The Wilfs Just Hired YOU as the New GM...

[swede700]

18 minutes ago, RpMc said:

Not necessarily true.  He could be a post-June 1st cut next offseason, and we wouldn't gain any relief, but also wouldn't take an extra hit.  His 2022 base salary isn't guaranteed for anything aside from injury until after the third day of the 2021 league year.

Or, he could be traded prior to next season to free up $11M in cap space

I'd have to know how that would work...I'm not sure how legally you could declare someone a post-June 1st cut without having his 2022 salary guaranteed.  Now, maybe that can be done, but I'd certainly have a fit if I were a player.

Edited October 19, 2020 by swede700

[RpMc]

I'm unloading Cousins any way that I can, and that includes getting creative.  BoB get's a lot of well-deserved crap for his tenure as GM/Coach of the Texans, but his trade of Brock Osweiler to the Browns is a great example of how to attach a draft pick to a negative asset to get out of the deal.  Either that, or just cutting bait as a post June 1st designation prior to his 2022 salary becoming guaranteed, and dealing with the lack of cap space for one year.

The Colts, Patriots, Jets and Jaguars have a lot of cap space that they could buy draft capital with.

[RpMc]

Just now, swede700 said:

I'd have to know how that would work...I'm not sure how legally you could declare someone a post-June 1st cut without having his 2022 salary guaranteed.

It's a salary cap loophole given to teams to use how they choose and is collectively bargained.  Legality isn't a concern.  Now, clauses like that may be accelerated if a team tries to do something like this (and I've reached out to ask someone), and the point may be moot.

[SemperFeist]

37 minutes ago, swede700 said:

 You can't cut him with that kind of dead money attached. 

Of course you can. It’ll severely hurt what you’ll be able to do in 2021, and it may also require you to cut some of the more expensive vets like Reiff and/or Rudolph, but it can be done. 

And I’d argue that carrying the extra $10M in dead weight next year is better than carrying the extra $35M in 2022. 

Cousins’ contract is going to impact a rebuild. But better it only impact 1 year of that rebuild than 2. Especially when the Vikings aren’t really going to have anyone of note that must be re-signed in 2021. Not to mention we may see a huge increase in cap in 2022 if they get new TV deals.  

[marshpit23]

9 hours ago, RpMc said:

I'm unloading Cousins any way that I can, and that includes getting creative.  BoB get's a lot of well-deserved crap for his tenure as GM/Coach of the Texans, but his trade of Brock Osweiler to the Browns is a great example of how to attach a draft pick to a negative asset to get out of the deal.  Either that, or just cutting bait as a post June 1st designation prior to his 2022 salary becoming guaranteed, and dealing with the lack of cap space for one year.

The Colts, Patriots, Jets and Jaguars have a lot of cap space that they could buy draft capital with.

I have to agree. We need to move on from Cousins. Love Zimmer the guy, but this may be his last season, idk yet. Tough decisions ahead.

[PrplChilPill]

I'll add to this....but.....

Trade anyone over 30 that has a market. My priority is 1-3rd round picks, guys that were drafted high but haven't worked out (but I think might, no idea who that is) and salary relief (in that order).

Fire Zimmer. Find an offensive minded coach in the off season. Make Kubiak the temporary HC (maybe he show something....). The team has been good 3 of 7 years (assuming they stay bad this year).

Tell Kubiak to play the young guys more, rotate as you can.

Draft the best QB on the board with the first pick.

Trade up from round 5-7 to get more picks (depends on if I can deal any vets, etc). use any picks past round three on WR, DL, and DB (maybe a TE).

Use the 3rd round pick on DL or OL, whichever is better at that spot..

If I can cut Cousins at the end of the year, do it, but I need to know more about how that works. If it kills 2021, fine, if it lets me off the hook in 2022 (if I can really only have ten million in dead money in 2022, its a deal). Heck, try to deal him to Dallas. Throw in whatever vet over 30 they want. If I take back salary, it has to be off the books to a large degree in 2021 (I see no chance this works, btw, but I try). I'd even throw in late round picks to make it happen.

