One "Loose End" Resolved, Others Remain

by Anthony21 on Jul 22, 2009 8:28 PM CDT in Vikings Comment 10 comments

Well, how about some big news this week that doesn't involve Brett Favre? NFL.com reports that Antoine Winfield and his agent met with team officials today to finalize a contract extension. According to Steve Wyche, there are no "deal-breakers" lurking between where the sides currently stand and the finalization of a multiyear deal.

With that offseason "loose end" seemingly resolved -- or damn close to being resolved, at least -- it looks like things just became a little more solidified for the Vikings as training camp approaches. However...

Three draft picks still need to be signed. Seventh-round pick Jamarca Sanford inked a deal in late June and fifth-round pick Jasper Brinkley signed about a week later. But Asher Allen, Phil Loadholt and Percy Harvin have yet to sign, even though about half of the few hundred draft picks in this year's class have inked deals.
And then there's the continuing legal struggles of Pat and Kevin Williams. We'll know by August 7th whether the state court case will wait to proceed until a three-judge panel in federal appeals court hears oral arguments (which will take place on August 18th). The Williamses obviously want the state case heard before the season starts, as they're pushing for some closure by the opening week of the season.
Oh yeah, there's also that one guy in Hattiesburg who is supposedly going to decide this week on his plans for this season. If he's interested in making that decision before training camp, he only has a matter of days remaining. Once he decides, we can scratch this one off the list of offseason "loose ends."

Where do we go from here? Assuming things continue going smoothly for Winfield and the two sides hammer out an agreement soon, I see those bullet points as being the "big three" things that we'll need to see some progress on. For now, though, it's great to see that Winfield will (apparently) remain a Minnesota Viking for the forseeable future.

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Good news! Winfield is the man.

by dsludo on Jul 22, 2009 8:49 PM CDT reply actions

Great news!

Winfield is as important to our defense as the Williams Wall in my mind. He plays the pass and run equally well. I’m hopeful he’ll retire a Viking.

We need to get on signing our draft picks. I know we’re probably waiting to see what our cap space looks like after Favre signs but this needs to get resolved before camp. Loadholt, Allen and especially Harvin should make sizable contributions this year so this needs to be a prioity.

by Cobra312004 on Jul 22, 2009 8:54 PM CDT reply actions

In all honesty, try and find a play where Winfield isn't lockdown!

He’s the best corner in the NFC North, and possibly top 5 in league! Physical, Fast, and Smart! Great corner!

...add #4 to the mix and see what you get... Championship.

by Macdaddy4508 on Jul 22, 2009 9:24 PM CDT up reply actions

Not too worried about the draft picks signings. Very few 2nd and 3rd rounders have been signed and no 1st rounders have outside of Sanchez. Plus, there hasn’t been any news or rumors that any of the Vikings draft picks thinking of holding out or not showing up to training camp. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if Loadholt and Allen get signed soon after Winfield inks his deal, while they wait for other 1st rounders that were drafted behind Harvin to determine the deal he gets.

by vikingfuture8816 on Jul 22, 2009 9:39 PM CDT reply actions

You knew it was going to happen

Sometimes the Vikings take their time, but there are certain moves you know they are going to do, and this was one of them. Winfield is a big part of the defense and what they do. Locking him up made too much sense not to happen. On a team that takes pride in their run defense, Winfield is the perfect fit.

This defense has a lot the pieces in place for the next few years. With Winfield, the entire front seven, plus one, is solid. I like Cedric Griffin on the other side, and Tyrell Johnson looked good too. If the secondary can stay healthy, this could be a great year if you like defense.

by newmexvike on Jul 22, 2009 10:01 PM CDT reply actions

My thoughts:

1) We sign all draft picks with Percy holding out untill next Thursday or so. His agent is known for being a last minute negotiator next to that sack of slime Rosenhaus.

2) Get used to the idea of not having our Wall around for the 1st four weeks. I really can’t see the judge arguing that state laws trump the CBA. I base this solely on the can of worms it would open up for all professional sports. Drug testing would have to abide by each states individual laws. This would be a nightmare to enforce and give some teams perhaps an advantage.

3) Favre will either sign this Friday or Sunday. I like Sunday as it would presumably be after his final workout of the week and we all know how Favre news seems to materialize out of nowhere on Sundays.

SKOL

by Jepp The Viking on Jul 23, 2009 10:20 AM CDT reply actions

#2 thought is a nice thought, but...

IMHO, the can of worms was already opened by the NFL pushing their suspension and forcing the Williams boys to test the Constitutionality of the rule. If the League just gave them a tongue lashing about suppliments and then vowed to work on higher levels of support and transparency in their information on different drugs and suppliments (recall that it was tough to get anybody to answer the hotline), therefore taking some of the blame, seeing as they had tested other athletes who had taken StarCaps but hadn’t suspended them, then this issue wouldn’t be taken into account at this time…
The fact that the rules will now become a nightmare to enforce is irrelevant to the Constitutionality of the law, and the NFL stepped in it big time, and dragged every other American sport governing board into this pile with them…

Thankfully, the ruling on this case will have NO BEARING on athletes caught with illegal substances… It will, however, make legal performance enhancing drugs much more difficult to ban.

As I said before, the NFL should have slapped them on the wrists and gotten on with things, because NEITHER MAN HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF USING A PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG, they were found with a banned “masking agent” that was determined to have been illegally blended into an over-the-counter dietary suppliment that the NFL knew was dirty but didn’t tell anybody…

This is a bad news deal, and I blame the NFL…

by ctowner35 on Jul 23, 2009 2:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Allen Signed...

Vikings.com has Allen signed as of this morning…

The winfield extension has me wondering if that means that the Favre stuff is all figured out, and the team now knows what kind of cap room they have in terms of signing Antione so now a deal can get done because the Favre stuff is already done…

by ctowner35 on Jul 23, 2009 1:09 PM CDT reply actions

farve emotionally conflicted?

ESPN is reporting that Farve is conflicted about needing to make a decision. A number of Vikings’ stars have been calling him / sending texts encouraging him to join the Vikings.

Suppossedly his arm feels fine, but he doesn’t want to screw his legacy by failing (I.e. Not holding up to the rigors of a full season).

Will Fear of Failure really be what keeps Farve out of Purple? In my opinion the article seems sketchy, but is worth a read on ESPN’s main page.

by DelawareBerserker on Jul 23, 2009 1:51 PM CDT via mobile reply actions