Vikings Waive Erasmus James

by Christopher Gates on May 23, 2008 4:21 PM CDT in Minnesota Vikings

Have you ever looked back at the Vikings' 2005 draft class and said to yourself, "You know, if Erasmus James can ever stay healthy long enough to contribute, they might not be a complete disaster?"

Well, have I got some news for you.

The Vikings announced they have waived defensive end Erasmus James, according to the team’s website. One of the Vikings’ two first-round picks in the 2005 draft — receiver Troy Williamson was the other — James was waived/injured after failing to pass his physical. James had battled knee injuries the past two seasons.

I was really hoping that James could eventually come around and be a contributor, but that was probably a bit unrealistic.

So, let's review the Vikings' 2005 draft class, shall we?

7) WR Troy Williamson - Gone, never really contributed.
18) DE Erasmus James - Gone, never really contributed.
49) OL Marcus Johnson - What do you mean "you forgot he was still on the team?"
80) S Dustin Fox - Spent a year on IR and was cut, never played a game for Minnesota. Now plays for the Bills.
112) RB Ciatrick Fason - Gone, didn't do a whole lot, except somehow fool Mike Tice into thinking he was a goal-line back. Currently unemployed.
191) DT C.J. Mosley - Showed some promise in Minnesota. . .and was promptly traded to the Jets for Brooks Bollinger.
219) CB Adrian Ward - Didn't even make it through his first training camp.

Good lord. . .if that's not the single-worst draft class in NFL history, I'd love to see its competition for that title.

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2005 is without a doubt the worst Viking draft ever

I always thought the 1971 draft was the worst but it did have Jeff Wright

by crayzdimon on May 23, 2008 6:23 PM CDT reply actions

I don't remember a worst draft class...

2005 draft was the one where me and a Bud made it up for the draft party. One of the highlights was the huge round of boos for Red McCombs. Then we watched as baffling pick after pick was made. We did think James was a good one though, but boy were we wrong. The ‘05 class for the Vikings has to be rated almost a total bust. First with Troy “Clifford Franklin” Williamson, now Erasmus James, safety Dustin Fox, defensive tackle C.J. Mosley and cornerback Adrian Ward all gone. I wish them success, but it sure didn’t happen with the team that drafted them.

The only player left on the roster is backup right tackle, second round pick Marcus Johnson. The man was beat out of a starting spot by a converted center drafted too early the next year, in Ryan Cook. That doesn’t say much for the 2005 draft.

Erasmus James may clear waivers and the Vikes could place him on IR for the year, but I’ll bet some other team will pick him up. My odds are on Jacksonville to reunite with Mike Tice. They were rumored to be in the DE market all spring anyways. We shall see…

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a Viking to raze a village.

by Luft Krigare on May 23, 2008 7:30 PM CDT reply actions

It seemed great at the time

I was so excited that they chose Williamson and James and Johnson. I thought that was going to be a great draft overall. Sometimes I’m simply wrong, but at least I wasn’t alone. Lots of draft experts loved the Vikings’ draft in 2005. I guess I may as well start calling myself a draft expert so I can get paid to be that wrong.

by Stat Ninja on May 23, 2008 8:03 PM CDT reply actions

I feel sorry for the guy

But that’s some major injury concerns there.

by Robert Rence on May 24, 2008 7:51 AM CDT reply actions

Look on the bright side!

At least Troy Williamson had three or four good plays in his career, a lot of prognosticators thought we should have picked Mike Williams (plus, our not taking Williams helped further Millen’s goal of destroying the Lions, which is always nice).

This draft, at the time, was kinda mixed for me, as I really loved the value on James (much like I had loved the value of Udeze), thought Williamson had higher upside than Williams, and liked Johnson as a developmental prospect. At the time I hated the Fox pick and still do, and as a C4 fan I liked that we got him but thought he came out of school a year too early. But this draft has been a complete and utter turd, the antithesis of how the 2007 draft class is looking after year one, and I hope that we never mess up tis badly again.

by ProspectHound729 on May 25, 2008 3:36 PM CDT reply actions

2005 Draft Class; not useful

The only thing Troy Williamson actually CAUGHT was that fist in the face at that night club.

Worst draft class in many years…...

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by skol4life on May 28, 2008 8:26 AM CDT reply actions

Fason

Is now in Jacksonville, trying out. Mike Tice is trying to get as many players in Jacksonville as possible, which is interesting. Maybe if Williamson and Fason somehow restart their NFL careers Tice will pop back up as a head coach somewhere…

-Chris

ps: Williamson is doing really well in our OTA’s and Minicamp. I assume this is normal and the heartbreak won’t come until an actual game?

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by River City Rage on Jun 7, 2008 1:21 PM CDT reply actions