Vikings Message Board.Com

I know this depends on their play for the 2013 season but this should be fun:

p.s. I didn't include some of the no-namers

2014 Unrestricted Free Agents:
RDE Jared Allen - Unless he beasts out we should let him go. Too much $$ riding here

LDE Brian Robison - Extend mid-season depending on play

UT Kevin Williams - Love you, but this is it for good ol' K-Will

LG Charlie Johnson - Cya. We need to upgrade in the 2014 draft here

WR Jerome Simpson - Same as Jared. Even if Simpson does OK I say let him go

NT Fred Evans - Short extension like maybe two years?

CB A.J. Jefferson - Depth is nice and if he's 4th CB I say do another 1 year with him

CB Chris Cook - Make or break. If he's still at 0 INTs then you gotta let him go. Draft

RB Toby Gerhart - Would be nice to keep around as depth. He's starting caliber but someone else will overpay for Toby.

G/C Joe Berger - Sure? Depth?

DE/DT Everson Griffen - Extend!! Love this dude. He should take over for either Allen or Robison

WR Joe Webb - I get the feeling he's gone. Might not even make 2013 roster

CB Jacob Lacey - Anything is better than Sherels right?

LB Marvin Mitchell - Solid S/T player but I bet he walks

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2014 Restricted Free Agents:

LB Tyronne McKenzie - Extended. Good S/T guy

CB Marcus Sherels - Bye bye

LB Larry Dean - I don't know much about him. Depth is nice here

S Andrew Sendejo - Tough call

RDE Jared Allen - Unless he beasts out we should let him go. Too much $$ riding here

See how he does. If he does well, then most likely someone will horribly overpay him elsewhere and the Vikings will balk. On the other hand, if he has a miserable season this year, then his $ value will fall to a fraction of his current salary and it may be affordable for the Vikings to keep him.

LDE Brian Robison - Extend mid-season depending on play

You don't necessarily get that luxury. If he's doing well, he has no great incentive to sign an extension. It's similar to the Allen situation, except that I really can't see Allen signing a new contract mid-season under any circumstance.

UT Kevin Williams - Love you, but this is it for good ol' K-Will

I really want to see Kevin Williams retire a Viking. I hope that both he and the team do too. If everyone agrees, then they'll find a contract that works for everyone involved. He accepted a pay cut this year, so I think they're on the same page. The only way you really don't want him back is if there are better players at DT on the roster.

LG Charlie Johnson - Cya. We need to upgrade in the 2014 draft here

Yeah, but if he starts in 2012 it may be more prudent to give him a contract offer with low guarantees and cut him in camp instead. The guys fighting for the starting guard jobs this year are all low draft picks and castoff free agents. It's not like the Vikings have someone being groomed for the position.

WR Jerome Simpson - Same as Jared. Even if Simpson does OK I say let him go

That makes absolutely no sense. He's young and won't be commanding a big contract unless he has a monster year. His situation has nothing in common with Allen's.

NT Fred Evans - Short extension like maybe two years?

He's the best NT on the team, which isn't saying much, but until you've found a replacement...

CB A.J. Jefferson - Depth is nice and if he's 4th CB I say do another 1 year with him

Perhaps. Depends on where he ends up on this year's depth chart.

CB Chris Cook - Make or break. If he's still at 0 INTs then you gotta let him go. Draft.

You let him go only if he performs poorly. So far, his performance has been fine.

RB Toby Gerhart - Would be nice to keep around as depth. He's starting caliber but someone else will overpay for Toby.

Hopefully it won't be the Vikings. He's solid, but backup running backs are a dime a dozen.

G/C Joe Berger - Sure? Depth?

If need be. Again, where does he end up on this year's depth chart?

DE/DT Everson Griffen - Extend!! Love this dude. He should take over for either Allen or Robison

This will be a must signing on a par with the signing of Phil Loadholt this year.

WR Joe Webb - I get the feeling he's gone. Might not even make 2013 roster

If he does make the roster, then it would be because he showed something, which might mean it's worth keeping him around. The Vikings wil be drafting more receivers next year, so a non-guaranteed contract offer to Webb hurts nothing.

CB Jacob Lacey - Anything is better than Sherels right?

I think Lacey is less than even-money to make the 2013 roster.

LB Marvin Mitchell - Solid S/T player but I bet he walks

He may not make the roster this year.

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2014 Restricted Free Agents:

LB Tyronne McKenzie - Extended. Good S/T guy

Garbage. Like WR, the Vikings will most likely be drafting linebackers next year.

CB Marcus Sherels - Bye bye

Most likely, yes.

LB Larry Dean - I don't know much about him. Depth is nice here

Depth is nice _anywhere_, but if Dean is considered a valuable linebacker in 2014, the Vikings have some real problems. He too has a chance of not making this year's roster, if Mauti can be healthy and Audi Cole improves.

S Andrew Sendejo - Tough call

Depth only. Going to depend on Robert Blanton, who is a big unknown and could either start or coulg be released if the Vikings decide he's not cut out to be a safety.

Simpson was a NON factor outside of one game last year and I'd much rather get a guy through the draft or promote CP84 to his "#2" spot mid-season

NextQuestion wrote:Simpson was a NON factor outside of one game last year and I'd much rather get a guy through the draft or promote CP84 to his "#2" spot mid-season

You said "even if he does OK" this year. That makes no sense. Why would you not want to make an effort to keep a player who does well for you, barring other issues like character or injury concerns? The Vikings don't have a lot of sure things at WR, including Jennings and especially Patterson.

