Aging Veterans

The Vikings have many concerns this off-season. From the secondary to the offensive line. You name it, we need it. One of our problems is that we have a lot of aging players. To make matters worse most are locked up in higher priced contracts. However there are a small few who I think deserve to be back, on reduced pay anyways. Yet there are still more who should probably just be cut.

Ok I will list the player - age - cap hit

KEVIN WILLIAMS - 31 - $7mil

I think Williams should be brought back. He is still well above average at his position, the need is not dire at his DT slot. Kevin wants to return as a Viking and finish out his career here (currently he is under contract for two more years) He was interviewed by the Pioneer Press and had this to say about 2012 and beyond "We're going to see how things go this offseason and hopefully we'll get something done and I can finish here" He will face a challenge though, he is at a dangerous tipping point, but his ethic remains committed "I'm still going to play at a high level," he said. "If you can get it rolling all year, I think, heck, I might have had 10 sacks." Bottom line is, Williams is willing to renegotiate his contract and he can still preform well, bring him back.

STEVE HUTCHINSON - 34 - 6.95 mil ANTHONY HERRERA - 31 - 2.65 mil

I don't think either one of these guys should be brought back. Neither one of them are contributing on a high level and take up considerable cap space. There was a time when we finally had to put Sully on the field, I think that time has come for some of our younger lineman. It's hard to tell how they will preform but we have to find out sometime. Not to mention the cap space could be handy for free agent signings

ANTOINE WINFIELD - 34 - 3 mil

Antoine is coming back from some forgettable years, however he would still be an upgrade to this defense and should be brought back. His salary might become an issue though. There might be a way out of it for the Vikings however, Winfield's contract contains a clause that will reduce his pay if he plays in the dime or nickle slot. This might be a win/win for both sides. In the same article from above Antoine was asked what he would like to do next year, said he would like to play in the nickle. He considers himself more effective from the nickle, and at this point I would tend to agree that is best for him. He ruled out a move to safety.

Here is a link to the article, couple of other good player interviews