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Earlier today, Fearless Leader brought you the news that was first reported by the local Minneapolis beat media: that former Green Bay inside linebacker Desmond Bishop was coming to Minnesota for a visit.
(Seriously, I wrote a post on that before he did. But when I went to save it, it completely deleted. No, really).
Apparently, Erin Henderson will have none of that, thank you very much.
"I'm playing the Mike. I have a chance to play 'Mike' right now," Henderson said after the first day of the Vikings' mandatory veteran minicamp. "And I don't see why I would let it slip out of my hands. That's what my mindset is."
Okay, just to clarify and not be called out on it later, this is what I've said regarding Henderson at the Mike, and bringing Bishop in. In this little diddy right 'chere, I proclaimed the Vikings were pretty much gooned at MLB heading into the draft, and in this little tome after round one I said this, and I was so on the Brian Urlacher love train.
TL;DR: Basically, I've never believed that Erin Henderson was the final answer at the Mike position for the Vikings.
Regarding Bishop, in the comments section of Chris' story I said this:
He’s only 28, so assuming his ruptured hammy is good, I think he’s worth the risk. The financial risk was a lot more for the Packers than I assume it would be for the Vikings, if they were to sign him, so I can see why GB released him. Granted, the hamstring has to be healthy, but with the combination of Rick Spielman and Eric Sugarman, I have no worries that the Vikings will make a bad call on this—if he can play (track record says yes), is healthy (Sugs is the best in this business to make that call), and they can come to terms, I’ll laud the move. If they pass, I’ll be fine with that, too. It’s nice not to have a clown show making personnel decisions anymore.
Most people seem to think like I do, regarding both Henderson and Bishop.
Except Erin Henderson, of course.
Maybe this motivates Henderson to win the job outright. Assuming Bishop is at 100%, and Henderson beats him, that's great news for the Vikings, as Bishop was a solid inside linebacker before he was hurt.
But the more realistic scenario is Bishop comes in, signs a one or two year deal, and is your starting MLB for 2013 and possibly 2014. And if Michael Mauti can stay healthy, he'll be poised to take over when Bishop leaves, leaving Henderson as the odd man out. Currently, Henderson is only on another short term deal, and hasn't impressed in over three seasons with the team.
And quite frankly, he really didn't impress the rest of the NFL, either, as he had virtually no interest as an unrestricted free agent the last two seasons. Henderson, again, is playing on a year long tryout.
The bottom line in all of this is that the 'Mike' linebacker position needs to be upgraded. Whether it's from a pissed off and motivated Erin Henderson or a mercenary for hire in Desmond Bishop, I don't care.
But Erin Henderson sure does.