Category: Offseason

City of Farmington has hand-washing tip for coronavirus (COVID-19) — related to Minnesota sports

The city of Farmington Twitter account wanted to inform its readers using a joke about Minnesota sports.

The City of Farmington, Minnesota wanted to remind people to wash their hands as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States and across the world.

What does this have to with Minnesota sports? Well, Farmington’s Twitter account wanted to remind people to wash their hands, as if they’re “trying to scrub away the disappointment of Minnesota sports.”

The city’s account wrote this above the tweet:

“Here’s our tip on preventing the spread of Coronavirus!” The city said in a tweet. “In all seriousness, wash your hands and stay home if you’re sick. Visit the Minnesota Department of Health’s website for information on this virus, and how to prepare and prevent the spread.”

Washing your hands is important, especially in times like these. But trying to scrub away the disappointment of Minnesota sports? That’s a tall order. You might be scrubbing all day. Oh well, at least Minnesotans have the Lynx.

Read this piece by USA TODAY for more on the coronavirus.

CBS Sports projects that Vikings draft ‘top-10 talent’ in DT Javon Kinlaw

If defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw slips to pick No. 25, do you want the Vikings to take him?

In a recent mock draft, CBS Sports has South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw dropping, all the way down to a team that could use more depth on the interior defensive line.

The Vikings were projected to take Kinlaw with the 25th overall pick in the first round of the mock draft.

Here’s what CBS Sports said about the pick:

“Kinlaw sliding to No. 25 overall is unexpected, but it benefits Minnesota. The entire defense needs some attention this offseason in the event that safety Anthony Harris does not return.”

I like this pick, but I think Minnesota has more dire needs that it can fill in the draft. However, Kinlaw seems like a talented player, and could be a big addition for the team’s defensive line.

Kinlaw was a Second-Team All-American nod from USA TODAY in 2019. Kinlaw had six sacks in his final season for the Gamecocks. If he could translate some of his pass rushing success to the next level, that could open up holes on the defensive line for Danielle Hunter.

PFF investigates draft success, and finds Vikings to have drafted well

Pro Football Focus found that the Vikings have drafted well in the past. The Lions on the other hand…

The Vikings have had their share of first-round whiffs like Laquon Treadwell and Matt Kalil.

However, Pro Football Focus did an analysis of each team’s draft success from 2006-2016, and the outlet found that the Vikings have done pretty well when it comes to finding and developing talent.

An easy way to read the graph and tell that the Vikings have been good at drafting is to look at the times the purple line climbs above the straight line. Just by glancing at the graph that way, you can tell that Vikings draftees are usually on the higher end when it comes to possible outcomes. Besides the Vikings, the Packers are also a team that is good at finding draft success. The Bears are average, and the Lions are, well, the Lions.

Will this stop people from complaining about the Vikings’ draft picks? Probably not.

KFAN’s Paul Allen: Seems like it benefits Vikings to extend Kirk Cousins, due to salary cap

“It seems like it behooves you to redo Cousins’ contract, extend the years, get yourself some salary cap money, and then you can thus dabble in free agency,” KFAN’s Paul Allen said.

KFAN’s Paul Allen likes quarterback Kirk Cousins, and he thinks that it benefits the Vikings to extend him.

Cousins’ contract is a $31 million dollar hit to the salary cap for 2020. Extending him could lead to Cousins taking less money this season, in order to sign other players that would otherwise enter free agency.

Here’s what Allen had to say for a segment called Pick 6 Mailbag, where he answered a fan’s question about Cousins:

“It seems like it behooves you to redo Cousins’ contract, extend the years, get yourself some salary cap money, and then you can thus dabble in free agency,” Allen said.

Extending Cousins makes sense regardless of whether you see him as the long-term answer to the Vikings’ quarterback problems. Doing so could potentially free up space in a year where a lot of solid players, like Anthony Harris and Everson Griffen, will require new contracts. It’s also important to sign rookies in the next draft class.

Minnesota radio station suggests trading Anthony Barr

SKOR North suggested trading Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr to free up space.

SKOR North’s Matthew Coller knows that the Vikings need to free up space, and he pointed to a linebacker that he thought wasn’t worth his price.

Coller suggested trading Anthony Barr so the Vikings could have more cap space. Barr is in the top 10 on the team for cap hit next season, per Over The Cap, and he’s coming off a year where he had 1.5 sacks and six tackles for a loss.

“I look at Barr as someone they should make some phone calls for,” Coller said on the Minnesota radio station. “Not because I think he’s a bad player, but I think when you’re cash-strapped you need to look at the value of everything.”

Trading Anthony Barr before June 1 would give Minnesota $2.3 million in cap savings and would create $10.4 million in dead money, per Over The Cap.

Barr’s ceiling has proven to be high, so maybe a team would take a chance on a trade and give up a decent draft pick for him. But would the rookie or bargain signing perform as well as Barr does? It’s hard to say. The linebacker has been lackluster, but his replacement is likely to be not as good.

Bleacher Report lists Vikings as a team that’s destined to disappoint

If the Vikings are successful next season, it looks like they will be proving some people wrong.

Bleacher Report compared the Vikings season-by-season performance to a yo-yo — because the team is so up-and-down.

The outlet picked Minnesota as one of the teams that is “destined to disappoint” next season. The Vikings are coming off a year where they went 10-6 in the regular season and won a playoff game.

