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In 2014, newly hired coach Mike Zimmer used his first draft pick on UCLA LB Anthony Barr. With as well as Barr played his first couple seasons in Minnesota, most folks assumed Barr would be in purple for most, if not all, of his career.
That doesn’t seem to be the case, though. His last two seasons have been somewhat inconsistent, and the two sides could never come to an agreement on a contract extension, although the Vikings did exercise their fifth year option on him. So, with no extension, and the Vikings declining to put the franchise tag on Barr, he hits the open market this week. With little cap space available, it’s not a surprise the Vikings didn’t place the franchise tag on him, and once the legal tampering period begins Monday, unless something dramatic happens, the Vikings probably won’t be able to match the other offers Barr will get, unless the market has been seriously misjudged.
With that in mind, it appears that there is an early favorite in the Anthony Barr sweepstakes:
In addition to Anthony Barr, #Jets have serious interest in free-agent rushers Trey Flowers & Dante Fowler, per sources. They’re, obviously, not alone. #Lions considered favorite, & #MIN not out, for Barr, #Dolphins like Flowers, & #Rams would like to retain Fowler, per sources
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) March 9, 2019
First off, a hat tip to ur SB Nation sister site Pride of Detroit, who had this earlier, and were it not for them I wouldn’t have seen the original tweet. The Jets make a lot of sense, but personally, I thought Barr would want to go back to the West Coast, where he’s from, and teams like San Francisco and Oak Vegas would fit, too.
But other than the schematic reasons our friends at POD lay out for Barr in a Matt Patricia defense, who we sit up straight for and respect the process, I can see Barr wanting to go to Detroit.
First of all, it’s about the money, no matter what anyone ever says. He’ll get paid by everyone who wants him, but no one else (except Green Bay, who has been rumored but not officially tied to him) will give Barr an opportunity to play his former team twice a year.
The good news in all of this is that Hughes said the Vikings ‘aren’t out’ of the sweepstakes, and personally, I’d like to see him return to Minnesota. Right now, though, it seems like he’ll be too expensive.
We’ll see.