The Minnesota Vikings purged their roster of some players no longer needed this past Saturday and the way now appears to be clear for them to begin putting new pieces in place on their roster. They have some major starting and depth holes to fill at wide receiver, on the offensive line, on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. The free agency crop, though not as deep as it could be, still has plenty of options for the Vikings to consider. What shall now be presented are options the Vikings should pursue as their first choices in free agency, which will help them turn the team around much more quickly and hopefully land Coach Leslie Frazier his first playoff berth as a head coach.
G Carl Nicks – New Orleans Saints
Nicks has been part of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL down in New Orleans and should be pursued for that very reason. With Steve Hutchinson no longer a Viking, a large hole has been left on the offensive line and Nicks would be a perfect replacement on the line for a player of such quality as Hutchinson was. Furthermore the addition of Nicks, if teamed with drafting top rookie offensive tackle prospect Matt Kalil, would allow the Vikings to move Charlie Johnson, last year’s left tackle, to the other guard position. Those three at the two guard spots and left tackle, when teamed with center John Sullivan and right tackle Phil Loadholt, could actually turn one of the Vikings’ weaknesses a season ago, into a great strength. It would also allow some of the young lineman, tackle DeMarcus Love, center Brandon Fusco and guard Chris DeGeare, to learn from watching and occasionally filling in instead of having to adapt in pressure situations. Also they, along with last year’s top backup veteran Joe Berger, would provide some much-needed depth for the Vikings offensive line.
Overall, the signing of Nicks (along with the drafting of Kalil) would solve two major problems for the Vikings. It would give quarterbacks Christian Ponder and Joe Webb a solid offensive line to work behind and would allow the team to utilize the young learning players as badly-needed depth.
Next Option if First is unavailable: G Ben Grubbs (Baltimore Ravens)
WR Mario Mannigham – New York Giants
Percy Harvin needs help. That is all there is to it. Harvin is a spectacular playmaker, but he does much better in certain positions then others and the Vikings need to find ways to get him in those positions while at the same time forcing defensive secondaries to stop double-covering him like they were doing at the end of the year. Mario Manningham had a spectacular 2011 post-season for the New York Giants and an even more spectacular Super Bowl. The problem for him is that the Giants are already deep at receiver and owe big paychecks to their superb defensive players. This makes him very hard for the Giants to re-sign and the conventional wisdom is that he will take his talents elsewhere.
Manningham would fit the Vikings very well. He would fill the huge void left by Sidney Rice’s departure to Seattle last season and in so doing force defenses to stop focusing all of their attention on Harvin. He would present the deep acrobatic threat Ponder and Webb so desperately needed last season and so assist in the development of both quarterbacks. Furthermore, if Michael Jenkins can return to form after his injury, if last year’s rookies Stephen Burton and Emmanuel Arceneaux continue to improve their play and another rookie or street free agent steps up for the Vikings, then that could allow Manningham to have a breakout Pro-Bowl type year and become a truly unstoppable threat.
Overall, however, Mannigham’s addition, whether complemented or not by players other than Harvin, would certainly help the Vikings break out of the rut they seemed to fall into on offense last season and would allow offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave more options when it came to calling passing plays in 2012.
Next Option if First is unavailable: WR Pierre Garcon (Indianapolis Colts), WR Robert Meachem (New Orleans Saints)
CB Terrell Thomas – New York Giants
Cedric Griffin’s release leaves a huge hole in a secondary already full of holes. Granted, Griffin was not playing like his old self after two straight ACL tears, but he still knew what he was doing and releasing him might not have been the wisest move at this stage in the 2012 season.
To replace Griffin, the Vikings would be wise to sign an experienced veteran cornerback. A lot of the speculation has centered around Tennessee’s Cortland Finnegan or Kansas City’s Brandon Carr. If the Vikings sign Nicks and Manningham however, then they probably will not be able to put up the money to sign either Finnegan or Carr. The next tier of free agent cornerbacks consist of several possibilities, but the best prospect appears to be Terrell Thomas of the New York Giants.
Thomas is a solid cover corner and someone who the Giants really want to re-sign. However, Thomas might be tempted by the prospect of potentially being the top man in the cornerback lineup in Minnesota in contrast to his situation in New York where he would be the third man behind Prince Amukamara and Corey Webster. If the Vikings can appeal and negotiate with him from that perspective then he might very well be willing to walk away from the lineup of the defending Super Bowl champs and into a spot on a defense which desperately needs cover men.
The addition of Thomas would be a dramatic upgrade for the Vikings under any situation, but if Chris Cook returns and stays out of trouble, Antoine Winfield stays healthy, the Vikings draft a good cornerback or two in the later rounds of the 2012 draft and Marcus Sherels and Brandon Burton step up and improve their play, then the Vikings could actually have a pretty good cornerback collection next year.
