Valhalla Villager: News, Rumors and Gossip

[perrynoid]

So that gives the Lions a 9% chance then.

[swede700]

On 5/11/2019 at 12:46 PM, vike daddy said:

ESPN’s Hank Gargiulo and Seth Walder recently took a look at the upcoming NFL season and tabbed the NFC North and AFC North as the “most compelling divisional races” in 2019. They wrote the following:

In the case of the AFC North, the three teams are given at least a 30 percent chance. The aforementioned Browns are the slight favorites in the AFC North as the 36 percent plurality favorite, thanks in part to what FPI sees as a slightly easier schedule (27th-most difficult) than either the Steelers (22nd) and Baltimore Ravens (21st). But their division foes are given healthy 31 and 30 percent chances, respectively.

Over in the NFC, the defending North champion Chicago Bears are in a slightly more advantageous position as 38 percent favorites, though the Packers (27 percent) and Vikings (26 percent) are both seen as more than viable contenders for the throne.

https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-espn-calls-nfc-afc-north-most-compelling-division-races?sf212482685=1

I had read that article on Friday and immediately thought it illegitimate when again, for whatever reason, they gave the Packers the benefit of the doubt.  A team that hasn't made the playoffs the last 2 seasons, unproven WRs beyond 1 player, an offensive line that has gotten worse, not better, a defense which might have more talent, but has yet to really prove that it's better...and let's not forget a head coach that's never been a head coach before.  It's absolutely unfathomable that people continue to give the Packers the benefit of the doubt.  They should have, at the very most, a 20% chance to win the division.  This division should clearly be in the mix between the Vikings and Bears, that's it.  The Packers, I don't believe, have a shot until 2020 at the earliest.  I believe it's absolutely ridiculous that they give the Packers a better shot to win the division than the Vikings.    

[swede700]

Quote

 

People came in the door to see Stephen Weatherly the football player, but they left having truly heard from Stephen Weatherly the person.

Weatherly traveled to Lakeside, Arizona, last month to speak to parents, community members and young people attending NFL Suicide Prevention Night. He was joined by Vikings Executive Director of Player Development/Legal Les Pico and NFL Vice President of Wellness and Clinical Services Dr. Nyaka Niilampti.

Pico approached Weatherly about making the trip because of the defensive end’s passion for mental health awareness and regular involvement with the One Love Foundation.

 

https://www.vikings.com/news/weatherly-opens-up-to-help-suicide-prevention-in-navajo-county

[VikeManDan]

On 5/10/2019 at 9:27 PM, Krauser said:

I’d rather just keep Rudolph this year, and let him walk in 2020. They’d probably get a 4th round comp pick in 2021 anyway, so basically the same return as trading him now, but one year later. And they could use him this year to help with the transition to the new offensive scheme and to let Irv Smith have an easier time getting up to speed as a rookie.

I think this is what I'd like to have/see happen as well.

[wcblack34]

Gotta create some space somewhere. This is what happens when you give a mediocre QB a fully guaranteed contract. Can’t move his salary around. 

That said, Rudolph isn’t worth the salary, IMO. Don’t think he’d get it elsewhere either. He is a below average blocker. Doesn’t create anything downfield. Doesn’t break tackles. 

He’s reliable and doesn’t drop passes, and rookie TE’s don’t normally produce a lot, but Rudolph hamstrings anything else the Vikings do right now. 

[Klomp]

1 hour ago, wcblack34 said:

Gotta create some space somewhere. This is what happens when you give a mediocre QB a fully guaranteed contract. Can’t move his salary around. 

It has little to nothing to do with Cousins.

[Cearbhall]

15 hours ago, Klomp said:

It has little to nothing to do with Cousins.

Looking at the cap figures of players on the team, I can't understand the statement that the cap squeeze has little to do with Cousins.  Cousins' cap number is more than twice that of the second highest cap number on the team.  And that second highest cap number on the team, $13.5M for Danielle Hunter looks like great value to me.  Kirk Cousins number does not look anything near value given the cost and what he brings to the team.

The cap squeeze most certainly has more to do with Kirk Cousins than anyone else on the roster.  If you think it has little to do with Cousins, what five players on the roster do you think it has more to do with than Kirk Cousins?  I would even submit that if Cousins is even in the top ten players that are binding up the Vikings cap it would have more than a little to do with him.

I don't know what it means to you, but to me saying it has little to do with Kirk Cousins is saying that Kirk Cousins isn't in the top half of the players on the roster causing the cap squeeze.

I am not so worried about having that much cap space dedicated to the QB position as I am looking at the value the team is getting out of each cap dollar they have allocated.  Kirk Cousins is a terrible cap value IMO.  And since it is guaranteed the team has almost no flexibility with Cousins' contract.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Cearbhall
fixed two typoes

[Klomp]

Starting quarterbacks cost a lot of money. If you want a good QB, you're going to have to pay for it. Look how much Keenum is getting, and now he might not even be good enough to be a starter in the league. Sure, they could've saved a ton of money by going with someone like Shaun Hill or Ryan Fitzpatrick, but then arguably the most important position on the team would be given to someone not near as good for a franchise that has championship aspirations.

[Cearbhall]

16 minutes ago, Klomp said:

Starting quarterbacks cost a lot of money. If you want a good QB, you're going to have to pay for it. Look how much Keenum is getting, and now he might not even be good enough to be a starter in the league. Sure, they could've saved a ton of money by going with someone like Shaun Hill or Ryan Fitzpatrick, but then arguably the most important position on the team would be given to someone not near as good for a franchise that has championship aspirations.