If I have money, sign the best OL I can as a FA. Preferably LG or LT. If sill have money, sign the best DB I can afford.

[PrplChilPill]

I'd fire any scouts that love how we've picked OL over the years.....

[VikeManDan]

If I took over today, and looking at things realistically I'd try to accomplish the following.

Trade Anthony Harris for a hopeful mid-round pick before the 11/3 trade deadline. If unsuccessful he should net a comp pick in 2022. Reason I'm trying to trade him is to get that asset a year earlier than the potential comp pick.

I would throw Reiff's name out there as well to see if a team was interested. I was told a trade involving Reiff would not work with our cap situation. Assuming Harris was moved prior, I think it would, but I'm not 100% sure. Rashod Hill or Ezra Cleveland would start at LT the rest of the season if Reiff was moved.

I will evaluate the coaching staff at the end of the season. If I decide to move on from Zimmer I would look for an offensive mind who can grow with our QBoTF. I want to avoid OC turnover every few years if at all possible. If I can't find that I'm looking for a Mike Vrabel type of coach. A tactician who delegates responsibilities to his coordinators and can make saavy in game decisions. I would place a strong emphasis on the potential HC selections of said coordinators, preferably those that are willing to adapt their schemes to fit the teams talent and not the other way around as I'm fully intent on drafting the Vikings QBoTF in the upcoming draft. 

2020 offseason priorities:

Cut the following players after the season Reiff, if not traded, (pre 6/1 - $11.75M in savings), Rudolph (post 6/1 - $8M in savings), and Stephen (pre 6/1 - $3.75M in savings). Rudolph, like Jason Zucker, has done a lot for the community. This is a business decision and sometimes those decisions are hard. He is not worth his cap hit and we need to get Irv involved in the offense more going forward. Stephen is an easy decision, especially with Pierce back in the mix.

Assuming the projected cap floor of $175M that would give us just under $11M in cap space. Obviously, the higher the cap is the more flexibility we'll have with re-signings below.

Re-signings/extensions, in order, Yannick Ngakoue, Harrison Smith, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Rashod Hill, Pat Elflein (I know) and Dakota Dozier (I know).

Identify and acquire our QBoTF in the 2021 draft. The Vikings aren't likely to be picking this high (I'm assuming top 10, if not top 5) again in the near future.

2021 Draft priorities:

1. QB of the future. (Cousins AND potentially Mannion replacements. (I'm not willing to eat the money on Kirk. He'll be gone after the '21-'22 season and I'll eat the $10M in dead money. Kirk starts with a short leash while the rookie learns. Rookie could take over in week 4, week 11, or at the start of the 2022 season. I'm not going to rush it. I will continue to look for an adequate backup QB, no more Sean Mannion types that are great in the QB room. That is what the QB coach is for.)
2. OL specifically guards. (no explanation needed, I'd like to get Udoh a look at RG the rest of the 2020 season.)
3. 3T (could move down if Lynch shows something in remainder of 2020 season)
4. Safety (Harrison Smith running mate)
5. CB (I like Dantzler and Gladney - looks a little bare outside of those two. I don't trust Hughes' health and therefore am declining his 5th year option.)
6. WR (WR3 upgrade, Thielen isn't getting any younger which is in the back of my mind)
7. TE (Conklin upgrade/replacement)
8. LB (LB3 competition and depth)
9. DE (always looking to add a good pass rusher - feel good with return of Hunter, Odenigbo re-signing, and continued development of Wonnum)
10. RB (not a need with Cook and Mattison - can be addressed via UDFA)

2021 starters/rough depth chart:

OL: Cleveland-Dozier-Bradbury-Elflein-O'Neill

WR: Thielen and Jefferson

TE: Smith Jr. and Conklin

RB: Cook and Mattison

QB: Cousins and Rookie

DL: Hunter, Yannick, Pierce

LB: Barr and Kendricks

CB: Dantzler, Gladney, and Hughes.

