Late on Tuesday night, the Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms with a player that they had tried to snag off of waivers during the 2011 regular season, as they signed fullback Jerome Felton to a contract. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
Felton was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2008, and spent three seasons in the Motor City before splitting the 2011 season between the Carolina Panthers and the Indianapolis Colts. Minnesota tried to grab him after the Panthers cut him loose, but the Colts also claimed him and were higher on the NFL's waiver wire list, so they were awarded Felton instead.
Over the course of his four-year NFL career, he has carried the ball just 42 times for 136 yards, and caught 34 passes for 280 yards. He has yet to find the end zone as an NFL player, but it appears that his value is largely as a blocking back, so I guess that isn't terribly surprising.
Now, I'm not ready to start my own Twilight movie marathon or putting Depeche Mode CDs on a continuous loop or anything, but I do sort of wonder what's going on at Winter Park. Going into the off-season, if you had asked me what positions we were set at, I would have said defensive end, running back, and tight end. The three main players we've signed since the start of free agency are. . .a running back (Lex Hilliard), a fullback (Jerome Felton), and a tight end (John Carlson).
I won't lie to you. . .I'm a little confused. I'm sure there's a plan in place somewhere, but if you asked me what that plan was, there's no way I'd be able to verbalize it to you. I hope it becomes a little more clear here in the near future.