nicksaviking

That would be fun. But I think a bad move by the Raiders unless they would actually entertain having Mendoza sit and watch to start the year. I really don't think Mendoza is all that great of a QB prospect. If you've got a Cam Ward type rookie who's struggling and looking bad, you can't have a big name and very well liked veteran behind him or fans and pundits will be calling to make a switch. Unless you want a legit competition, or you legit want him to sit and watch, this seems like a better spot for Brissett, or Taylor or Wentz. I'd have said Garoppolo but I doubt he's going back to Vegas.

Typically I'm for due diligence, but what's with the visits and physicals prior to announcing a framework of a deal? Willis, Pickett, Minshew, Trubisky and even Tua didn't do visits and physicals. And forget about QBs, we've just gone through three days of non-stop signings and no other player did visits and physicals prior to an announcement. This is a league minimum deal, there shouldn't be much in the way of caution here. And if he blows the physical, you don't sign the paperwork. My only concern with this dilly-dallying is that they Vikings are going to be in a really bad spot if they let another team waltz in and lure him away.

Hargrave released. The timing surely means they thought they might be able to trade him. Not surprising that they couldn't, he wasn't bad, but he wasn't worth what he was being paid. That lack of league-wide perception doesn't inspire me that they'll be able to get something good for Greenard.

I thought they had been better the last couple of years. Plenty of changes all over the defense since 2023. On offense I think they only extended Jefferson, Darrisaw and O'Neill which was good, and let the RBs and QBs walk. Which maybe wasn't good but I was on board with. Not this year though. Not only is Jones and Wilson and possibly Smith back, but they also brought back Pace.

The roster is so old they're close to having to blow it up next year regardless of what happens. Next year is seriously the last shot at hitting on a franchise QB before they have to trade Jefferson. He'll be 28 next season. There is no way around it, they have to manage a top QB in the draft or trade for an elite option. I appreciated they made a big swing with McCarthy, but it wasn't big enough and you can't follow up big swings with half-measures, which is what the team did last year and what it's doing now. Actually, I don't know if you can even say that what they're doing now is a half measure. Quarter measure maybe?

This is starting to feel like a Spielman era offseason. They don't have to put the band back together EVERY single year.

Trey Hendrickson, Josh Uche and Michael Clemons have all signed since the Maxx Crosby fallout. Might be running out of places to send Greenard if that's still the plan. Though I guess Uche has never really been a starter and Hendrickson and Clemons are more DE than edge rushers.

Right, it's a scary situation to be in for the fans. I know how badly most owners want to avoid being outright bad, but if you are putting yourself in position where you are tempted to pay a mediocre QB a salary cap busting amount of money, you need to walk away and try again the following year. The Vikings just can't end up in a spot like the Panthers and Texans are now facing, that Green Bay just stepped into with Love, what the Dolphins and Cardinals did with Tua and Murray and what the Giants and now Colts have done with Jones. Jones' two year deal probably can't be as disastrous as those others had the potential to be, but all you have to do is see what the Raiders had to eat for Geno Smith, who's ceiling was only ever going to be average at best. I think these NFL GMs need to also consider this lack of supply and consider if there really is this disparity between the average QB and the has-been QB. How many more games are you actually going to lose if you don't sign this mediocre QB and instead roll with a dollar store veteran? Andy Dalton played as well or better than Bryce Young. Same with Mills and Stroud and Willis and Love and Brissett and Murray. Wentz was better than McCarthy and even no-name undrafted Tommy DeVito wasn't any worse than Daniel Jones in New York. I'd guess the difference between say the top 6 or 7 QBs in the league and the number 15 QB in the league, is miles larger than the difference between the number 15 QB in the league and the number 50 QB in the league.

I'd like to know which side wanted the two year deal, because I suspect it's the Colts. The fact that he didn't get three like Mayfield and Darnold makes me think other teams haven't bought into the Jones renaissance. With Arizona, Miami, NYJ, Pittsburgh and our Vikings all looking for QBs, none of them wanted to do the transition tag offer sheet?

I kind of blame the NFL. They purposefully schedule all of the off season dates to make fans never lose interest in the league. By design they wanted this week to be a frenzied rush to open X-mas presents. They instead could enforce tampering rules so that free agency is more deliberate and even paced, like the MLB. The Raiders then wouldn't have been forced to spend all their expected cap money on the first day only to find out that Crosby is still in the picture. If the Vikings had a deal to trade for Crosby that was still pending, I'd have been begging them to back out too. Not a good fit schematically and a questionable knee while giving up two 1sts.

