Braylon Edwards Vikings: 5 Reasons Vikes Should Stay Away from Troubled WR

The NFL's free agency frenzy has left no team unscathed thus far, with some, like the Minnesota Vikings, forced to act quickly and dangerously to mitigate their losses.

The Vikes have already been spurned by wide receiver Sidney Rice, who chose a five-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks over re-upping to play in a stadium with a magical collapsing roof.

Now, Minny GM Rick Spielman is doing his darnedest catch up to the manic market and, according to ESPN gridiron geek John Clayton, has already identified his next target: Braylon Edwards.

Don't all get excited at once...

To be fair, we could very easily look on the bright side and say that Edwards would be an upgrade over Rice. After all, Edwards isn't coming off an injury-plagued 2010 season like Rice is, not to mention Edwards' more physical style would make for a better complement to current Vikes speedster Percy Harvin.

But, there are also plenty of reasons for the Vikings and their fans to be concerned about bringing Braylon on board to be Donovan McNabb's/Christian Ponder's go-to guy.

So let's look at some of those!

Braylon's Best Days Are Behind Him

Remember that breakout season Braylon Edwards had with the Cleveland Browns back in 2007?

Yeah, neither do I. To refresh your memory, Edwards, who had been the third overall pick of the Browns in the 2005 NFL Draft, blew up that year with 80 catches for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns, a stat line made more impressive by the fact that, again, he did it with the Cleveland Browns.

A spectacular season by any measure, but one that Braylon hasn't even come close to duplicating.

That campaign still stands as the only 1,000-yard season of Edwards' career. He came close with the Jets last year, catching 53 balls for 904 yards and seven scores, making for a solid season if not entirely inspiring.

It's not that the Vikings should avoid Edwards because he's not a productive player; clearly, the guy can still put up numbers and be a semi-reliable receiving option.

The bigger concern is the beaucoup bucks Braylon's likely to demand from Minny for his services. He'll point to 2007 and say it wasn't a fluke, that he's focused and ready to be top cop in a new city.

It's a likely story, but not one the Vikes should listen to. Unless they can nab him at a good discount, they'd be better off passing him over for a lower-rent wide receiver. 

Stone Hands, Anyone? Maybe Butterfingers Is a Better Word

Part of Edward's lack of production in recent years can be attributed to the fact that, frankly, the guy isn't exactly the most sure-handed receiver around.

Braylon first became notorious for bungling balls back in 2008, when he led the NFL in drops with 16 while the Browns stumbled through a 4-12 season.

This after so brazenly betting Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps that he would best his career-making 2007 season by hauling in 17 scores.

Edwards' words apparently fell on deaf ears, as he finished that season with just three touchdowns.

As if having the "dropskies" weren't bad enough, Edwards has had the audacity to criticize his teammates for their pass-catching problems, as he did after the Jets' 9-0 loss to the Packers last November.

What's worse, just as everyone thought Braylon had found a cure for his butterfingers, they resurfaced again this past January when Edwards let what would've been a 41-yard touchdown pass slip right through his fingers, with several yards between him and the nearest defender, no less.

He'll Wear out His Welcome

More so than drops, a team like the Vikings must consider the possibility that Edwards will turn toxic after a year or two if signed to a long-term deal.

Edwards became something of a nuisance in Cleveland over the course of the four-and-a-quarter seasons he spent with the Browns. The 2006 season was particularly tumultuous for him, as he, on various occasions, got into it on the sidelines with quarterback Charlie Frye, trashed the Carolina Panthers' defensive backs in public and was late to a team meeting after attending the Michigan-Ohio State game, which several of his teammates had told him not to go to.

Hard-headed, indeed, but he seemed mature in 2007 with his phenomenal season, though his steep regression in 2008 suggested he was still incapable of focusing for an entire 16-game season.

Tired of his act, the Browns mercifully relinquished Edwards to the Jets part-way through the 2009 season.

And, of course, he didn't exactly quit his poor personal habits in New York, either. In one instance, as previously mentioned, he, the king of dropped passes, had the nerve to berate his teammates for their own struggles with the syndrome.

All told, the guy rubs people the wrong way wherever he goes. Chances are he'll do the same in Minnesota, regardless of how friendly the people there may be.

Another NFL Guy with off-Field Issues

As is the case with so many NFLers, Braylon's hard-headedness isn't just a football problem.

From speeding tickets to assaults and DUI's, Edwards has had some difficulty avoiding the scrutinizing eye of Johnny Law over the years.

His reckless driving habits include everything from going 120 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone to driving with a blood-alcohol content double the legal limit.

If that weren't enough, Edwards was charged with misdemeanor assault in 2009 and aggravated assault in 2010 following an altercation with one of LeBron James' boys at a nightclub in Cleveland just two days before Edwards was traded to New York. Allegedly, Edwards' attack was prompted by jealously of LeBron's success, which prompted James to deem him "childish."

And if LeBron of all people calls you "childish," you know you've got a problem.

The last thing the Vikings need, or any NFL team for that matter, is another guy who's a danger to himself, who might jeopardize his own playing time with embarrassing off-field incidents.

There Are Better Options out There

With all those issues in mind, the Vikings should pass on Braylon Edwards because, simply put, there are better, less troublesome receivers to be had in free agency if they act quickly enough.

There's Malcolm Floyd, the 6'5", 225-pound wide-out who's flown under the radar while playing in the shadows of Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates in San Diego. In Minnesota, he would be the biggest, most physical pass-catcher around, thereby opening up the opportunity for him to finally break out.

Then there's the venerable Steve Smith of the New York Giants. Smith's 2010 season was disrupted by injury, but he's proven in the past to be a reliable slot receiver.

And if the Vikings are really set on a guy who has a reputation for dropping passes, they would do well to target Green Bay Packers wide-out James Jones.

In the end, the cons far outweigh the pros in any pursuit of Braylon Edwards to the point where the Minnesota Vikings would be far better off without him at just about any cost.