Vikings Eye New Option..

Vikings Eye New Option


Date: Mar 18, 2006

Even while the Vikings wait on a decision with their offer sheet to Seattle guard Steve Hutchinson, they are turning their attention back to other positions.

The Vikings have already lost out on some free agent candidates while waiting for a decision on a seven-year, $49 million offer sheet they signed with Seattle transition guard Steve Hutchinson.

The $13 million cap hit that Hutchinson would require in 2006 is a major factor in how aggressive the Vikings have been in the last week and how aggressive they could be in pursuing other positions in the coming weeks.

They weren’t willing to dispense a $3 million signing bonus for 35-year-old fullback William Henderson after both sides agreed he would be a good fit for the Vikings. The two sides met on Wednesday, but Friday Henderson re-signed with the Green Bay Packers.

That has the Vikings eyeing up Kansas City fullback Tony Richardson.

The 34-year-old Richardson has played his entire 11-year career in Kansas City.

His first four years in the league didn’t yield much action, but in 1999 he became a full-time starter and began to carry the ball more, rushing more than 60 times in each of the next four seasons. However, since 2002, Richardson has been used mainly as a blocker in the Chiefs offense, clearing the way for record-setting running back Priest Holmes and last year Larry Johnson.

Richardson has gained 1,576 yards on 395 carries with 15 touchdowns and 118 first downs. He has started 96 of the 163 games in which he has played.

The 6-foot-1, 238-pounder is also a decent receiver, but has been limited in that role in the last four years. He has 1,298 yards receiving on 177 catches (7.3-yard average), nine touchdowns and 56 first downs in his career.

Richardson would offer a little better rushing threat than Henderson, but Henderson might be the better pass-catcher and is about 25 pounds heavier than Richardson. While Henderson has about twice as many receiving yards in his career, Richardson has more than three times the rushing yards of Henderson.

Either way, the main role for the Vikings fullback is expected to be blocking for running back Chester Taylor and others and protecting the quarterback.

For the first time in years, Vikings will use a fullback in their new offensive scheme and already signed street free agent Joey Goodspeed last month.


New England Patriots free agent guard Stephan Neal is visiting with Buffalo today. Neal visited with the Vikings earlier this week and would be of interest to them if Seattle is able to match the offer sheet for Hutchinson.


According to a league source, Vikings tackle Mike Rosenthal is close to agreeing to a restructured deal with the team.


The Vikings had an interest in unrestricted free agent quarterback Gus Frerrotte, who was released by the Dolphins on Tuesday when they acquired Daunte Culpepper. However, Scott Linehan and the St. Louis Rams beat the Vikings to the punch.

"Gus will be our backup quarterback," Linehan said. "Having coached him for the past three years, he has great knowledge of our system. He was 12-6 as a starter for me as offensive coordinator, and he'll be a great asset for (starting QB) Marc (Bulger), as well as our team, because of his background and experience.


Another backup quarterback went off the market when the New York Jets acquired quarterback Patrick Ramsey from the Washington Redskins in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Ramsey, 6-3, 225 pounds, was a first-round selection by Washington in 2002 out of Tulane University and joins the Jets after spending four seasons with the Redskins. The four-year NFL veteran has completed 480 of 861 pass attempts for 5,649 yards while tossing 34 touchdowns against 29 interceptions and recorded a passer rating of 75.0 in 34 NFL games.


Despite speculation prior to free agency that the Vikings would pursue Philadelphia free agent right tackle Jon Runyan, the team has shown no interest in him to date.


The Vikings might still need to bolster their depth at cornerback behind Antoine Winfield and Fred Smoot, but another solid nickel back option, Pittsburgh’s Deshea Townsend, went off the board on Friday. Townsend signed a four-year deal with the Steelers. He had been an unrestricted free agent.


The Vikings have also been looking for a strong safety in free agency, but the best left on the market, Lawyer Milloy, signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Friday. Milloy, 6-0 and 190 pounds, is a four-time Pro Bowler who has started 149 of 155 games since being drafted in the second round of the 1996 draft by the New England Patriots. He has been a part of two Super Bowl teams (1996 and 2001) as a member of the New England Patriots, which includes a Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Milloy reportedly received a three-year, $6 million contract with a $2.5 million signing bonus. He probably commanded more money than the Vikings are willing spend on that position. Different teams place more value on certain positions.


We have now heard all about the players that the Vikings have missed out on because of this pending Steve Hutchinson deal. If this deal falls through because of some loophole, alot of Vikings fans are going to be mad as hell.

It will be a big dissapointment if Hutch falls through because we did miss out on alot of good players.

ya we did

"ThaSuperFreak33" wrote:

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It will be a big dissapointment if Hutch falls through because we did miss out on alot of good players.

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No doubt.. I will love it if we can get Hutch, but if for some stupid reason this deal falls through, we just lost out on alot of great talent in free agency that we can't go back on now... That is possibly the difference between SB, and not even making the playoffs..

1st year for the whole organization, boys . . . hate to see rookie mistakes cost this team. If they get Hutch, they'll have had some PR success. If not, they'll have a lot of explaining to do (and it won't exactly be the start they want to get that stadium built). Who knows, everyone they have might play brilliant and they go on to win the Super Bowl, but as of right now, they're leaving many fans with a big WTF in their heads. :banghead:

"LAVike" wrote:

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1st year for the whole organization, boys . . . hate to see rookie mistakes cost this team. If they get Hutch, they'll have had some PR success. If not, they'll have a lot of explaining to do (and it won't exactly be the start they want to get that stadium built). Who knows, everyone they have might play brilliant and they go on to win the Super Bowl, but as of right now, they're leaving many fans with a big WTF in their heads. :banghead:

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Couldn't agree more.. We have seen great O-Linemen sign here and sign there. If this Hutch deal falls through, with the exception of Birk, and McKinney, we will have the same pathetic O-Line that we had last season. I am sorry, doesn't matter if we have a new offense, or new RB, if we go into next season with that line, the Vikings are in trouble..

I do not understand why they did not go after Malloy, if his asking price was so low! People were expecting him to want 10 million a year, at that price no way, but 6 million over 3 years! What the hell were the Vikings thinking!

I want to ask, what do we have left for salary cap if Hutch is signed? We started with $31.5M and added $2.3 when Culpepper was traded. That's $33.8M. I know we signed other FAs but I'm thinking we should still be pretty well off. If Hutch signing goes through that will bring it to $20M. When you subtract the others we signed, what does that bring them to?

"ejmat" wrote:

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I want to ask, what do we have left for salary cap if Hutch is signed? We started with $31.5M and added $2.3 when Culpepper was traded. That's $33.8M. I know we signed other FAs but I'm thinking we should still be pretty well off. If Hutch signing goes through that will bring it to $20M. When you subtract the others we signed, what does that bring them to?

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I believe we would have 12-15mil available after the Hutch signing.. Don't quote me on that, but I believe that is what it would be.. The only thing I can think of is that the Vikes are going to move up in the draft and take either Leinart, or Cutler, and both of those guys are going to demand a huge signing bonus..

I think you're right on that but atleast we can just concentrate on the draft then. They may wait and draft someone like Omar Jacobs to fulfill the QB position and the contract won't be that huge. Then we have all those other picks to work on other areas.