S: Harrison Smith 

ST: Bailey, Colquitt, and Cutting (don't fix it if it isn't broken.)

With our QBoTF acquired I can turn my focus in the 2022 off season to solidifying the OL. This would include an extension for O'Neill, as well as continuing to attack the OG positions if the 2021-22 season was not up to my/coaching standards. With Cousins off the books we will have money to acquire FA's to help bridge the gap at positions of weakness.

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by VikeManDan

[Cearbhall]

As the general manager, my first priority would be building the best scouting department possible. Scouting of college prospects as well as pro prospects would be prioritized. Wilf is going to have to agree to having a top 3 in the league paid scouting department. It is going to take plenty money to lure the good guys from their current jobs.

In order to better address that first priority, I will first answer the coaching question. I will hire a consulting firm to help select the head coach. Considerations will be paid to their desired offensive and defensive schemes and their philosophies on how to build a winning team in the 2020s. They must have a proven track record of developing players. The net will be cast wide. I will consider an interim head coach for a year or two if I do not find a strong candidate. The interim candidate will be told up front that his title will not say interim but that is what he is. His primary job will be positioning the team to look desirable to the long-term coach. This interim coach is likely a retired head coach that does not aspire to make himself look good for future jobs but loves the idea of helping set up a team for a future head coach. He may become the future head coach's mentor upon the hire of the future head coach.

There are so many things that would need to be dealt with beyond that but that is where I would start. We would build climate dedicated to success and development of our players, continue the focus on players that would also be good citizens outside the job, and make the Vikings a team that is looked upon as a desirable organization with which to work.

[Uncle Buck]

On 10/19/2020 at 9:07 AM, RpMc said:

I'm unloading Cousins any way that I can, and that includes getting creative.  BoB get's a lot of well-deserved crap for his tenure as GM/Coach of the Texans, but his trade of Brock Osweiler to the Browns is a great example of how to attach a draft pick to a negative asset to get out of the deal.  Either that, or just cutting bait as a post June 1st designation prior to his 2022 salary becoming guaranteed, and dealing with the lack of cap space for one year.

The Colts, Patriots, Jets and Jaguars have a lot of cap space that they could buy draft capital with.

Any chance the Jags would give us our second round pick back in trade for Kirk?

[VikeManDan]

35 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

Any chance the Jags would give us our second round pick back in trade for Kirk?

Less than 1% I'd imagine! 

Would be nice but the Jags, in all likelihood, will be picking higher than the Vikings.

[Cearbhall]

31 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

Any chance the Jags would give us our second round pick back in trade for Kirk?

Any chance there is of the Vikings getting out of that bad contract relies on Cousins playing significantly better in the back half of this year.  The Vikings would be taking on $20MM in dead money to offload him. 

I don't think there is a realistic chance of the Vikings finding a team that would take Kirk Cousins off their hands unless they include something else in the package along with Cousins. Them getting a second round pick back would be unimaginable. It was a terrible decision by Rick Spielman to give Cousins that contract.

[vikesfan89]

I don't blame Spielman for signing Cousins to the initial contract but doubling down and extending it looks pretty bad

[swede700]

21 minutes ago, vikesfan89 said:

I don't blame Spielman for signing Cousins to the initial contract but doubling down and extending it looks pretty bad

He truly wasn't left much of a choice..sure, he could have just bit the bullet and not freed up any cash to sign a Michael Pierce and franchise Harris...but I'm certain they didn't anticipate that Pierce would end up opting out and neither Cousins or Harris would play as well as they did a year ago.  It's just another move that, while it seemed logical at the time, ended up not working out for the positive.

[SemperFeist]

There were other ways to free up cap space than to extend Cousins. It was simply a move that likely guaranteed Spielman, and Zimmer, a contract extension. 

Franchising Harris was also mistake, although I believe that mistake was a miscalculation as to his market, essentially killing any trade value. Quite frankly, they should have pulled the tag when it was obvious a trade wasn’t going to happen before the draft.