Hunter has agreed to an Extension (5 yr / $72M total / $40M G.)

[SemperFeist]

We passed on 3 of the top 4. Merriman being the most egregious. 

[RpMc]

Other than Merriman being a steroid user, and literally did nothing after his third year in the league when injuries started to surface after he got caught juicing.

Williamson was a definite miss, but I’m not sad missing out on Merriman. Derrick Johnson was the big miss there for me. 

[vike daddy]

Spielman: “Danielle has done an outstanding job ever since we’ve drafted him. A young, talented football player that works extremely hard, shows the passion for the game, comes to work every day to improve and get better, and has so much more upside to grow into. Just looking forward to getting him locked in and what he’s going to continue to bring not only to this defense and this football team, but also the type of character that he brings to the Minnesota Vikings.”

Hunter:  “I kind of came in with the mindset of just playing football. I had a whole bunch of people in front of me, older guys that were able to show me the way, good coaches and a good coaching staff. The only thing I could do is just come in here and focus and play football. We build a bond together on defense, we go out there, and we know we’re brothers. We fight together. We do our assignments. On and off the field, we’re really, really close, so it really means a lot to get so many defenders signed long term.”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/06/27/danielle-hunter-happy-to-get-five-year-72-million-extension-out-of-the-way/

[gopherwrestler]

I’m just so giddy about this. He was my #1 priority to resign. This is huge for the future of the Vikings... good or bad

[gopherwrestler]

9 hours ago, SemperFeist said:

 

Was something I was just about to share. 

 

As we have all said on this forum forum it is possible. It’s really going to come down to the two big unknowns... Barr and Diggs. Can the stay healthy, and stay productive. If we wait past this year Diggs number could skyrocket, and Barr’s number could also improve

[SemperFeist]

I’ve said it before, the Vikings will have to make a sacrifice with all of these big signings, but it’s not going to be guys like Diggs or Barr. Unless either of them play hard ball, I have no doubt that they’ll both be re-signed. The sacrifice is going to come at the expense of players like Sendejo, Remmers, and/or Rudolph, either through restructure or flat out release. 

[Krauser]

Sendejo is very replaceable. Ant Harris might be ready to start this year. He's at the same stage of development/experience as Sendejo was when he was promoted to starter in 2013 (2010 UDFA, took over as starter in his 4th year, age 26). They can let him finish his deal, but maybe he reworks it to drop the cap hit, with the expectation that Harris will take some of his playing time.

Remmers is only expendable if O'Neill and one of the younger guards pans out.

Rudolph has no replacement in sight, unless Conklin is way better than I expect. 

...

The problem with being so tight to the cap isn't that Diggs and Barr can't fit under the cap, it's that the team won't have much flexibility to add anything else if and when something changes or an opportunity arises (like a veteran injury replacement). 

I think fans worry too much about the numbers (spoken as a numbers guy, there are always ways to rework the numbers). The main goal should always be to find and keep as many of the best players as possible. The question isn't if Barr or Diggs makes too much, it's do they make the team better (than spending that much money in other ways). 

I've made this point before but the Moneyball model doesn't really apply to the NFL, with revenue sharing and a cap ceiling (and floor). It's not the A's vs the Yankees. Saving cap space isn't an end to itself -- it's only helpful if the cap space saved is later/otherwise deployed to make the team better, which means you have to spend the money sooner or later. Under the current CBA, players on rookie deals are a bargain, so as long as a team can maintain good depth mainly from younger talent, and even find a few starters and occasional stars on their rookie deals, there's nothing stopping them from paying market prices for higher quality veteran talent. 

The rising cap and the tendency for player contracts to be fairly flat over 4-5 years with little or no guaranteed money or cap implications by the last 2-3 years of the deal also creates a ton of flexibility. The anchor contracts seen for instance in the NHL (where all deals are fully guaranteed) can be cut or reworked in the NFL on a year's notice, in almost all cases. Only very rarely do we see true cap troubles (the Saints were there a couple of years ago, and the Ravens regret Flacco's deal, but there's not much more) -- not meaning just a contract that the player doesn't live up to, but a contract that prevents the team from doing what it otherwise would do to get better. 

It's weird to think, but the main reasons the Vikings current roster might never win it all have nothing much to do with cost but more to do with the usual kinds of bad luck: injuries, aging, other performance drop offs, performance lacking in the first place (cough, OL, cough), or the team just being very good but not quite good enough to get over the hump in any given year. In other words, the main challenge is finding players who are good enough to play well enough to win when it matters most. How much they make in any given year (within reason) isn't that big a deal. 

I'm very happy with Hunter as a player, very happy with this contract extension keeping him in Minnesota for 5 more years, and very happy with where the Vikings roster is right now. Hope they keep Diggs and Barr (assuming his next contract is as a 4-3 OLB not an edge rusher), and continue adding as much talent as they can every year.

 

[vikingsrule]

If we're trimming cap space to make room for Diggs, Barr and Richardson potentially, Waynes may be on the outs. Unless Waynes plays at a legit top 10 level, I think he's very replaceable. Hughes might be just as good in a year and Hill/Alexander could be in the mix as the third CB. 

Cant forget about Easton needing a new contract, which may require releasing Remmers. I fully expect OL to be selected early next year. Very well could need an opening day starter.

[SemperFeist]

I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Waynes will be moving on. Whether it’s after he plays out his 5th year, or the team opts out before the option goes into effect is what remains to be seen. 

Either Waynes doesn’t take the next step forward, where he won’t be worth the option cost, and likely won’t be worth a long term deal. Or he takes the next step and looks like a solid to very good starting cornerback, where he’ll price himself out of a new contract with the Vikings. 