For Simpson and several others the discussion really is moot until they've completed the upcoming 2013 season. They don't have enough of a track record with the team and there's little urgency in resigning them before the season ends.

I think it's too early to make this sort of determination. How these players perform this year, what the Vikings consider their value going forward, how much money the players are seeking, health, available alternatives, etc. will all need to be considered.

One of the DEs seems likely to be gone but just because Allen's making a fortune at the end of a big contract, I wouldn't assume he'll be too expensive to keep and if he remains the top-notch pass rusher and defensive leader he's been with the Vikings, they should at least explore re-signing him.

I wouldn't make Cook's return conditional on interceptions but on overall performance and particularly on his ability to stay on the field. If he misses significant playing time again, they'd have to consider moving on unless they could re-sign him to a pretty inexpensive deal.

Gerhart's value is underestimated but again, it depends on price.

In each case, it really depends on how they perform this season and what the market value appears to be for their services.

Eli - when I say "ok" I'm talking Michael Jenkins numbers. Like 40 catches, 500 yards, and 3 TDs. You could go younger or cheaper.

Make sense yet?

NextQuestion wrote:Eli - when I say "ok" I'm talking Michael Jenkins numbers. Like 40 catches, 500 yards, and 3 TDs. You could go younger or cheaper.

Make sense yet?

I'd have to see Simpson's stats in context with the games. I mean, if the guy only catches 2 or 3 passes a game but they're big plays that contribute a lot, then why not keep him on board? He's inexpensive and may not even end up being a starting WR.

As for Cook, I'm with those that don't think INT stats alone are going to mean much. In fact, if Rhodes and Robinson become weak links, Cook may not see all that many passes coming his way. I want to see Cook's overall performance plus whether or not he's capable of actually playing a full season without getting hurt. Quite honestly, Cook's health concerns are at the top of my list with him. I think the guy definitely has talent.

I love Jarad Allen and KevinWillams but I wouldn't offer either of them a huge contract with more
than a few years .. I doubt Allen would stay unless he got a huge deal..

Simpson unless he had legimate numbers for a pro this year Bye Bye


to be continued

losperros wrote:have to see Simpson's stats in context with the games. I mean, if the guy only catches 2 or 3 passes a game but they're big plays that contribute a lot, then why not keep him on board? He's inexpensive and may not even end up being a starting WR./quote]

... and if he doesn't end up starting, 40 catches for 500 yards and 3 TD might be pretty good numbers.

Statistical landmarks are useful but on their own, I don't think they're enough determine whether a player should stay or go.

I do too and I hope he shows it for 16+ games this season.

I am keeping Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Joe Berger, and Everson Griffen for sure. Robison? I like him a lot but he will be 31 and I would much rather have Everson and Allen.

Like others have said the season has to play out some before any real considerations can be made, but I do think the Allen/Robison situation is being a bit over simplified. I think it will be reasonably easy to retain Allen and worth doing so if he has another productive season. The guy played the whole year with a torn labrum and still managed double digit sacks and was really good against the run...he even played the pass well. Robison, on the other hand, still hasn't proven that he can be solid for the whole 16 game slate. That seemed to be one of the knocks on him in the past....that he wore down over the course of the season. If you want to sign a 31yr old Robison to a 3 year deal...why not sign Allen to one. And what does the length of the deal really matter when we are talking about guys possibly/likely in their final contracts. Look what happened to KWill and Winfield and countless other vets at the end of their long term deals.

If we are talking about 3 years of production between Allen and Robison...I'll take Gerald. Even if it costs a bit more. If Allen has a huge year(15+ sacks) and some other team offers him a huge contract at 35yrs old, what's the real likelihood that he'd see the end of that deal? The only way I really see Allen leaving is if the Vikes tank this season and he gets an offer from a title contender. He does not strike me as a greedy guy....he wants to win.

I think it's possible to keep all 3 of them...not real likely, but if someone will be looking for a payday it will be Robison and I don't think he is all that. I'm wondering if he even does.

I doubt my perspective will be shared by many others here.....but there it is.

Only my fellow Vikings fans think it's acceptable that Cook has zero INTs. So if we extend him to a big contract we'll look at the numbers and say "Why this much for a guy who's never intercepted a pass"?

NextQuestion wrote:Only my fellow Vikings fans think it's acceptable that Cook has zero INTs. So if we extend him to a big contract we'll look at the numbers and say "Why this much for a guy who's never intercepted a pass"?

First, let's wait until after this season to see if he still has 0 INTs.

Second, interceptions aren't the end-all-be-all of corners. Winfield, for example, has gone six seasons with 1 or 0 interceptions in his career. 10 seasons of 2 or fewer. Ronde Barber had six seasons of two or fewer INTs. I'm not saying picks are irrelevant, but they shouldn't be the end-all-be-all of corner evaluation.

Third, while this is his third season as a pro, he's played the equivalent of 1.5 seasons. Not that you're saying it, but let's keep perspective and those that say that "he hasn't had an interception in three years!" is misleading.

Finally, if he doesn't have a good overall season, we won't be extending him to a "big contract."

What I'm saying is, let's look beyond interceptions in our evaluation. PDs, run support, TDs given up and frequency of throws to his side and opposing QB completion percentage all play a factor.

For a guy who is supposed to be a "cover corner" I think picks are essential. He's ok but not even close to being great.

NextQuestion wrote:For a guy who is supposed to be a "cover corner" I think picks are essential. He's ok but not even close to being great.

He doesn't have to be great. That would just be a nice bonus.

Just out of curiosity, is there someone saying Cook's a great corner?

If he can stay on the field and play well in other aspects of the game, I suspect the picks will come.