It's time to get down to business (to defeat the Huns). The Vikings have quite a few "offseason" priorities to get done before Week 1:
1) Re-sign Adrian Peterson and Chad Greenway
There's actually more to this one than just keeping two excellent players in purple for the foreseeable future. Peterson is entering the last year of his rookie contract and his cap number is over $12 million. Greenway was tabbed with the franchise tag back before the lockout, so his cap number is similarly large (around $10 million). With the team currently $5 million OVER the salary cap, negotiating long-term deals for these two could alleviate much of that burden for this year. Honestly though, the most important thing is retaining the league's best back and one of the league's most consistent young linebackers in Minnesota.
2) Make decisions at wide receiver
Sidney Rice will be an unrestricted free agent when the designated time to re-sign one's own free agents is over. Bernard Berrian is an overpaid third receiver. Native Minnesotan Larry Fitzgerald will be a free agent after this coming season. Obviously, there are some big moves to be made. If the team feels that Rice can stay healthy and produce the way he did in 2009, they should reward him with a long-term deal. However, if they let him walk, they have to hope he doesn't make them look bad (especially if he joins the supposedly interested Bears). Meanwhile, cutting Berrian loose could nearly put the team back under the salary cap on its own, but if they lose Rice, they would suddenly be very thin at a position that's crucial to a young quarterback's development. There's a lot to be done at WR, and how it is handled could prove either fruitful or disastrous.
3) Re-sign Ryan Longwell
Since he joined Minnesota, Longwell has been one of the most accurate and clutch kickers in the league. A good kicker isn't noticed, but a bad one sure is (I still remember a loss to Buffalo in which Doug Brien missed two extra points and a potential game winning field goal). Longwell's leg isn't quite as strong as it used to be, and his kickoffs last year ranked among the league's worst. However, with kickoffs being moved up five yards this coming season, that should hardly be an issue. Don't think, just do it, front office.
4) Hope and pray for the defensive line
Ray Edwards hasn't burned bridges so much as he's detonated them and then thrown the rubble into the sea on his way out of Minnesota. Someone will overpay for him, and it's just as well because he won't be the same player without Jared Allen lining up on the other side. Meanwhile, Pat Williams will likewise not return, and Kevin Williams's four game suspension is finally being enforced. That will leave the team with three new starters on the line for the first four weeks. Allen ought to be his same old, cattle-wrangling self, but the rest of the line is more of an adventure. Longtime backup Brian Robison will get an opportunity at the other end spot, and the tackle spots will be manned by a rotation of young players Letroy Guion, Fred Evans, and Christian Ballard. It's crucial that the run defense hold up, or it could be a very long season.
5) Hope and pray for the secondary
Antoine Winfield has shown no signs of slowing down, so one corner spot should be locked down. That's the good news. The rest of the secondary could be a mess. Obviously, that's the bad news. Cedric Griffin is effective when healthy, but he is coming off two ACL tears. Chris Cook struggled mightily as a rookie last year with injuries, attitude, and his actual play on the field. There are two disappointments at safety, with Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson each getting their last chance at proving themselves. Husain Abdullah and Jamraca Sanford have proven effective when given chances, and they could each easily win their own starting spot.
Those are the most pressing needs for the Vikings in the coming month, but honestly, I'm just glad football is back!
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