ImageImageImage

2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made

Moderator: Worm Guts

What quarterback do you want as the Vikings 2018 starter?

Sam Bradford
0
No votes
Teddy Bridgewater
1
14%
Case Keenum
1
14%
Kirk Cousins
5
71%
Other
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 7

User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#1 » by hermes » Sat Feb 3, 2018 3:11 pm

alright, coming off one of the most successful regular seasons in team history and making it all the way to the nfc conference championship game, the vikings have a pretty good core but there are some replacements needed at some key spots we'll need to get right in order to stay near the top and push us over the hump

needs: offensive coordinator and quarterback are the two big ones but what other areas could use some help?

candidates interviewed for offensive coordinator:
kevin stefanski (current vikes qb coach)
darrell bevell (former vikes and seahawks oc)
dan campbell (current saints te coach)
sean ryan (current texans qb coach)

and apparently we're waiting to interview the eagles qb coach john defilippo

quarterback options:
we are in the incredibly unique and difficult position of having 3 starter level free agents qbs at the same time, plus the also rare top 10-ish qb in his prime entering free agency
probably the four options are:
case keenum
teddy bridgewater
sam bradford
kirk cousins

free agents: who do you want to bring back? who should we let walk? who are some players we should kick the tires on from other teams?
here are ours:
unrestricted
sam bradford
terence newman
emmanuel lamur
tom johnson
joe berger
marcus sherels
case keenum
teddy bridgewater
michael floyd
tramaine brock
jerick mckinnon
bishop sankey
shamar stephen
kai forbath

restricted
jeremiah sirles
cornelius edison
nick easton
anthony harris

this site has a lot of great information on the salary cap, contracts, and free agents of all the teams
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/cap/

draft
here are the picks we currently have (30th in each round)
round 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
(the 4th is gone from the bradford trade, and the 7th is gone from the tramaine brock trade)
needs: i think the biggest positions that need addressing in the draft are guard (probably right?), defensive tackle, and cornerback. some combination of one of each of those in the first three rounds would be great

any other positions we should be looking to bolster through the draft? what are some players you like?

so this is shaping up to be a major off-season for the team, got some major decisions to make that hopefully keep us trending up

what do you guys think? who should be the offensive coordinator? who do you like for qb?
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#2 » by hermes » Sat Feb 3, 2018 3:22 pm

i don't really know on the oc spot, other than i'd rather not go back to bevell. stefanski or defilippo would be fine i think

for qb, there are pros and cons for all four. right now i'm leaning toward either cousins or keenum. i think they let bradford go, too much injury risk even though he's the most talented (on the team).

bridgewater will be really tough to let go (pending this tolling saga) because everyone likes him so much but i just feel like, even though he can be a solid option, his ceiling just isn't as high as the other options. and that's if he comes back from his injury (and two years off!) fine. i will just be nervous if our qb situation next year is teddy, sloter, and some other rookie we draft

keenum has proven a lot this year (whether it was a flash in the pan is a concern), and it seems like he really likes it here and would like to come back. coordinator will be key because i think shurmur really made a difference. at this stage can keenum continue to improve or is this what he is at this point? and is that enough to get a super bowl?

cousins i think is really good, i'm not sure how good but he is probably better than all of our options (but i don't know a whole lot about him other than he played well against us). he will cost more money but i'm thinking that title windows now can close so quickly (unless you are new england) and we are so close that we should just make the splash to get him and go for it next year.

i don't know, this is really tough. can't imagine actually having to have to make it. good luck rick, zim, and the rest of the decision makers on this
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#3 » by hermes » Sun Feb 4, 2018 3:14 pm

Worm Guts
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Posts: 26,054
And1: 10,472
Joined: Dec 27, 2003
     

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#4 » by Worm Guts » Mon Feb 5, 2018 5:17 am

I don’t know what to do with the QB situation. I think signing Cousins would be going for it, although I’m not huge on committing that much money to a non-elite QB. I think long term that type of contract would hurt us.
I kind of want to go with Teddy, maybe just because I like him or maybe I just don’t feel comfortable giving these huge contracts to QBs I don’t feel are great. I’m just glad I don’t have to make the decision.
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#5 » by hermes » Wed Feb 7, 2018 2:32 am

defillippo (eagles qb coach) cannot be interviewed until his contract is up in 10 days, or he could be interviewed if the job would be for a promotion. but apparently position coaches and coordinators are considered lateral jobs. must be head coaches and everyone else

anyway the vikings are going to wait. he must be the guy they want, or they are confident that no one is going to take their other options in the mean time while they cover all the bases
Worm Guts
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Posts: 26,054
And1: 10,472
Joined: Dec 27, 2003
     

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#6 » by Worm Guts » Fri Feb 9, 2018 3:02 am

It looks like this Defillipo guy was named offensive coordinator.
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#7 » by hermes » Fri Feb 9, 2018 3:42 am

i thought they had to wait?

