Vikings Combine Up Some News Bits
Joe Oberle
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Vikings Territory Breakdown Podcast
The NFL Combine ended last weekend and suddenly there is a little more NFL news to talk about. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell both spoke at the Combine and each made minor ripples in the vast waters of the offseason. (But we media types will create tsunamic speculation waves out of them.)
Kwesi and KOC both reiterated that they want to sign Kirk Cousins, be each one couched it in language that belied the negotiations are not completely under their control. There are rumors out there of Cousins wants two years at $45 mil per or a boatload more and all of it guaranteed or majority ownership or some such fantastical amount. KOC intimated there have been conversations about Cousins’ situation at the Combine , so suddenly, all bets are off.
We won’t know the truth yet for several days, as we are just more than a week from the new league, but KOC expects Kirk, now that he got a whiff of what the market is, to take a look around when the legal tampering period starts next week.
The Vikings also announced the signing of two QB/passing coaches, including former journeyman QB Josh McCown, who eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs with a desperate pass at the end of the game in Arizona. It was a walk-off, fourth down TD pass and a back in to the playoffs for the neighbors to the east. Most Vikings fans have not forgotten—and probably haven’t gotten over it.
In addition, the Vikings released last season’s starting running back Alexander Mattison (which saves them approximately $3.3 million on their salary cap. And the fellas at the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast (Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory and purplePTSD and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com) don’t quite see eye-to-eye on Kwesi and Kevin’s handling of the running back position. Tune in for the fireworks.
