Okay, so by now you've heard that there was no deal made between the Vikings and the Chargers for wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Well, Jackson can still be traded, but now he's going to miss the first six games of the season rather than the first four, per the terms of the settlement reached a few days ago by the league and the NFLPA.
If what has been going around the internet is true. . .and if it's on the internet, it's gotta be true, after all. . .then I'm really confused by the Chargers' refusal. The Vikings were rumored to be offering the Chargers a package consisting of a 2011 second-round pick, as well as a conditional pick in the 2011 NFL draft, based upon whether or not the Vikings could sign Jackson to a long-term contract. The Chargers, apparently, wanted both Minnesota's second and third-round selections in the upcoming draft.
This is where my confusion comes in.
If the Chargers hold on to Jackson and lose him. . .and, to hear Jackson's agents speak, he is never, ever signing a deal with the Chargers. . .then they'll get a compensatory draft pick for him. However, a compensatory pick isn't going to be any higher than a third-round selection. So, as SI.com's Peter King so succinctly put it on Twitter:
The San Diego Chargers now--likely--have chosen a 3d-round 2012 compensatory pick for VJax instead of a 2d-rd pick in '11. Nonsensical.
Yeah, I don't get it, either. But, you know. . .it's San Diego's loss on this one. Really, it is.
I'm not a draft expert or anything like that, but are second-round selections not more valuable than third-round selections? Seriously, even if the Vikings would have been unable to sign Jackson to a long-term contract, the Chargers still would have upgraded from a third-round selection to a second rounder. But, apparently, that simply wasn't good enough for A.J. Smith and the Chargers, so there will be no Vincent Jackson in Minnesota.
Like I said, this is probably for the best for Minnesota. As nice as it would have been to have Jackson here for those final 12 games, a second and third-round pick AND a $6 million contract for a guy that was going to be here for three months is insane. There are very few wide receivers in the NFL that are worth that, and I'm not sure if Jackson falls under that heading.
In addition to that. . .there's a very real chance that this team could be looking at 0-3 going into the bye week. If this team is 0-3 after next week's game against Detroit. . .a team that hasn't won in Minnesota since Bill Clinton was President and Barry Sanders was toting the rock, a team that they've beaten in 16 of their last 18 meetings, and a team that will be without quarterback Matthew Stafford again. . .then we may well be into full "blow everything up and start over" mode. If that's going to be the case, then there's no need to dump two premium draft picks for a rental.
That's my take on the subject, anyway. I'm surprised that this deal didn't take place, given the compensation that the Vikings were offering, but I'm not terribly disappointed that it didn't happen, either. How do you feel about the whole thing playing out this way?
If there's any more Viking-related news throughout the day, we'll have it right here. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, everyone!