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.