Good Old Fashioned Irresponsible Speculation: Trade Deadline
The NFL extended the NFL trade deadline to Thursday due to Hurricane Sandy shutting down the league offices, so we got a bonus two days of speculation that will almost certainly end up being anticlimactic.
Leslie Frazier somewhat fueled the fire on Wednesday, however, when he was asked about the open roster spot resulting from Chris Cook’s injury status.
“Without giving too much away, the trade deadline is Thursday, so you want to do everything you can,” Frazier said. “I know Rick (Spielman) and our personnel department is doing everything we can to improve our team and help our team be better. You want to exhaust all avenues in doing that.”
It is suspicious that the Vikings have yet to fill Cook’s spot but it is unlikely that the Vikings make any major moves on Thursday. Still, speculation is fun, so let’s do some of that:
Michael Vick: Some have brought this idea up. I won’t.
Tim Tebow: See: “Michael Vick.”
Steve Smith: Pro Football Talk started this one off by suggesting the Panthers receiver could be an answer to the Vikings passing woes. I don’t buy it. Tell me where an aging receiver with questionable leadership abilities fits into a rebuilding roster.
Dwayne Bowe: The player makes great sense. The draft pick compensation and subsequent contract extension probably wouldn’t.
Ramses Barden: This one is an Adam Warwas special. Tremendous potential (with low mileage) that has been stuck behind Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz in recent years. At 6’ 6” and 224 pounds, Barden could possibly be pried away from a Giants team that seems to view him as more of a luxury than a necessity and lend the Vikings deep game a helping hand.
Toby Gerhart: Sell? That’s right, I said it. The Vikings have gradually been taking more and more of the load away from Gerhart and there are a number of teams hungry for running backs right now. The market is flooded with aging and expensive veteran backs, so perhaps Gerhart would represent a more attractive option to certain teams.
Okay, what off-the-wall speculation do you guys have for me? Only a few more hours to throw something out there!