whatever i guess, i like the hire (even though i don't know anything about him) - hopefully it works out. we'll see what qb he likes
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#8 » by hermes » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:30 am

vikings blocked stefanski from taking another job (he's under contract for another year)

seems like a weird situation to me, they must really like him - but not enough to give him the coordinator job. i hope they gave him some more money or something (promised him the oc job if defilippo jumps ship to a head coaching gig in a year)
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#9 » by hermes » Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:44 pm

well one qb carousal spot is filled, bortles signed for 3 more years in jacksonville
Worm Guts
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Posts: 26,054
And1: 10,472
Joined: Dec 27, 2003
     

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#10 » by Worm Guts » Mon Feb 26, 2018 6:15 pm

So apparently the Vikings aren't franchising Case. This is where the offseason gets interesting.
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#11 » by hermes » Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:12 am

any news on when the nfl is going to make a decision on teddy's contract? kind of need that to happen before free agency

which starts march 14, and teams/players can start negotiations 2 days before i believe
Sedale Threatt
RealGM
Posts: 48,920
And1: 40,834
Joined: Feb 06, 2007
Location: Clearing space in the trophy case.

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#12 » by Sedale Threatt » Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:08 pm

Sounds like they're letting him walk so they can take a run at Cousins. Not sure what to think about that...
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#13 » by hermes » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:09 am

i'm good with it, we're in the title window so i think we need to go for it
Worm Guts
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Forum Mod - Timberwolves
Posts: 26,054
And1: 10,472
Joined: Dec 27, 2003
     

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#14 » by Worm Guts » Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:25 am

I don’t know what the right move is. Cousins is good but not great and Keenum played close to his level last year. Cousins has proved he can maintain that level though.
Whatever the Vikings do, I’ll probably just go with it.
Sedale Threatt
RealGM
Posts: 48,920
And1: 40,834
Joined: Feb 06, 2007
Location: Clearing space in the trophy case.

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#15 » by Sedale Threatt » Wed Feb 28, 2018 8:01 am

I guess they're thinking that Cousins is already good, and should get a boost from Cook and our receivers, who are much better than Washington's supporting cast. Would think that bringing Keenum back and using that extra cash to add another difference-maker and/or save it to re-sign some of our upcoming free agents is the more prudent move. But yeah, Spielman is pretty solid so I can't really complain if they swing big here. Who knows; maybe he's our Drew Brees. (Shut up and let me dream.) If not, you wish you were getting guaranteed great instead of probably pretty good for what will likely be the largest contract in NFL history.
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#16 » by hermes » Thu Mar 1, 2018 12:29 am

sounds like the nfl has decided not to toll teddy's contract and he'll become a free agent
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#17 » by hermes » Thu Mar 1, 2018 12:33 am

a friend of mine, who's an eagles fan, likened it to philadelphia's situation last off-season. he wasn't in favor of them spending a ton of money on alshon jeffery when they could bring back some serviceable receivers and keep on keeping on. but they went for it spent the money and you know how that worked out for them.

we're really close, i think we need to at least try and go for cousins and make the final push for a super bowl. it might make things difficult for us cap wise down the road but we're ready to win now. that said i don't really want to break the bank so if other teams outbid us (i'm sure rick has a number he's comfortable with) then so be it, we can go with keenum (he's my second choice). but i would like to be able to say that we gave an honest run at getting cousins
Duke4life831
Forum Mod
Forum Mod
Posts: 34,939
And1: 64,320
Joined: Jun 16, 2015
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#18 » by Duke4life831 » Sun Mar 4, 2018 10:41 pm

Im all for going for Cousins. Case was great last season but I doubt he can play any better than what he already showed and I think we started to see a decline back to the normal when the playoffs rolled around. There isnt much difference between Case at his highest level and normal Cousins. I think we have a window right now with this defense that might last us 2-4 more years. We have the weapons offensively as well, we just need that QB position. So ya Im all for going all out for Cousins and trying to win it all for the next few seasons.

Hell Im even in favor of trading away future 1st round picks if that means we can trade for a veteran or even trade up in the draft now for a better O linemen.
User avatar
hermes
RealGM
Posts: 93,236
And1: 24,545
Joined: Aug 27, 2007
Location: the restaurant at the end of the universe
 

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#19 » by hermes » Mon Mar 5, 2018 11:20 pm

there's getting to be a lot of smoke for cousins to the vikes
Sedale Threatt
RealGM
Posts: 48,920
And1: 40,834
Joined: Feb 06, 2007
Location: Clearing space in the trophy case.

Re: 2018 off-season thread: some important moves need to be made 

Post#20 » by Sedale Threatt » Tue Mar 6, 2018 6:32 pm

Yeah, unless he's fixated on getting every single dollar he can, at which point he'd sign with the Jets, I'm thinking we're the team here. Again, I wish we were getting guaranteed great instead of "only" really good for the kind of cash we'll be dishing out, but Duke raises some great points. I love how Case played this season, but him at his best is normal for Cousins, who has put up some pretty big numbers with, at least last year, a marginal supporting cast. Barring some wizard-like maneuvering, windows are typically short in the NFL so if this puts us in annual contention for the next few years, you can't really turn it down.

Return to Minnesota Vikings