, and the highest number I have seen is $125 million.

According to Seifert, the Vikings currently have a cap total of $115.3 million, which doesn’t give them a whole lot of spending cash considering they are expected to have a large class of rookies in need of a contract.

The top tier free agents of 2012, such as Vincent Jackson or Carl Nicks, will not get the kind of money they are looking for from Minnesota unless the team figures out a way to clear up significant cap space.  This could happen via releasing expensive veterans and/or restructuring contracts.

Either way, if the Vikings are going to make moves like that, we should start hearing about them pretty soon.  Keep an eye on Steve Hutchinson and Kevin Williams.

OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Run Stoppers

February 9, 2012, by 2 comments
K-Will

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is another installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, and The Offensive Line.]

After covering each position on the offense, it is time to turn our attention towards the defensive side of the ball.

On offense the Vikings experienced no coaching turnover, but that is not the case on defense.  New Defensive Coordinator Alan Williams will have Leslie Frazier and Mike Singletary looking over his shoulder.  Fred Pagac has moved back to his old post in charge of the linebackers.  Defensive Line Coach Karl Dunbar was sent packing, and the enthusiastic Brendan Daly.

Even with the changes within the coaching staff, the Vikings are largely expected to stay the course from a scheme standpoint.  From a personnel standpoint, however, things could be changing.

Defensive tackles are up first.

Let’s take a closer look.

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