Michael Jenkins Takes Pay Cut, Possibly To Save Job

It's getting to be close to cutdown time in the National Football League, and it isn't uncommon to see players taking pay cuts in order to secure themselves a spot on the roster. The Minnesota Vikings are no different, as a player that might have been on the bubble has agreed to a pretty significant drop in pay in the hopes of remaining employed.

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who was second on the Vikings in receptions in 2011 (despite missing the final five games of the season with a knee injury), has agreed to reduce his pay from $2.5 million this season to $1 million, according to Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN. He also reduced his 2013 salary from $2.5 million to $825,000.

As Pelissero points out in his article, both Bernard Berrian and Greg Camarillo took pay cuts prior to cuts taking place last season, and both of them made the roster. Of course, the two of them combined for 16 catches (with Berrian getting outright cut before the halfway point of the season), so maybe the Vikings would have been better off cutting them.

I thought that Jenkins' spot on the roster was in jeopardy prior to Greg Childs' horrific injury. What happened to Childs, however, probably made it more likely that Jenkins would stay on the roster. There have been concerns that he has been slow recovering his burst after that knee injury last season, and Jenkins might have seen the writing on the wall.

Is it going to be enough to save his job with the Vikings? I guess we'll find out in the next couple of weeks.