I don't disagree with that.  But that doesn't change the fact that the Cousins contract is a significant factor contributing to the Vikings tight cap situation.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Klomp said:

Starting quarterbacks cost a lot of money. If you want a good QB, you're going to have to pay for it. Look how much Keenum is getting, and now he might not even be good enough to be a starter in the league. Sure, they could've saved a ton of money by going with someone like Shaun Hill or Ryan Fitzpatrick, but then arguably the most important position on the team would be given to someone not near as good for a franchise that has championship aspirations.

I got an idea...why doesn't the league base quarterback salaries on the win total of the previous year?  While we are at it, if teams have fewer wins than the previous year, ticket prices go down by the percentage of few wins! 

Now, I know no one will support these ideas.  So, I will just state what I think...Cousins is overpaid based on win totals.

[wcblack34]

12 hours ago, Klomp said:

It has little to nothing to do with Cousins.

It most certainly does. The structure of his contract doesn't allow them to do anything with it to create cap space. He has, by far, the largest salary on the team and jams up the most amount of the cap dollars. They can't move it. 

Do starting QB's cost a lot? Yes. Does that mean you have to give them a contract that allows the team no flexibility? Maybe, but if you're going to do that, they had better be closer to Aaron Rodgers than Aaron Brooks. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by wcblack34

[swede700]

13 hours ago, Klomp said:

It has little to nothing to do with Cousins.

 

27 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

It most certainly does. The structure of his contract doesn't allow them to do anything with it to create cap space. He has, by far, the largest salary on the team and jams up the most amount of the cap dollars. They can't move it. 

Do starting QB's cost a lot? Yes. Does that mean you have to give them a contract that allows the team no flexibility? Maybe, but if you're going to do that, they had better be closer to Aaron Rodgers than Aaron Brooks. 

No, it does not, @wcblack34.  There are multiple other ways, despite Cousins' contract, to create space.  @Krauser laid that out in another post.  I lack understanding why people continue to harp on his contract and how it supposedly hamstrings the Vikings.  It has zero to do with anything...and yes, they could still create cap space with his contract...by extending it.  But I don't think anyone wants to do that.     

Edited May 14, 2019 by swede700

[Krauser]

14 hours ago, wcblack34 said:

Gotta create some space somewhere. This is what happens when you give a mediocre QB a fully guaranteed contract. Can’t move his salary around. 

 

 

22 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

It most certainly does. The structure of his contract doesn't allow them to do anything with it to create cap space. He has, by far, the largest salary on the team and jams up the most amount of the cap dollars. They can't move it. 

While there are certainly good reasons to think Cousins contract is poor value, but if Rudolph moves on, he wasn’t a cap casualty. There are so many other ways the Vikings can create cap space this year. 

If the Vikings do trade Rudolph, it’s because they weren’t able to agree on an extension, and he’s refusing to play this year without more of a long term deal, not because they need to open up cap space to sign Bradbury etc.

I’m sure the Vikings would like to keep Rudolph. But doubt they’ll want to pay him as a TE1 going forward, since Smith is expected to take a lot of his targets, especially outside the red zone. They might offer him $6-7M but not the $8M+ his production to date would be worth.

Rudolph from his side won’t want to settle for much less than he could get on the open market, and won’t want to play out the last year of his deal as written — the likely dropoff in his production in 2019 if he sees fewer targets would cost him millions on his next contract, to say nothing of the risk of injury at his age that would limit him to a 1-year prove-it deal instead of a longer term 3rd contract. 

Adrian Peterson pulled the same move coming back from his suspension in 2015. He had one expensive year left on his contract but held out for a longer term deal. The best situation for the team would’ve been to (over)pay him in full but Peterson realized this was his last chance to have enough leverage to get a bigger 3rd contract, and so he held out. 

Peterson of course did that when the Vikings had lots of cap space in the short and medium term, with a QB on a rookie deal. He was clearly the focal point of their offense when he returned, so it made sense for the team to find a way to pay him.

Rudolph by contrast is the 3rd best receiving weapon, and 5th most important skill player on the offense, and may end up in a secondary role as a TE even this year, so it make sense for the team to hold the line and not pay too much. 

But the situations are pretty similar in terms of their motivations, and Cousins’ contract isn’t the major reason the Vikings have so far been unwilling to meet his price. 

[vikingsrule]

I see it more as an accumulation of a lot of large contracts for players drafted from 2013-2015, the core of this team signed lucrative contracts that represent a significantly higher % of cap than Cousins alone. The decision to keep Barr this year likely has more direct impact on Rudolph's situation. If Barr takes the Jets offer, the Vikes probably have more cap space right now. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by vikingsrule

[Krauser]

9 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

I see it more as an accumulation of a lot of large contracts for players drafted from 2013-2015, the core of this team signed lucrative contracts that represent a significantly higher % of cap than Cousins alone. 

Yeah that’s the price of success. 

The best case scenario would’ve involved Teddy staying healthy and getting a long term extension as a franchise QB. 2019 would’ve been the first year of his extension, which he likely would’ve been negotiating in the 2018 offseason. 

Given what other young QBs signed for in recent years (Carr got $25M AAV in 2017, Garoppolo $27.5M in 2018), Teddy in the best case scenario probably costs close to what Cousins does over the next couple of years. The team would have more flexibility and control with lower guarantees on the deal, but the effect on cap space for Rudolph to extend would be pretty small.