The first day of free agency turned out to be a relatively quiet one for the Beloved Purple, as they didn't even receive a visit from any of this year's free agent class. However, they did manage to retain a couple of their own players, as TE Jim Kleinsasser and DE Jayme Mitchell both chose to remain with the Vikings.
Kleinsasser, who has been with the Vikings since he was selected in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft, signed a three-year contract worth approximately $9 million. He's still one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, and I'm quite happy to see that he's staying. Reports are that Kleinsasser had as many as four different offers on the table, but he chose to stay with the team he grew up cheering for. As a fellow Nodak that's seen Kleinsasser play since high school, I'm quite happy he's staying around and will likely finish his career as a Viking.
I'm a bit shocked that the Vikings chose to retain Mitchell. Not because of his talent or ability, but because the Vikings have a bit of a logjam at the DE position, and Mitchell tore his ACL during the pre-season this past year and went on injured reserve. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from that, and to see if he can stand out amongst Ray Edwards, Brian Robison, and the returning Kenechi Udeze for significant playing time at the DE spot.
Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot of news to report on. Apparently the Vikings are the next stop for T.J. Houshmanzadeh if he doesn't sign with the Seahawks, the team he's currently visiting with. (I heard that on the NFL Network. . .unfortunately, I don't have a link to that.) So, we'll have to see how that plays out. I'll be gone for most of the day today at a funeral in Lafayette, LA, but if anything happens in Viking-land, I'm sure that there will be somewhere to talk about it right here. Until then, continue enjoying your weekend, ladies and gentlemen!