Vikings Free Agency Day 3 & Open Thread

One deal a day is good

Day 2 in the legal tampering period of free agency is in the books. There were a lot of agreed to deals reported several of which were for players a lot of us coveted and were hoping could possibly become Vikings. To be honest, it has been a little disappointing because most here believe that interior offensive line needs help, specifically at the center and right guard positions. We do have Garrett Bradbury but hope has faded and now we are left with only prayer that he turns into the player we expected (maybe unfairly) from someone drafted that high. We also have Wyatt Davis who we really know very little about how he can perform on the NFL level. Considering the team invested, once again, the most money in the QB position, the ideal scenario would be that they do everything they can to provide the QB with much better protection from the interior. Of course it cannot be perfect but if it were at least average then the QB may perform at an MVP level and maybe lead this team to the playoffs.

All is not lost as it is early in the process and even though the “best” interior offensive line free agents are already signed, there still is opportunity.

Apparently the Vikings are interested in Billy Turner, Za’Darius Smith, Darious Williams, Patrick Peterson, Casey Hayward, and probably many others.

This tweet was about the Vikings not being called about Shaq Mason

These guys are not popular because they do not rubber stamp every move and are critical of a team that has not made the playoffs the last two seasons but Mr Wolfson has the scoopage and thus, his part is worth a listen (for me).

I have read on other Vikings fans blogs that the discussions with Hunter have involved trade calls but teams want the Vikings to eat some of the roster bonus and that the contract extension is haggling over guaranteed money in later years. There is the belief that Thielen will get his deal restructured taking less but getting guaranteed dollars and maybe chopping a year off his deal (I am throwing that last part in).

If the Vikings could somehow get JC Tretter and/or Billy Turner they would have a solid line with a nice mix of youts and a couple of veterans.

We should hear something on Hunter today although it is not absolutely necessary. The deadline is the 18th. Other than that there could be some restructures announced and that might be it.

I have to just accept that the analytics is driving these decisions and that there really is only one way to go from the last two years and that is making the playoffs.

Here is a list of available free agents that I like (I did not even have Jordan Hicks listed yesterday).

Player : Pos : 2021 Team : Age

Bradley Bozeman : C : Ravens : 28

Billy Price : C : Giants : 28

Matt Paradis : C : Panthers : 33

JC Tretter : C : Browns : 31

Billy Turner : G : Packers : 30

Ethan Pocic : LG : Seahawks : 27

Andrew Norwell : LG : Jaguars : 31

Will Hernandez : RG : Giants : 27

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif : RG : Jets : 31

Oday Aboushi : RG : Chargers : 31

Tyler Conklin : TE : Vikings : 27

Durham Smythe : TE : Dolphins : 27

Anthony Firkser : TE : Titans : 27

Gerald Everett : TE : Seahawks : 28

O.J. Howard : TE : Buccaneers : 28

Robert Tonyan : TE : Packers : 28

Maxx Williams : TE : Cardinals : 28

Hayden Hurst : TE : Falcons : 29

Eric Ebron : TE : Steelers : 29

Tyler Kroft : TE : Jets : 30

Mike Hughes : CB : Chiefs : 25

Chandon Sullivan : CB : Packers : 26

Isaiah Oliver : CB : Falcons : 26

Eli Apple : CB : Bengals : 27

Donte Jackson : CB : Panthers : 27

Tre Flowers : CB : Bengals : 27

Ahkello Witherspoon : CB : Steelers : 27

Kevin King : CB : Packers : 27

Artie Burns : CB : Bears : 27

Rasul Douglas : CB : Packers : 28

Steven Nelson : CB : Eagles : 29

Darious Williams : CB : Rams : 29

Kyle Fuller : CB : Broncos : 30

K’Waun Williams : CB : 49ers : 31

Bryce Callahan : CB : Broncos : 31

Patrick Peterson : CB : Vikings : 32

Rasheem Green : EDGE : Seahawks : 25

Dorance Armstrong Jr. : EDGE : Cowboys : 25

Uchenna Nwosu : EDGE : Chargers : 26

Arden Key : EDGE : 49ers : 26

Charles Harris : EDGE : Lions : 27

Al-Quadin Muhammad : EDGE : Colts : 27

Jacob Martin : EDGE : Texans : 27

Chandler Jones : EDGE : Cardinals : 32

Justin Houston : EDGE : Ravens : 33

Jason Pierre-Paul : EDGE : Buccaneers : 33

Za’Darius Smith : EDGE : Packers : 29

Terrell Edmunds : S : Steelers : 25

Jordan Whitehead : S : Buccaneers : 25

Ronnie Harrison : S : Browns : 25

DeShon Elliott : S : Ravens : 25

Jaquiski Tartt : S : 49ers : 30

Anthony Harris : S : Eagles : 31

Kareem Jackson : S : Broncos : 34

Lots of things can happen that will make the kool aid taste a little better.

Media Selection

The Kirk Haters are Shattered!

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

• No discussion of politics or religion
• No feeding of the trolls
• Leave the gender hatred at the door
• Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
• Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
• No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
• If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
• While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm.