Minnesota Vikings: Free Agents Who Won't Be Signing with Minnesota
After a weekend without pro football, NFL fans are forced to settle into the offseason. While there won't be any games that count again until September, that certainly doesn't mean that the great machine that is the National Football League slows down a whole lot until then.
The NFL Scouting Combine begins next week in Indianapolis, and hordes of scouts and player-personnel experts will watch every move made by NFL prospects and try to get a gauge on who's better than who.
On the other hand are NFL free agents, who've already proved themselves to one degree or another and will be looking to land the best deals for themselves beginning on March 10.
The month between the Super Bowl and the opening of free agency is always a great time of dreaming for any NFL fan. Pie-in-the-sky dreams of signing three big-name starters to solve your team's woes are easy to fantasize about, but the reality is that the NFL operates under a salary cap.
The Minnesota Vikings have perhaps the most fluid financial portfolio of any team heading toward free agency this year, as star running back Adrian Peterson's future with the team remains the biggest question mark of the 2015 offseason.
The ramifications of Peterson's future with the team will have a great impact on how much money the Vikings will have available to them in free agency.
The numbers are nowhere near set in stone, but with an expected salary cap of over $140 million and several contract restructures more than likely in the works, Minnesota should have anywhere from $18-30 million to play with in free agency, according to Spotrac.com.
That is a pretty formidable chunk of change and gives the Vikings plenty of options, both in terms of signing prospective free agents and locking up some of their own elite players to long-term deals.
So the skies might be pretty bright for Minnesota heading toward March and free agency, but let's not let our dreams get too out of control.
Here are five players anyone would love to have on their team, but they won't end up as Minnesota Vikings.
Running Back DeMarco Murray
1 of 5
Even if Adrian Peterson doesn't return to Minnesota for the 2015 season, free-agent running back DeMarco Murray won't be wearing Vikings purple either.
Murray achieved superstar status with a monstrous 2014 season, leading the NFL in rushing yards by a wide margin and scoring 13 touchdowns. Murray made just $1.59 million this past year, and he's earned a huge raise.
He may not get it from the Dallas Cowboys, who are going to have to pony up a huge amount to retain the services of wide receiver Dez Bryant, but he certainly won't be getting it from the Vikings.
You can argue all day long about who's a better football player between Murray and Bryant, but the fact is, an elite receiver like Bryant probably has more value in today's NFL than an elite back. Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com details how the Cowboys may be leaning here, and the article goes a long way toward explaining why backs just aren't as valuable as a commodity anymore.
As far as the Vikings go, the same thinking may be in place if Peterson is ultimately let go.
If that happens, the Vikings' logical choice would be to try to match up second-year man Jerick McKinnon with another good, low-priced back, and the two could split the workload. That might mean signing a reasonably priced free agent or drafting a running back who won't cost them much money at all.
While a swapping out of Peterson for Murray might make sense in fantasy football, it's just not going to happen in the real world.
Wide Receiver Randall Cobb
2 of 5
As impressive as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's rookie season was, it gets even better when you take a long look at who his receiving options were in 2014.
Greg Jennings has been a serviceable veteran in his two years with the team, but he's nowhere near a No. 1 receiver anymore.
Charles Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson have great potential, but neither has taken the leap to stardom yet. Jarius Wright is a great contributor, but his ceiling is probably as a No. 3 guy.
All of this is to say that Minnesota is certainly in need of a No. 1 guy at the wideout spot.
There are great receivers to be had in free agency in 2015, including Jennings' former teammate Randall Cobb of the Green Bay Packers.
Don't get excited about that prospect, though, because it's not going to happen. Of the four elite receivers in this year's free-agent class, the smart bet would be that none of them are wearing new uniforms in 2015.
Cobb, Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and Jeremy Maclin have all earned themselves huge raises, but it's hard to picture a scenario where any of their four teams don't do everything in their power to keep them right where they are.
One could certainly make an argument that the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks got to the Super Bowl with receiving corps no better than Minnesota's, but the truth is the elite wideouts in the league have become huge commodities, and their value is as high as it's ever been.
