The Chiefs continually look for benched QBs who have lost their starting position to better quarterbacks. Their latest acquisition is the Niners Alex Smith who had lost his job to the biceps kissing, tattooed wonder know as Colin Kaepernick.
I was kind of hoping deep down inside that the Vikes would get him in some type of unsuspected trade. No such luck, though Matt Cassel, the man who backed up an injured Tom Brady for one season in New England, will probably be available in the near future. I'm thinking the Vikes will seriously take a look at him as a backup to Christian Ponder.
Speaking of Ponder, Percy Harvin talked a little bit more yesterday about why he was discontent in Minnesota. More than anything, it came down to the Vikings promoting Ponder to the their number one QB without even considering anyone else. Harvin simply has no confidence in him as a QB. He was willing to settle for a lot less in contract demands just to get away from Ponder. Rumors are he agreed to a $25 million deal with only $8 million guaranteed. The Vikings will get Seattle's number one draft pick this season in exchange for Harvin PLUS a third and a seventh pick next season.
It worries me a bit that the only man on the field who could make Ponder look good is no longer a Viking and that the reason he gave was simply that Ponder is not adequate to the task of being an NFL starting QB. Talent recognizes talent or the lack thereof. He didn't like being left to die in the middle with Ponder's horrible passing and he hated even more that Ponder could never see him open even on plays where he was the primary receiver. That he missed so many passes when players were open just compounded all of the other issues.
Sometimes there is a good reason that a player isn't happy. We'll see if he likes his new confines in Seattle better. In the mean time maybe we'll find out the primary reason that Minnesota can't find any "good receivers" is because the QB who throws to ALL of them just isn't any good. Let's face it. We ALL have that suspicion.
In other Vikings news. The Vikings let 36 year-old Antoine Winfield go instead of giving him the nearly $8 million they would have owed him this year. I can't say as I blame them. Winfield is really old for a defensive back and you have to figure his best days are behind him. IF both sides agree, they could always sign him back for less money, which is still a possibility. I still remember the Vikings giving him a long-term deal 4 years back just to make him happy. I said then, they'd probably release him before that deal was up. That's how NFL contracts work.
In brighter news? The Vikings managed to re-sign Phil Loadholt to a long-term deal without placing the franchise tag on him. They ended up saving quite a bit of money in the process. The Vikings also got Adrian's blocker, Jerome Felton to agree to terms. He hasn't signed the deal yet, but that is pretty much a given. THIS is big news and most will probably not even notice it. Peterson had a career year primarily because Felton REALLY knows how to block for Adrian. Without Felton, Adrian would be hurting this coming season.
The Vikes were busy yesterday. They also came to terms with several other potential free agents including Erin Henderson, Jamarca Sanford, and Jerome Simpson. There are a few others they will be working on today.
Keeping what you have that's good is sometimes harder than picking new draft picks. We'll see how many more that the Vikings can come to terms with today.
No comments:
Post a Comment