UPDATE: Preliminary reports from Access Vikings say that Matt Birk has accepted the terms of the Baltimore Ravens. Though the deal isn’t officially complete, it should be done very soon. That would, of course, end Birk’s stay with the Vikings, where he had spent his entire career. The Harvard graduate had never tested free agency, and it appears on his first go at it, he’ll be leaving for Maryland. Ravens’ fans, you got yourself a stellar center, and a better person. We wish Matt all the best of luck!

Source: Access Vikings

It has been awhile since I’ve posted, so many apologies, especially when there’s been so much going on. Thankfully, Michael and Andrew have dominated the recent news. My thoughts:

To borrow a phrase: the money grabbing Housh-bag

First off, the Housh thing. You know what? Screw him. If he thinks having Matt Hasselbeck is a reason to join a team, then he’s got another thing coming. The Seahawks’ offensive line is suspect, he won’t have a very good complement at receiver (unless they draft Crabtree), and who even knows if Hasselbeck is going to recover completely? If all the things work out, then yeah, there’s a good chance that the Seahawks make a run for the NFC West title. Honestly, saying Hasselbeck is the reason he chose Seattle is a little bogus to me. I’m sure it played a part, no doubt, but come on. We all know what it was really about:

The money.

You can’t completely blame him; he paid his dues (in Cincinnati no less), and now he wants to get paid. Fair enough. Saying that, it’s safe to assume that in his eight years in the league, he’s most likely accumulated plenty of cash to survive well into his elder years of life. Is going to a possible black hole in Seattle worth a few extra million? Despite being extremely biased, I think everyone can agree that the Vikings have a slightly better chance of making the playoffs and a run to the Super Bowl than the Seahawks. Even with Tarvaris or Sage, having Bernard Berrian on one side, Shiancoe in the middle, and Peterson and Taylor in the backfield makes up for a lot at the quarterback position. He would get one-on-ones a majority of the time. It still baffles me that he went to the Seahawks.

Oh well. Time to move on. We probably don’t want a guy who bases his decisions mostly on money, anyway. Just had to get that off my chest.

Vikings' fans: it will never happen

There has been while speculation regarding current Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler and his status on the trading block. The reason this came about was previous reports that there was a three way trade involving Denver, New England, and numerous other possible teams, such as Tampa Bay or Minnesota. The end result would be Matt Cassel in Denver, Cutler with the third team, and New England getting a boatload of draft picks. Obviously, what with the Cassel trade to the Chiefs, none of that came to fruition. For some reason, many people still think that Denver’s new coach, Josh McDaniels, still had interest in trading Cutler, which is a fairly ridiculous thought, and here’s why:

The only reason Cutler was being mentioned in trades is because McDaniels, the former New England disciple, wanted Cassel to be his quarterback. If he got Cassel, who’s due roughly $14.6 million dollars this year, they would not have room for Cutler as they need all that money to help rebuild their sorry excuse for a defense. Thus, they would need to get rid of Cutler and free up some cap room; plus, you don’t really need two potential franchise quarterbacks on one team. Just doesn’t make sense. When the trade fell through, so did any option of getting Cutler.

I mean, think about it. If you were Denver, and you got offered the Vikings’ twenty-second pick in the draft, maybe a third round pick this year, a second round pick next year, and Tarvaris Jackson, would you accept that trade? It’s not even close.

Since no team wants to swap franchise quarterbacks, Denver is stuck with Cutler for the foreseeable future. Don’t get me wrong, I would have my Cutler jersey ordered the second the Vikings acquired him, but it’s simply not going to happen. The Broncos have no contingency plan in place should they trade Cutler, unless they plan on taking a QB in this year’s draft, which seems nigh-impossible. So, as of now, the Vikings’ QB situation remains the same: Sage and Tarvaris duke it out for the starting spot, John David Booty continues to be a developmental project. Barring some insane offer, that’s where I believe the Vikings will stand at the beginning of training camp and the start of the regular season.

Hopefully, a career Viking

Matt Birk visited with the Baltimore Ravens yesterday and expects to have a decision made on his future by Thursday. By all reports, Birk was impressed with the Ravens, and he’s comparing the offers made by both teams. Birk’s agent, Joe Linta, said the Vikings made an offer “that is not unfair.” It all comes down to what Birk and his wife decide to do. He’s been in Minnesota for his entire career, so leaving now would be bittersweet, and honestly, his chances of a championship are fairly even in both camps. I hope Birk stays on for another year or two, even with his age and the possibility of declining play, he’s such a great person and stand-up guy that I would hate to see him leave the organization. Hopefully, he does what all Minnesota fans are wanting, and stays with the Vikings. If not, Baltimore probably has no idea how complete a person they will be getting in Birk, both on and off the field.

Heath Farwell, the Vikings special teams ace who was out all last year with an injury, is also testing the free agent market. He has visited New England already, and is scheduled to visit Cleveland sometime this week. His main desire is to get the opportunity for playing time at the linebacker position, so while I want him to remain a Viking, you can’t blame him for wanting to see the field in an expanded role. With the Vikings, that’s a lot less likely to happen with E.J. Henderson and Chad Greenway having strangleholds on the starting Middle and Weak-side linebacking spots. So far, no deal has been signed and he’s weighing his options.

Besides those few things, there’s not much else going on for the Vikings right now. After pursuing T.J. Houshamazilly and the possible trade talks with Cutler surfacing, it’s seems like one big tease to come away with nothing. Sure, we signed Sage Rosenfels, and that’s a step in the right direction, but especially after last year’s big signings of Bernard Berrian, Jared Allen, and Madieu Williams, it seems like Minnesota hasn’t done anything so far.

One thing to keep in mind: last year was the anomaly. This year is the norm. Most teams focus on re-signing current players and unrestricted free agents, then look to add depth. Signing marquee free agents and making big trades isn’t the commonplace in the NFL. Also remember, the Vikings are already set at most positions; they don’t need to sign big names to be able to compete. The draft is also coming, and depth can be added through there in a much easier and cheaper way (in the later rounds). So please, be patient. Brad Childress and Company are trying. They went after T.J. They traded for Sage. They were in talks for Cutler. They recognize problem areas and are attempting to fix them. Just because they haven’t netted any results as of yet does not mean the roster is set for next year by any means.

Give it some time. It’ll pay off.