Image courtesy of Vikings.com
Two years after signing a bloated contract, it was time for Mike Wallace to leave Miami.
Apparently, two years after signing a bloated contract, it is also time for Greg Jennings to leave Minnesota, with Wallace as his replacement. The Vikings announced the release of Jennings on Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after they completed a trade bringing Wallace to town.
Jennings, 31, caught 127 passes from multiple quarterbacks in his two years in Minnesota. He produced 1,546 receiving yards and and 10 touchdowns during that time. He also built a house in Minnesota, took on a leadership role, and immediately began his quest to be one of the most generous and approachable players on the Vikings roster.
Despite the addition of Wallace, and Jennings’ 2015 cap hit of $11 million, this move is somewhat confusing. Jennings had reportedly been willing to give the Vikings a more cap-friendly restructure and was the team’s most consistent receiver over the last two years.
A well-connected Vikings reporter, Darren Wolfson, illustrated the confusion on Twitter soon after the move was announced.
The Vikings now have Wallace, Charles Johnson, Jarius Wright, Cordarrelle Patterson, Adam Thielen, Kain Colter, and Donte Foster. This move provides clarity as to exactly how the depth chart is shaping up for 2015, but it also means the Vikings likely won’t eliminate receiver as a possibility in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The full cap ramifications are not really known yet, as a lot depends on how the Vikings designated this release, but I am one Vikings fan that is disappointed to see this move take place. Jennings was a class act, but also a very talented wide out, and nobody else on this roster can get open and do all of the “little things” as well as Jennings does.
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Rough, I'm big fan of Jennings.Top-notch personality, respectable guy, great player.Business is blind sometimes.
very puzzling. did not expect this, a restructure, yes, cut outright, no, especially if he would've agreed to $6M/yr.
Anyone in shock is really in denial. We gave him too much money because we had nobody else at the time. Heck, before anyone knew about ADs problems people were already writing how he needed to restructure after his MVP season. Value wise, his was the worst contract.
He did have a bad contract, but he was willing to renegotiate. 6MM is a totally fair price for a receiver of Jennings caliber. I hate this move.
I loved Jennings and who he was in the community, locker room and on the field. He may not have been a top tier receiver but he made a lot of clinch plays. He also mentored Teddy. He will be missed.
I hope Wallace proves to be a great deep threat and opens up the field for Norv's offense. But this move means we're ditching a guy who has been a class act through and through, on and off the field, and a fine receiver under difficult circumstances, and in his place we're bringing in someone who has proven over the years to be a divisive figure in the locker room. I don't objet to the Wallace move - on the contrary - but I can't understand the Jennings move.
This smells like the crap from the Winfield thing. Look how that worked out. We went from a 10 win playoff team to 5 wins. Most of that because the defensive secondary couldn't hold the lead in situations where they needed leadership.
Now I'm not saying the same will happen with the WR group, but I'm with most of you guys...don't like it!
Yawn. I am somewhat surprised to see someone still grinding the Winfield ax, but I really shouldn't be.
Winfield never played another regular season snap after leaving Minnesota. He was old, injury prone, and finished as an NFL player. To even compare Jennings to Winfield is an insult....to Jennings.
When I talk about "fans" who don't really understand even the basics of football, I am talking about people who spew garbage like this.
I don't expect you to be agreeable because it is quite clear you never are, but (deep inhale) here goes...
I think what CC is referring to is that Winfield accepted a deal that was team-friendly and was sold to him as a way for him to play out his career in Minnesota. It included a huge salary bump if he was forced out of part-time slot duties and had to start on a regular basis. These incentives kicked in because of injuries and a lack of cornerback talent and Winfield had already earned that big pay bump that the Vikings ended up avoiding by cutting him loose. It had nothing to do with how or where he played after he was cut, and everything to do with how a veteran leader on that defense was treated after doing everything (including helping them out with cap space) he could to help the Minnesota Vikings. Treating well-respected veterans like that, and treating Jennings this way, has a potential ripple effect through the fan base and future free agency bids.
This is a reasonable take by ccarterhof and your intelligent response is overshadowed by your unreasonable nature.
I'm normally a very chill individual, Mike Kano, and encourage discussions and disagreements here at VT, but this is still my house and you're starting to wear out your welcome. I won't have one individual insulting our other readers or ruining the collective experience here at VT. You'll find some of the best Vikings fans on the planet right here in these comments sections, some that can even disagree cordially, but you are now getting warning #1 (you don't get two) that you'll be forced to participate elsewhere if you continue down this path.
Feel free to email me if you would like to further discuss our Terms of Use and how you might or might not fit in.
No problem at all. It is your house.
However, I have no use for a forum where I cannot post candid opinions. If you really want to deem what ccarterhof posts as reasonable, and what I post as unreasonable, that is fine. There are plenty of other forums available on the internet, and my posting activity is not meant to stroke the fragile egos of people who post things which would insult the intelligence of reasonable people.
Best of luck to you.
I'm glad we could agree on what's best. Thanks for stopping by.
And don't let the door hit you.
Where, Fran? Where exactly shan't the door be allowed to hit him?
Dammit! But now who will we turn to in order to learn the "basics of football"?
brad childress, he has a new book out, "Huddle 12, Play 11"
Objection: assumes the author can distinguish 'reasonable' from 'unreasonable' people -- with no a posteriori evidence presented.
20/20 hindsight vision is such a wonderful thing.
