Josh Doctson & Vikings reach agreement.

[vikesfan89]

Apparently they are going with the developmental players over veteran backups

[whitehops]

22 minutes ago, JDBrocks said:

Elflein has regressed and performed poorly since the end of his rookie season. Brett Jones came in and played decently, and during the preseason was the highest graded Vikings lineman by PFF. Cutting your best backup at a position of weakness just doesn't seem like a smart move.

even though they only saved ~$150K by cutting jones over elflein, maybe money was a factor? they are really close to the cap and will inevitably have to make in-season moves which will eat up more cap.

[swede700]

7 minutes ago, whitehops said:

even though they only saved ~$150K by cutting jones over elflein, maybe money was a factor? they are really close to the cap and will inevitably have to make in-season moves which will eat up more cap.

They were never going to cut Elflein.  I think it just came down to either an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman, since they both had 10...and Zimmer ain't going to cut one of his DL.  I'm just mildly surprised it was Jones instead of Dozier.  But, again, Elflein could go back to C if Bradbury gets injured. And they also have Aviante Collins on the PS, who could be called up, if needed.

Edited September 3, 2019 by swede700

[whitehops]

in terms of doctson's production, here's an estimate:

last year we threw the ball 606 times, 6th most in the league. even if we throw about league average this year we'll be throwing 550 times. considering thielen and diggs soaked up ~50% of the team's targets and treadwell (our third most targeted receiver) got 53 targets which is ~9%. 

 

even a 10% of the target share for doctson might be high, but that would give him 55 targets. if we assume that he's at his peak efficiency (2017) then he'll be looking at 25-30 receptions, 350-420 yards and probably at best 4 touchdowns.

[Ozzy]

11 minutes ago, swede700 said:

They were never going to cut Elflein.  I think it just came down to either an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman, since they both had 10...and Zimmer ain't going to cut one of his DL.  I'm just mildly surprised it was Jones instead of Dozier.  But, again, Elflein could go back to C if Bradbury gets injured. And they also have Aviante Collins on the PS, who could be called up, if needed.

True but Watt I would be fine letting go honestly, and if not Jaleel Johnson then.  I am glad they did not cut Dozier though, to me Jones or Dozier it is Dozier all day because he can play tackle as well, Jones cannot do that and who knows how great he would be at guard anyways.  Cutting the main backup center is a surprise though because Elflein is not a great center or guard it is turning out to be.  

Honestly would love if they could have just cut Kline but he has $7.25 million guaranteed out of a 3 year $15 million dollar deal so cannot just get rid of him, but wish he did not have a contract like that.  But glad they did not cut Udoh he has way more potential than Jones.  Could Jones be put on the practice squad if no one picks him up?  If they cannot and would have to cut one of them I would not mind getting rid of Meadors to get Jones on the PS if that is possible.

 

[Cearbhall]

3 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Could Jones be put on the practice squad if no one picks him up?

There are rules about how many guys can be on the practice squad with more than two years of experience. Jones has more than two years. I do not recall off the top of my head what the maximum number of years of experience a player can have while remaining eligible for the practice squad, but I am pretty sure Jones has more than whatever that limit it. The limit might be three years of experience.

[Cearbhall]

1 hour ago, JDBrocks said:

I don't think he's saying it means nothing. I think he's saying that as a player spends more time in the NFL, college performance becomes less relevant. Which is true. Abdullah has been in the NFL for 5 years. He is what he is at this point. His college production is irrelevant.

Thank you. That is exactly what I was saying.

He may have been directing his reply towards the post prior to mine from @SemperFeist that I liked along with a few other people. He used less words in his post. I wasn't trying to clarify that post in mine, but I had already typed up my post before @SemperFeist posted and saw his post when I clicked to submit mine.

Edited September 3, 2019 by Cearbhall

[vikingsrule]

A bit surprised that Jones was cut, then again, keeping 10 OL was probably never going to happen. So this makes Elflein the backup center. I'd expect Dozier to backup both Guard spots and Hill to backup both tackle spots on game day. 

I get the rationale of letting a veteran go for developmental backups, let's just hope this doesn't come back to haunt us as I would have thought cutting Abdullah would have been the better move. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by vikingsrule

[VikeManDan]

Perhaps a lot of faith in Samia as well. I was surprised it was Jones though. 

[SemperFeist]

I’m wondering if they’ll bring Jones back after week one. At which point his salary wouldn’t be guaranteed. 

[gopherwrestler]

13 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

I’m wondering if they’ll bring Jones back after week one. At which point his salary wouldn’t be guaranteed. 

Yep, I believe this is the key to all of this.

[SemperFeist]

I knew I saw someone allude to it. 

[Cearbhall]

34 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

I knew I saw someone allude to it. 

I am confused by that tweet. I think it is wrong. How can any team claim him if he didn't go through waivers? I think it should say that any team can sign him since he is a free agent.

Or am I missing something?

[SemperFeist]

39 minutes ago, Cearbhall said:

I am confused by that tweet. I think it is wrong. How can any team claim him if he didn't go through waivers? I think it should say that any team can sign him since he is a free agent.

Or am I missing something?

No, you’re right. It should say signed. 

I posted for the source about the idea bringing back on a non guaranteed contract. 

Edited September 4, 2019 by SemperFeist

[solidvikingfan]

3 hours ago, vikingsrule said:

A bit surprised that Jones was cut, then again, keeping 10 OL was probably never going to happen. So this makes Elflein the backup center. I'd expect Dozier to backup both Guard spots and Hill to backup both tackle spots on game day. 

I get the rationale of letting a veteran go for developmental backups, let's just hope this doesn't come back to haunt us as I would have thought cutting Abdullah would have been the better move. 

As Abdullah is IMO likely our punt and kick returner as well as working as a gunner that overall special teams value made him unlikely to be cut.