Written By Chris Schad
It’s that time of the year when fantasy football meets real football. General managers of NFL teams have been spending countless hours analyzing a free-agent class and are getting ready to make their pitches for players who could be the missing piece between a team making the playoffs or picking in the upper half of next year’s NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings are no different as Rick Spielman has plenty to figure out this offseason. While he said earlier this offseason that he wouldn’t throw money around unless a unique circumstance presents itself, the team has already reached out to several free agents and looks to make several moves when the new league year begins Tuesday afternoon.
Figure Out the Adrian Peterson Mess
While we, as journalists, would love for this thing to drag on longer thanPanda Watch, the Vikings can’t afford to let the Peterson drama hang over their heads. As previously mentioned, getting rid of the star running back would clear $15.4 million in cap room that could be used to fill a number of weaknesses across the roster.
Of course, the team could also elect to keep Peterson as the price tag for running backs went up over the weekend with the Philadelphia Eagles agreeing to a contract that will pay Frank Gore $7 million guaranteed and the Buffalo Bills extending LeSean McCoy for $26.5 million guaranteed. A contract restructuring with Peterson could do wonders for the Vikings cap room and retain the services of one of the elite running backs in the NFL — even if he turns 30 on March 21.
Upgrade the Offensive Line
Teddy Bridgewater was impressive during his rookie season, but it becomes even more impressive when you consider he was running for his life behind a weak offensive line. The rushing attack (sans Adrian Peterson) also felt this as they finished 14th in rushing and didn’t record the big plays they’d grown accustomed to over the past couple seasons.
With that, the Vikings need to improve in the trenches. This process began when starting left guard Charlie Johnson was cut, and it might already have a resolution with Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting that the team has reached out to free agent guard Mike Iupati.
Adding a three-time Pro Bowler and 2012 first-team All-Pro selection would certainly help on the left side of the line and might resurrect Matt Kalil after an awful pair of seasons. The only barrier might be the price tag as Iupati is rumored to be commanding $8 million per season.
Find A Backup Quarterback
The Matt Cassel trade was a good one for the Vikings as they cleared up $4.75 million in cap room, but with Christian Ponder flooring the accelerator on the way out the door, the team needs to find an adequate backup for Teddy Bridgewater.
Tomasson was all over this as well, reporting that the Vikings have reached out to veteran quarterback Shaun Hill, who played for Minnesota from 2002 to 2005. He also has a season of experience in Norv Turner’s system (San Francisco in 2006) and would be a good mentor and insurance plan in case of a Bridgewater injury.
In case that doesn’t pan out, ESPN’s Josina Anderson learned that the Vikings also reached out to Brian Hoyer, who kept the seat warm for Johnny Manziel in Cleveland last year. Hoyer teamed up with Turner for a couple of starts in 2013 and posted a 3-0 record including a 31-27 upset victory over Minnesota in Week 3.
Shore Up the Defense
The defense took a step forward in 2014 under Mike Zimmer, but they’re nowhere near his high expectations. While most of the key cogs remain under contract, the Vikings can look to upgrade at some of their areas of weakness including middle linebacker and the secondary.
ESPN’s Ben Goessling thinks that this will involve the Vikings’ yearly purge of Green Bay Packer castoffs as the team has shown interest in A.J. Hawk.
A solid player who never lived up to the massive expectations after being the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Hawk could provide stability to a middle linebacker position that has lacked it since E.J. Henderson faded away. However, his play took a step back in 2014 and might be on the decline after nine seasons across the border.
Secondary help could be on the way as well. There has been chatter that Zimmer may want to reunite with Taylor Mays, who played under the Vikings coach for three seasons in Cincinnati. It’s uncertain whether he could help the back line of the defense, though, as he has just four starts since his rookie season in 2010.