Posted: March 9, 2011 10:48 a.m. CT
By TIM YOTTER
VikingUpdate.com
The tired old NFL axiom of "one game at a time" can work when players buy into it, but when it comes to offseason NFL moves, there really isn't such a thing as "one move at a time."
The Vikings and Rick Spielman, their vice president of player personnel, end up looking at their roster from a big-picture point of view once the season is done. There are meetings to analyze the current roster, meetings to analyze the free-agent market and meetings to analyze the draft class. And then there are potential trades to consider.
Spielman squeezes those meetings in between college all-star games, the NFL Scouting Combine and on-campus pro days. But it was the entire evaluation of talent in the draft, free-agent and trade markets that helped the Vikings shape their opinion on how to tender potential restricted free agents.
Here is an analysis of the decisions they arrived at:
DE Ray Edwards - The Vikings tendered Edwards with a first-round offer, meaning he would be paid $3.542 million in 2011 ... except his tender is likely to be rendered moot. Normally, players with expiring contracts need only four years of NFL experience to be considered unrestricted, meaning they are free to sign with any team without their previous team receiving any draft-pick compensation. Last year, however, was unique because it was the "final league year," a term used in the collective bargaining agreement to signal the pending expiration of the labor agreement. The language of the CBA in the "final league year" called for players with expiring contracts to have at least six years of experience to be unrestricted.
In issuing a tender to Edwards, the Vikings are assuming those conditions will apply in 2011. Most familiar with the current labor negotiations, which could be headed for a work stoppage in only a few days, believe that free agents will be unrestricted with four or five years of experience when a new CBA is reached. So, more than likely, Edwards (who has five years of experience) will actually be unrestricted and looking to sign a big-money deal with another team, which is likely part of the reason the Vikings signed his backup, Brian Robison, to a three-year, $14.1 million deal just before the CBA expired.
WR Sidney Rice - The Vikings also issued Rice a first-round tender, and with four years of experience he would be paid $3.442 if he signs it. While his status could be more tenuous than Edwards', it is also possible that Rice's tender won't hold up whenever a new CBA is reached. The Vikings would like to get him signed to a long-term deal, but his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, would prefer to test the free-agent market in search of the most money possible.
OL Ryan Cook - The former second-round pick received a second-round tender that would pay him $1.96 million in 2011 if he signs it. Like Edwards, however, Cook is a five-year veteran and the tender might not hold up. Either way, it shows the Vikings want to retain him even though he wasn't a full-time starter last year and that might be as good a deal as he gets. Given Cook's ability to play tackle (where he started his career), guard (where he filled in last year after injuries) and center (where he is a backup and played his entire college career), he has become a valued swingman along the offensive line.
DE Brian Robison - The team issued Robison a second-round tender as a safeguard in case negotiations on a long-term contract broke down. They didn't, and a day after issuing the tender, Robison and the team agreed on his three-year, $14.1 million contract.
S Husain Abdullah - Abdullah was the surprise starter at safety coming out of training camp last year and played decently. He received a second-round tender that would have stuck under any of the free-agent rules of the last decade, so he will likely either sign his one-year, $1.835 million tender or end up signing a long-term deal.
S Eric Frampton - Frampton is really more of a special-teams guy than safety and he was appreciative of the Vikings' offer of a $1.275 tender.
LB Erin Henderson - With only three years of NFL service, Henderson doesn't have much of a choice but to accept his $1.2 million tender and try to win a potentially open job at strongside linebacker. Ben Leber is an unrestricted free agent, and with the labor uncertainty the team hasn't been actively pursuing long-term deals with those players just yet.
DL Fred Evans - Last year, Evans received a $1.759 million, second-round tender. This year, it's unclear how the Vikings tendered him, if at all, as both sides have been silent on the matter. If he remains with the team, he could battle for a likely open spot at nose tackle, as Pat Williams has said he isn't returning to the Vikings. Jimmy Kennedy, Letroy Guion and a potential draft pick would be the competition for that spot.
Not tendered - The Vikings didn't offer tenders to QB Tarvaris Jackson, FB Naufahu Tahi and WR Hank Baskett (all with five years of experience, meaning the tenders might not have held up) or RB Albert Young, who has only two years of experience.
While the NFL and the NFL Players Association continue to negotiate for a new CBA this week, a number of Vikings found out where they stand with their "little" piece of the pie in the annual $9 billion industry that has become the NFL. It remains to be seen how that pie holds together whenever a new labor agreement is served to the table.
Tim Yotter is the publisher of Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter, check out Viking Update on Facebook, or to become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.