The Vikings need to add talent to their receiver group, but it just wouldn't be financially responsible to spend huge money on one at this point. While it's not out of the question that they go after a free-agent wideout, the guess is that they look to the draft and in-house options to improve at the position.
Look for Minnesota to draft a receiver in the first two rounds who'll be able to combine with the emerging Johnson and Patterson along with Jennings next season.
Wide Receiver Michael Crabtree
3 of 5
We'll stay at the wide receiver position for this slide, as we addressed the fact that Minnesota is in need of a No. 1 receiver for 2015.
The Vikings aren't going to spend the money on one of the four stars hitting the market.
But what about the next tier of players? What about Michael Crabtree of the San Francisco 49ers?
Crabtree is just 27 years old and will be looking to get No. 1 receiver money as he hits the open market. He had a decent season in 2014, catching 68 passes for 698 yards and four touchdowns.
He missed most of 2013 with an injury, but he had a huge 2012 season, catching 85 passes for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. Those are No. 1 wide receiver numbers to be sure, and his agent will be peddling him as such.
Is he worth the shot?
The Vikings will bet no.
While Crabtree has great hands and is an excellent route-runner, he just doesn't have the explosiveness of an elite, No. 1 receiver. That's not to say he's not a great player and that there is no way he'll put up big numbers again, but the Vikings are in no position to risk big money on a receiver who isn't a sure thing.
It'll be very interesting to see what free agency bears for Crabtree. Some teams will come calling; the Vikings just won't be one of them.
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Middle Linebacker Brandon Spikes
4 of 5
There has been much talk in Minnesota among fans and sports-radio talk-show callers about the need for the Vikings to go out and find a great middle linebacker.
That talk always seems to bog down when you try to figure out who that guy might be.
The general consensus is that Brandon Spikes is perhaps the best middle linebacker available in free agency. While there's no doubt that the 27-year-old is a more dynamic player than anyone Minnesota has had in the middle for years, there's a lot of doubt as to whether Spikes or any other middle linebacker on the market will be worth a giant contract.
Buffalo paid Spikes $3.25 million in 2014, and he made just 54 tackles. The Vikings' Jasper Brinkley made 75 tackles while making less than a million dollars. While tackle numbers obviously don't tell the whole story, the truth is the Vikings can get value out of the position without spending a lot of money.
With Anthony Barr looking like a star-in-the-making and Gerald Hodges bringing both speed and versatility to the table, the Vikings are in a pretty good spot with their linebacking corps. Audie Cole has seemingly earned himself at least a longer look, and veteran Chad Greenway may remain in the mix if he's willing to take a pay cut.
The Vikings will almost assuredly rather take their chances on an early-round draft pick who won't cost them much money than on a free-agent linebacker whose best days may be in the rearview mirror.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis
5 of 5
Darrelle Revis might be one of the best cover cornerbacks of his generation. At just 30 years old and with a major knee injury now well behind him, Revis proved his value once again in 2014, in helping the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl.
The Vikings' defensive stars are all pretty young. They need another cornerback to start opposite of Xavier Rhodes and a shutdown guy like Revis would do wonders for Minnesota's secondary. The Vikings just might have a ton of money to be able to play with in free agency.
As Michael Hurley of CBS Boston writes, Revis will have some tough decisions to contemplate this offseason. He'd certainly look good in purple.
OK, stop, it's not going to happen.
As good as Revis is, he's going to be looking to get paid really big money this offseason, and he just wouldn't be worth the investment for the Vikings. If Minnesota was just a player away from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender, a guy like Revis might make some sense.
But the Vikings just aren't that close.
Two or three smart free-agent signings this offseason and another great draft and they might be a little bit closer, but they aren't there yet. Signing a mega-star like Revis to a multiyear deal might give Minnesota an immediate boost, but building a roster that can contend for a long time isn't done by taking the quickest route.
Let the New England Patriots and New York Jets fight over Revis. The Vikings will more than likely go get a free agent for the secondary, but it will be somebody who won't financially strap them for four or five years.
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