[Vikes_Bolts1228]

15 hours ago, Krauser said:

Sendejo is very replaceable. Ant Harris might be ready to start this year. He's at the same stage of development/experience as Sendejo was when he was promoted to starter in 2013 (2010 UDFA, took over as starter in his 4th year, age 26). They can let him finish his deal, but maybe he reworks it to drop the cap hit, with the expectation that Harris will take some of his playing time.

Remmers is only expendable if O'Neill and one of the younger guards pans out.

Rudolph has no replacement in sight, unless Conklin is way better than I expect. 

 

Agree with all of that.

I'm even fine moving on from Rudolph if they target a TE early in the 2019 draft. I like him and think he's a good all-around tight end but he's not a world beating TE. He's only had 2 500+ yard seasons (840 and 532 yards) and he's never had double digit TD's in his 7 years in the league.

I don't think 550-600 yards and 6 TDs will be impossible to replace.

[Krauser]

They're not going to cut Rudolph and plan to start a rookie in his place. TEs usually aren't very good as rookies.

Rudolph isn't a world beater but he's 4th in TDs scored by TEs since 2011, and 15th in receiving yards. Not bad considering the offenses/QBs he's been playing with. 

1 hour ago, Vikes_Bolts1228 said:

he's never had double digit TD's in his 7 years in the league

Rudolph's had a 9 TD season and an 8 TD season.

TEs with 10+ TDs in a single season, since 2011: 

• Gronk: 4 times -- 17, 12, 11, 11
• Graham: 4 times -- 16, 11, 10, 10
• Thomas: twice -- 12, 12
• Davis (13), Eifert (13), Gates (12), Reed (11): once each

Peyton, Brees, Brady and Wilson were the QBs for 10 of the 14 TE seasons with that level of production. Only 4 other TE seasons in 7 years have met or broken that threshold. Not realistic to use Rudolph failing to join that club as a reason to release him. 

 

[Klomp]

On 6/27/2018 at 9:57 AM, disaacs said:

I don't understand the fascination with extending a guy (Richardson) who hasn't even played a down yet in the Zimmer defense.  

Neither had Everson (the first time)

[Vikes_Bolts1228]

4 hours ago, Krauser said:

They're not going to cut Rudolph and plan to start a rookie in his place. TEs usually aren't very good as rookies.

Rudolph isn't a world beater but he's 4th in TDs scored by TEs since 2011, and 15th in receiving yards. Not bad considering the offenses/QBs he's been playing with. 

Rudolph's had a 9 TD season and an 8 TD season.

TEs with 10+ TDs in a single season, since 2011: 

• Gronk: 4 times -- 17, 12, 11, 11
• Graham: 4 times -- 16, 11, 10, 10
• Thomas: twice -- 12, 12
• Davis (13), Eifert (13), Gates (12), Reed (11): once each

Peyton, Brees, Brady and Wilson were the QBs for 10 of the 14 TE seasons with that level of production. Only 4 other TE seasons in 7 years have met or broken that threshold. Not realistic to use Rudolph failing to join that club as a reason to release him. 

 

I don't recall saying the Vikings were going to or should cut Rudolph. Where did I mention that? I did say I'm ready to move on from him meaning he's not high on my list of priorities for the Vikings resign him after next season (He's a FA after the 2019 season) or sign him to a lower contract where he's not making 6-7 million  year.

And yes, I know the QB's he played with and you're giving me numbers from 2 of his 7 seasons. The other seasons were 3, 3, 2, 5, and 7 along with the 8 & 9 TD season you mentioned. So half of his seasons he posted more than 5 TDs....Good, but not great. Certainly not irreplaceable by any means.

He's a top-10 TE in the league but he's going to be 29 this season and 31 when his contract is up. He's on the back 9 and it's time to start looking for our next #1 TE (if they don't think Conklin can take it) because, like you said, tight ends usually need development time.Targeting his replacement in the 2019 draft will give the rookie time to learn behind Rudy and eventually take his spot.

If I gave the impression the Vikings should cut Rudolph, it certainly wasn't my intention. I'm just saying that the Vikes should let him walk or sign him to a lesser contract unless he meshes well with Kirk (Kirk does love his TEs) and he sees a big uptick in production.

[swede700]

10 hours ago, Klomp said:

Neither had Everson (the first time)

No, but at least the rest of the organization already knew who he was as a person.  They know little, if anything, about Sheldon's work ethic or how quickly he picks up stuff.    

[Krauser]

Fair enough. I agree they should look to replace Rudolph rather than extending him on a 3rd contract. His deal expires after 2019, so they could draft a TE next year and plan to have him take over in 2020. If that’s what you’re suggesting, I’m on board. 

Letting Rudolph play out the last year on his extension and then move on won’t affect cap space. The discussion upthread was about trying to increase cap space by...

On 2018-06-27 at 9:33 PM, SemperFeist said:

restructure or flat out release

...which in Rudolph’s case would either be trying to get him to take a pay cut for 2019 or cutting him outright after 2018. 

Cutting Rudolph doesn’t make sense, there’s no replacement in sight (which was my point). I don’t think he’d be asked to take a paycut either, since he’s clearly TE1 unless Conklin lights the league on fire as a rookie, and he’s produced at a level of a top 10 TE, which is what he’s making (currently projected to make the 9th highest cap hit for TEs in 2019). Rudolph’s production seems more likely to increase than decrease this year, so he’d seem fully worthy of that salary heading into next year.

The other way to lower his 2019 cap number would be to extend him heading into that year. It’s not a stupid idea, Rudolph’s mainly a possession receiver and his game may age well (like Greg Olsen). They could give him another 2-3 year extension for similar AAV to what he’s making now. That’s not really a “restructure or flat out release”, or “moving on” from Rudolph, but it might be necessary if they can’t find another TE by this time next year.