Here’s some of what Bleacher Report said:

“It’s all a precarious position without bad contracts considering the Vikings got swept by two NFC North opponents last year and went 1-4 against playoff teams. There isn’t a high draft pick or cap space to fuel necessary changes. While Cousins is stable enough statistically, it always seems like he could do more given the talent surrounding him (such as Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen).”

I’ll say this about the cap space: Minnesota can cut some players and be good enough on the cap to sign rookies and maybe even a free agent or two. We’re going to have to wait and see whether this team proves the doubters wrong or not.

Vikings free agency options: Edge Rusher

Should the Vikings try and sign an edge rusher in free agency?

Minnesota’s starting defensive ends combined for 22.5 sacks last season, but only one of those players is still under contract.

Everson Griffen voided his contract with the team, and will enter free agency. Zimmer seems optimistic that the team can re-sign Griffen, but there are also other options to keep an eye on.

Here are some of those options.

The Texans’ D.J. Reader

Reader’s ability to play both defensive tackle and defensive end provides versatility to a team, especially one like the Vikings. Defensive tackle Linval Joseph might be a cap casualty, so the Vikings could use depth at both positions on the defensive line.

Reader might not command as big of a price as edge rushers like Shaquil Barrett, either. Reader had just 2.5 sacks in 2019, but Pro Football Focus thought there was more to his game this season, giving him an 87.6 out of 100.

The Buccaneers’ Jason Pierre-Paul

Pierre-Paul is coming off a year in which he had 8.5 sacks on a team that is in the midst of a rebuild. It seems like Tampa Bay is a few years away from contending. The Buccaneers have a lot of salary cap room, but Barrett is entering free agency, and Over The Cap listed his 2019 valuation at more than $17.7 million.

He could earn even more than that per year in free agency, so maybe Tampa Bay wants to focus on him, and other players, only to let the 32-year-old Pierre-Paul walk. Another factor: Pierre-Paul’s age might make him more inclined to find a contending team in the free agency market. That team could be the Vikings.

[opinary poll=”do-you-want-the-team-to-resign-griffen-o-Pv4UHt” customer=”usatoday”]

Report: Tight end David Morgan will stay on roster unless Vikings decide to release him

Tight end David Morgan’s contract will toll for 2020 because of his injury situation in 2019.

Tight end David Morgan’s contract should be over, but a source told the Pioneer Press that his contract will toll for 2020 because of his injury situation.

Morgan, a reserve tight end who is considered more of a blocker than a receiver, underwent season-ending knee surgery in October. Prior to getting the surgery, he was on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.

The tight end is expected to be back for 2020 training camp, according to the Pioneer Press.

Morgan has no guaranteed money on his contract for 2020, so the Vikings can still release him with zero financial burden.

Barring a release, Morgan is entering his fifth season with the Vikings, counting last season when he didn’t play. He has 135 receiving yards in his career and one touchdown.

He started six games in each of the last two seasons before suffering the injury for all of 2019. Hopefully, Morgan can come back into his role as a blocking tight end in 2020.

Minnesota running backs considered some of league’s most stable, according to NFL.com

Dalvin Cook’s career year in 2019-20 and depth at running back has NFL.com thinking highly of the position for Minnesota.

NFL.com ranked the running back position across the league in terms of each team’s stability, and Minnesota ranked in the upper echelon.

The category “Stay gold, Ponyboy,” which is in reference to the novel The Outsiders, was used to rank the teams with the most stable running back core in the NFL.

The Vikings were in that category, and here is some of what the outlet said about the choice:

“Behind (Dalvin) Cook is a reliable (and cheap) second-year player in Alexander Mattison, a stellar second-stringer. Minnesota should be OK for the 2020 season, but depending on how they approach Cook’s contract, the Vikings might want to explore cheap alternatives just in case.”

I’m sure this blurb would look a lot different if there wasn’t rumors of Cook needing an extension this offseason, as opposed to next, but NFL.com still considers the position group one of the best in the league, and why wouldn’t it. Cook is coming off a great year, and wants 2,000 total yards next season, and Mattison and Mike Boone are serviceable backups. It’s an easy choice to put the Vikings up high when you’re ranking the running back position.

Should the Vikings try and sign Bryan Bulaga?

If Bryan Bulaga is available, the Vikings should be interested.

Brett Favre, Greg Jennings and many others have gone from Green Bay to Minneapolis in their NFL Journey, and the results have been mixed.

Now, Packers offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga is entering free agency, and he seems like he wants to re-sign with Green Bay. However, the Packers could always go for a tackle they like in the draft and move on.

Bleacher Report recently listed tackle as Minnesota’s weakest link and suggested signing Bulaga in free agency.

So, if Bulaga is somehow available, would he be a good fit for the Vikings? Stylistically, the answer is yes.

Bulaga is a good pass protector, and Minnesota’s strength on the offensive line is run blocking. Bulaga gave up just four pressures in two games against Danielle Hunter, per Pro Football Focus. He also didn’t allow a sack.

Adding Bulaga and putting him at left tackle could greatly help the offensive line. The team could then cut Riley Reiff to save money and possibly re-sign talent on the defense. Kirk Cousins improved in his second year with the Vikings, but imagine what he could become if he had Brian O’Neill and Bulaga at the tackles?