Next Option if First is unavailable: CB Tracy Porter (New Orleans Saints), CB Richard Marshall (Arizona Cardinals)
S Haruki Nakamura / S Tom Zbikowski – Baltimore Ravens
Since releasing Darren Sharper a few years ago, the Vikings’ safety play has been hideous. Tyrell Johnson was a bust, who never should have been drafted by the team in the first place. Jamarca Sanford tried to step up last year, but was unable to break out of the “role player” mold (though he did show flashes of ball hawking ability, most notably last year against Arizona and the second game versus Chicago). Husain Abdullah has played competently at both safety positions, but has struggled with concussions and his career is still somewhat in doubt, despite being cleared by doctors to play next season. Mistral Raymond showed a lot of promise when forced into a starting role last year, but needs some more time to learn the position and so become a consistently effective player.
Attempting to move Cedric Griffin to safety was an experiment the Vikings would have done well to at least try but they did not, so the Vikings now end up needing to bring in at least two new safeties this off-season. The general consensus is that the Vikings should spend a second or third round draft pick on a rookie safety, but the other acquisition at safety should come through free agency.
LaRon Landry is regarded as the prize star safety of the free agent crop this year, but like Finnegan and Carr, will probably be out of the Vikings price range. However, two safeties from Baltimore’s vaunted defense might be promising prospects for the Vikings to look at. Haruki Nakamura was showing signs of a breakout year for Baltimore last season before suffering an injury and Tom Zbikowski has always been a solid backup for the Ravens with the ability to make plays. One thing is for certain. Either player would be a dramatic upgrade over what the Vikings have now and would provide a promising partner for the rookie whom the Vikings end up drafting.
If either Nakamura or Zbikowski or both were to end up signing with the Vikings, then Frazier and new defensive coordinator Alan Williams would certainly feel much better about the defensive coverages they call. It would take a lot of pressure off the Vikings’ young stable of cornerbacks and would help give the defensive line and linebackers more time to pressure the passer. If both were to end up signing, then the Vikings could feel better about releasing several of the subpar players they have had at the safety position and allowing the two veterans to help bring along the rookie they will end up drafting and the second-year player Mistral Raymond. It could potentially begin a turnaround for a much-neglected section of the Vikings defense.
Next Option if First is unavailable: S Craig Steltz (Chicago Bears)
MLB Curtis Lofton – Atlanta Falcons
E.J. Henderson’s age began to show last year and Jasper Brinkley, though competent, has too many weaknesses to remain a constant force at middle linebacker. The Vikings do have a promising young player at the position in second year player Larry Dean, but he will need time to learn before being ready to take over the position. In an ideal world, Henderson would return with a reduced salary to play a situational role and to tutor the young players, but that may not happen.
Regardless of what happens to Henderson, the Vikings definitely need an upgrade at middle linebacker. The Atlanta Falcons’ Curtis Lofton would seem to fit the bill of what the team needs. He is very good in coverage and a solid tackler who provided stability to a slowly growing Atlanta defense last season. If he were to sign with and start for the Vikings at middle linebacker, then Chad Greenway would probably be able to focus more on his side of the field then he did last season. It would also provide stability to whoever steps up at the other linebacker position, whether it is E.J.’s brother Erin Henderson, or CFL star linebacker Solomon Elimimian or a draft choice.
Next Option if First is unavailable: MLB Dan Connor (Carolina Panthers)
TE Visanthe Shiancoe – Minnesota Vikings
Shiancoe is getting old and is definitely on the downside of his career. No one is disputing that. The problem for the Vikings is that the players who would be replacing him are still rather young and inexperienced and could use a stabilizing veteran like him around as they continue to grasp their trade. Kyle Rudolph is an emerging star who could have a breakout season next year while Mickey Shuler Jr. and Allen Reisner have both flashed big-time promise. If the three learn how to maximize their talents at the position, then they could become the NFC’s version of the Patriots’ tight end assortment. This all could hinge on one thing however: Visanthe Shianoce’s presence on or absence from the Vikings’ roster.
Shiancoe, in all fairness, should be willing to take a pay cut to stay around. He has enjoyed his time in Minnesota and he might have two or three years of service left in him, but he will definitely not be the starter next season. That job will likely go to Rudolph. Shiancoe could be valuable in the two tight end set, however and if he splits time with Shuler and Reisner in the two tight end set, then he might be able to still put up some good numbers and remain fresh for the team if they need him to step up in a playoff run.
Next Option if First is unavailable: TE Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts)
Positions to Address in the Draft: Left Tackle, Cornerback, Safety, Nose Tackle, Fullback, Linebacker, Wide Receiver
Positions not in need of addressing: Quarterback, Runningback, Defensive End
© 2012 New Agora and The Subsidiarity Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be re-published, re-broadcast, re-written or re-distributed without written permission from blog author.
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