I can't comment on whether or not this rumor has merit or not, but I will say it doesn't surprise me. I recall Pops' vociferous disgust about Schpielman after Brian's departure last year. I have no insider knowledge by any means, but you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to put the pieces together. Brian was asked to restructure and did. My guess is that there was some sort of "gentleman's" agreement regarding what the team would do with Brian, rather than formal language in a contract. Ricky and the Vikings reneged on that handshake agreement and Pops was justifiably pissed. I think that became common knowledge among Vikings players and didn't sit well with many...and giving $84 million guaranteed to a QB with a shit-ass record against winning teams, prime-time games, playoffs, etc., just exacerbated the situation.
Again, just my opinion. As an old geezer and longtime fan, I've learned to pay much more attention to what people/organizations DO as opposed to putting much stock in what they SAY.
Richard has talked a good game since 2006, but the results just have not been there. Spin the Vikings playoff record anyway you choose, but you can't find a more anemic 13 year stretch of playoff futility in the team's history than the current stretch the Vikings are on since Ricky took over the scouting and personnel departments. That's not my opinion...its a fact.
Peace.
Quote: @"Wetlander" said:
It would probably be in the best interest of both players to restructure. Rudy is 29 and Griffen is over 30... With Griffen's mental health issue earlier this season, I don't see teams lining up to give him a bunch of money if the Vikings cut him. Same with Rudy... I don't see a team overpaying for a TE that is good, not great.
If they want to force the Vikings hands, they may find out that they'll be making much less next season than what the Vikings are offering in a restructured deal. See Adrian Peterson...
I would love them both to restructure. But I think we might be surprised at what other teams may be willing to pay. Not in terms of draft capital; I have no idea if they have any trade value. But in financial terms the money is out there. March is the season for the NFL's great wealth redistribution. There are two teams with roughly $100M in cap space. Most teams in the NFL have well over $20M. That's a lot of money that has to go somewhere.
TE and DE is not our focus right now. But there are teams in the NFL who have glaring weaknesses there. Look at it through another lens: if there were a 29 year old guard out there who's been to two pro bowls and we had $75M to spend, do you think we'd be interested? Pretty sure we would.
Griff is a captain and helluva player when healthy. Rudy is amazing in the community and a pretty damn good player himself. Productive players dont just grow on trees
prolly the league is getting younger and more mercenary, as well as agents obviously want to keep salaries high, but you damn sure better call the right shots in management
Rudolph has been overpaid for years now. While Griffen has been a fantastic player over the years, he hasn't really been the same player since he hurt his foot in 2017, and especially since his mental health episode last season. Plus his yearly salary only continues to escalate over the next 4 seasons while Rudolph is at least in the last year of his contract.
Tough decisions coming up this offseason.
Quote: @"Bullazin" said:
Griff is a captain and helluva player when healthy. Rudy is amazing in the community and a pretty damn good player himself. Productive players dont just grow on trees
prolly the league is getting younger and more mercenary, as well as agents obviously want to keep salaries high, but you damn sure better call the right shots in management
Rudolph has great hands and seems to be a great person, but it gets tiring seeing him lumber down the field and go down at the first sign of contact. As mentioned earlier, getting either an actual 3rd WR or an athletic TE (or how about both?  mile: ) to take some pressure off of Thielen and Diggs has to be a priority this offseason.
Personally, I feel both have plateaued, certainly Rudy. And Griff's health has been a concern for several years now. Both good guys but both on the wrong side of their numbers.
And as Jerry Glanville always reminds us, it's not called the NFL for nuthin'.... 
Quote: @"SFVikingFan" said:
Rudolph has been overpaid for years now. While Griffen has been a fantastic player over the years, he hasn't really been the same player since he hurt his foot in 2017, and especially since his mental health episode last season. Plus his yearly salary only continues to escalate over the next 4 seasons while Rudolph is at least in the last year of his contract.
Tough decisions coming up this offseason.
I'm not going to argue in favor of keeping Rudolph. Tough decisions have to be made to improve the team. That said, I do think there's an argument that Rudolph's salary is maybe even lower than it should be. He's the 9th highest paid TE in the league. And if you look at where he's ranked in terms of production over the last several years he ranks much higher than that. In fact, I think I remember a stat last year that showed no tight end in the NFL had more touchdowns than Rudolph over the previous 3 seasons. And after years with the label "injury prone," he just finished his 4th straight 16-game season. Two caveats: that doesn't factor in his contribution as a blocker. Nor does it factor in that he may not be the kind of tight end most teams are looking for right now.