"Winfield never played another regular season snap after leaving Minnesota." He was cut by a Seattle team with one of the best secondaries in football at the end of training camp and retired the same day. Seattle supposedly tried to trade him and got no takers, not surprising given his age, salary and the timing, but do you know for a fact that no other team was interested in him or that he tried and failed to latch on somewhere else?
"He was old, injury prone, and finished as an NFL player." And yet he was also coming off one of his finest seasons, one in which he had played over 1,000 snaps. At the time, it would have been premature to say that he was finished as an NFL player, especially since he was willing to settle into a part-time role as a slot corner specialist. If you think Winfield couldn't have played better than Josh Robinson in the slot or couldn't have started at some point in place of Chris Cook in 2013, than perhaps it's your understanding of football that is not so deep.
By the way, Kevin Williams was treated much the same way by both Spielman and many of the fans - "He's old, he's done." - and yet he was lucky enough to get signed by a Seattle team that had experienced significant turnover on the defensive line. That sure worked out well for both sides.
Well...didn't mean to cause such a fuss. But ya just never know...I guess
I won't go any further, it looks like Adam and cka2nd have replied nicely. Thanks guys.
Troublemaker
Hate these events. Would rather have Jennings than Wallace. Greg wanted to be here and is a great guy, who knows if Wallace really wants to be here. Especially puzzling if he was willing to take a cut.
Jenning's failed his physical. Vikings said goodbye.
I am somewhat surprised to see Jennings cut. He was a prime candidate for a restructure, even before Wallace was signed. The primary hangup was negotiating leverage for the Vikings. The receiving corp didn't appear viable without Jennings. That all changed when Wallace was acquired.
With Wallace on board, Jennings looked set to man the slot. Apparently, the Vikings decided that Jarius Wright was just as able to man the slot, and at a substantial discount to Jennings. It is hard to argue that decision in an absolute manner.
Jennings will hit is 32 years old this season. His production is all down hill from this point. Wright will hit 26 years old this season. His production is likely ascending. Wright is in a contract year, and the Vikings likely want to have an opportunity to see him on the field to assess what to offer him in a new contract.
The most shocking thing about Jennings being cut is that Greenway is still on the roster, without a salary restructure. Greenway is clearly much closer to the end of his career than Jennings.
The Vikings receiving corp did look crowded when Wallace was added. I thought someone leaving was a possibility. Obviously, Wallace, Johnson and Wright were not going anywhere. Thielen fills a dual role as receiver and special teams guys, and none of the other receivers seemed suited for Thielen's special teams role.
That left Patterson and Jennings. Giving up on a first round pick after only his second year would be ridiculous. If the Vikings couldn't move Patterson for fair compensation, that only left one choice.
An early release will give Jennings his best chance to catch on with a new team. Greg is a class act, and I wish him the best.
I don't really understand why Doogie and others are so shocked about the treatment effectuated upon Mr. Jennings. Did not "Slick Rick" pull this very Papa Bear routine on two other class act players and citizens as well -- Antoine Winfield and Ryan Longwell? In fact, if anyone had the "privilege" of sitting in an Eden Prairie School District PTA Conference with Richard ("Rick") C. and Michele M. Spielman it would be difficult for them not to envision the Slickmeister giving the player a wedgie on his way out the door.
The irony of it is, the disgruntled child-abuser who till-dips from his own charity and is so freaking mindlessly imbecilic that when the cops came to his door he not only admitted to beating his kid with a tree branch but volunteered to give them a video-taped demonstration of how he went about doing it, who actually believes that he's the victim of franchise mistreatment, is making more money than Jennings, is roughly the same age as Jennings and hasn't played football for a year at a position with a much more truncated shelf-life than that of a receiver... well, his roster spot is secure. Because unless you beat your children, slap around your girlfriend, get shot at a nightclub, have been recently tazed by the police or are a drug mule for the Mexican Cartel, your roster spot isn't secure on a "Slick Rick" Spielman managed team.
So out goes the consummate professional who volunteers his time and resources to the community and coaches his kid's Little League team, and in comes the petulant homophobe (and one would think that after what the organization went through involving Kluwe they would be a bit more circumspect about getting involved with a guy whose archived name on Deadspin is synonymous with "gay-bashing") who has been known to scream at his QB and coaches on the sideline when he's not getting the football. Perfect. Sure, all this makes so much more sense than, say, keeping Jennings and drafting a vertical receiver and paying him one-sixteenth of what you now have to pay Wallace.
And this team honestly wonders why they can't get free agents (Clint Boling, Davon House, etc.) to return their calls?
I disliked paragraph 2 so much that I voted thumbs down on this post with which I otherwise agree 100%.
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Carry on.
Glad to hear that Adam. The vitriol that pervaded the joint the last time I hung around here kind of drove me out. Disagreement is fun, but unabashed rudeness isn't my favorite.
p.s. this is Tomb in, uhh, wolves clothing, as it were. I forgot about this WordPress Account.
Good to see you Tomb.
Thank you...you'd be surprised by how little I hear "good to see you." =>
well, we can't really see you, and we can't smell your sphincter, either, so it's a good trade-off. glad you posted
I read a couple of posts from 'Sphincter' and thought to myself, "That guy seems to be a real smartass"
I should have known. . .
It's all true, and I still hate bears.
thanks for that Adam. I was kicked out of DN for somewhat too vigorously supporting Kluwe, though I never dissed any of the commentariat. Given the way things worked out with our punter/ holder, I think I was fully vindicated by events.