The asking price is going to feel painless after the offer of two 1sts!

Most likely due to a medical finding I'd guess? Unless Crosby made some late contract demands? I thought that it was a bad fit because I don't think Crosby is a stand up edge rusher in any sense. That wasn't just my take, Patrick Graham, his prior DC said the Raiders specifically stayed in a 4-3 defense, even though Graham's specialty was a 3-4 base, because it was what was best for Crosby. Maybe the Ravens had an internal discussion and came to the same conclusion.

I just think the track record for non-HOF pitchers in their 30's isn't that good. You'd be paying 30M+ per year for a pitcher past his peak.

Ha, but two hours later, Woolen, Elliss, Chanel and Jenkins are gone.

I take it back. I don’t want Rodgers, but it’s the same as Kyler Murray, I’ll take him over Brissett and Wentz. He’d also keep JJ off the field. I feel bad being so anti-McCarthy because I don’t hate him. I just don’t want to risk the very real possibility that he’ll be just good enough for the Vikings not to look for a long term elite QB next year.

Right. Does he save jobs though? Or cost them? I could see easy-going, player-friendly KOC getting absolutely steamrolled by a stubborn Rodgers.

I'd take Kirk, but not by much. His arm also looked shot. But he is still younger and maybe I could accept the excuse that he was rusty and still building up game strength.

Ugh, I know. The guy looked cooked last year, I can't believe he is still considering playing. I'd seriously rather have Jacoby Brissett or Carson Wentz. I don't think Rodgers has the arm to push the ball downfield any longer. Still, regardless if it's Murray or Rodgers, will the Vikings really wait either of them out?

Interesting about the Smith salary. Yeah, the demand for Jones sounds like it's at least a 2nd if not more. I absolutely do not want this to happen, but if the Vikings get into panic mode, I fear they'll consider it.

Since he was traded, not cut, I'm guessing the Jets are talking most if not all of Smith's salary. Which probably means the Vikings couldn't have made it work without making some other terrible roster concessions. Hopefully they don't hurt the roster or future salary cap for these ugly free agent QBs. Since the Vikings made a bunch of empty promises this offseason about QB competition, I'm sure they're feeling the pressure right now. Reports are that they are interested in Murray, but reports also say Murray may want to take his time. Obviously that's not in the Vikings best interest. If Murray won't commit tomorrow when he's officially cut, I bet we start hearing very loud rumors about the Vikings trading a 2nd for Mac Jones.

Converting their starters to relievers has worked well over 50% of the time. It is literally the gamble that pays off most often for this franchise. Count Duran, Jax, Varland, Sands, Rogers, Pressly, May, Duffey, Duensing and Perkins in the positive column of converted starters for the Twins. And most of them were already written off as busts before the conversion. They should have stuck with Ronnie Hernandez and Liam Hendricks too. In the same time period, so since Perkins' successful conversion, on the negative side we have Josh Winder, Fernando Romero, Anthony Swarzak and Jeff Manship. Jordan Balazovic if someone wants to argue that he got a real chance in the pen. Now, it tends to take a full season of committing them to the pen before it pays off, but that's why they should be doing that now, this year when everyone and their grandmother is pissing and moaning about this team. They should be picking some combination of Festa, Matthews, SWR, Prielipp, Adams, Morris, Bradley, Raya and Klien and telling them that this is their job now.

I don't like that Funderburk and Sands look like the only relievers that will be on this team come 2027. So basically the only guys who were on last year's team that weren't quite good enough to trade. How did they build than trade a stable full of good, young, in-house relievers and then not think to themselves, 'We should probably try that same thing again!'? Instead they're running with a bunch of bottom-dollar cast offs from other teams.

Right, the opponent might have a 50/50 split of RH and LH hitters, but when they get to the Twins bullpen in the 3rd 6th inning, the Twins will be facing all the right handed hitters because of how their bullpen is constructed. Having a bunch of lefties in the pen is going to make the other team do the opposite of what the Twins were hoping for.

Seven. You forget Wagaman again?

Great, I'll put you down for a James-Outman-is-so-good-we-don't-need-to-bother-looking-for-an-upgrade. Any other AAAA DFA candidates on the roster you feel strongly about?