Rudolph had a higher broken tackles per touch (9.4%) than Ertz (6%), Devante Adams (9%) and Thielen (4.2%) last year, just to name a few.
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/2017/r...en-tackles
By no means would I say Rudolph is good at breaking tackles, but he's not crap like some fans would have you believe. Not to mention that Rudolph is used as a possession receiver, thus not the open space opportunities that others are afforded.
Quote: @"njvike" said:
I can't comment on whether or not this rumor has merit or not, but I will say it doesn't surprise me. I recall Pops' vociferous disgust about Schpielman after Brian's departure last year. I have no insider knowledge by any means, but you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to put the pieces together. Brian was asked to restructure and did. My guess is that there was some sort of "gentleman's" agreement regarding what the team would do with Brian, rather than formal language in a contract. Ricky and the Vikings reneged on that handshake agreement and Pops was justifiably pissed. I think that became common knowledge among Vikings players and didn't sit well with many...and giving $84 million guaranteed to a QB with a shit-ass record against winning teams, prime-time games, playoffs, etc., just exacerbated the situation.
Again, just my opinion. As an old geezer and longtime fan, I've learned to pay much more attention to what people/organizations DO as opposed to putting much stock in what they SAY.
Richard has talked a good game since 2006, but the results just have not been there. Spin the Vikings playoff record anyway you choose, but you can't find a more anemic 13 year stretch of playoff futility in the team's history than the current stretch the Vikings are on since Ricky took over the scouting and personnel departments. That's not my opinion...its a fact.
Peace.
NJ, I have agreed with you more often than many posters here, and for one reason: you usually describe a specific measurable that Spielman's Vikings teams have failed to meet: winning playoff games.
But holding on to aging players due to sentimentality, alleged handshake agreements, or even our sympathy for a player's father who hangs around, are NOT requirements of your "Just win playoff games" criteria. You could make a pretty good argument that being ruthless is a necessity for winning. Did the Vikings get closer to their playoff goals by honoring Jared Allen's contract for a final year (2013 & 5-10-1) or keeping Adrian Peterson around for a couple more expensive seasons?
You can justify steadily attacking Spielman if your reasons are consistent, but not if you criticize him for any and all actions, which may be contrary to each other.
Regarding the two players in the OP:
I think EG's value is overrated by a lot of people on this board, especially in terms of potential trades. He was injured in 2017, and in 2018 he had a mental breakdown and looked ineffective when he came back on new meds. So he's 31 and might be either a public embarrassment or a non-contributor - that's someone you take a chance on when he gets waived and will sign for a cheaper deal, not trade a draft pick to acquire and owe his full $12M salary. If this was the NBA the Vikings would probably be sending him to another team and giving them a draft pick to take his salary off our hands.
As for Rudolph, I would love to see a flex TE as a complement, but not necessarily a replacement. He's a bit overpaid but someone I would like to keep on the team. I think this "not interested in restructuring contracts" is the first salvo in negotiation by agents, anyway.
Quote: @"Jor-El" said:
@"njvike" said:
I can't comment on whether or not this rumor has merit or not, but I will say it doesn't surprise me. I recall Pops' vociferous disgust about Schpielman after Brian's departure last year. I have no insider knowledge by any means, but you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to put the pieces together. Brian was asked to restructure and did. My guess is that there was some sort of "gentleman's" agreement regarding what the team would do with Brian, rather than formal language in a contract. Ricky and the Vikings reneged on that handshake agreement and Pops was justifiably pissed. I think that became common knowledge among Vikings players and didn't sit well with many...and giving $84 million guaranteed to a QB with a shit-ass record against winning teams, prime-time games, playoffs, etc., just exacerbated the situation.
Again, just my opinion. As an old geezer and longtime fan, I've learned to pay much more attention to what people/organizations DO as opposed to putting much stock in what they SAY.
Richard has talked a good game since 2006, but the results just have not been there. Spin the Vikings playoff record anyway you choose, but you can't find a more anemic 13 year stretch of playoff futility in the team's history than the current stretch the Vikings are on since Ricky took over the scouting and personnel departments. That's not my opinion...its a fact.
Peace.
You can justify steadily attacking Spielman if your reasons are consistent...
Not if they're consistently stupid.
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