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Minnesota Vikings News & Rumors

Jets To Interview Paton, Fitterer

May 26th, 2019 at 11:32am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have added two more names to their GM request list. The club has requested interviews with Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Seahawks co-Director of Player Personnel Scott Fitterer, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 

[Poll: Who Should Jets Hire?]

Paton has been a prominent GM candidate in the last few offseason cycles, though he has also pulled his name from consideration on multiple occasions, including the Jets’ search that resulted in Mike Maccagnan‘s hire in 2015. In December, it was rumored that Paton was open to finally making a move, so he could be open to running the Jets’ front office.

Fitterer has been in the mix for GM jobs as well, including vacancies with the Chiefs, 49ers, and Colts a couple of years ago. Fitterer’s strength lies in talent evaluation, whereas Paton is viewed as more of a cap guru.

Fitterer and Paton join Eagles exec Joe Douglas and Bears exec Champ Kelly on the Jets’ interview docket.

NFC North Notes: Vikings, Lions, Bears

May 23rd, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Tight end Kyle Rudolph confirmed that he’s attempting to negotiate a new deal withe Vikings, but also said he’s been told there are “plenty of other teams” that would have interest in acquiring him, as Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com writes. Rudolph, who is scheduled to earn $7.275MM in the final year of his contract, has already stated he won’t accept a pay cut. Minnesota has the second-least cap space in the NFL, and also drafted tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the second round of last month’s draft.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • Graham Glasgow could be on the move again. The Lions deployed Glasgow — who played center on nearly every offensive snap in 2018 — at right guard at organized team activities, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Glasgow’s position change will allow Detroit to move 2018 first-round pick Frank Ragnow from left guard to center, his more natural position. Glasgow, for his part, split time between left guard and center in both 2017 and 2017 before moving to center full-time last season.
  • The Bears are listing former offensive tackle Bradley Sowell as a tight end, per Adam Jahns of The Athletic (Twitter link). as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes (via Twitter), Chicago doesn’t necessarily have an in-line tight end on its roster, and Sowell played that role in 2018. Per Pro Football Focus, Sowell lined up as an tight end for 30 snaps last season, and spent another eight plays in the backfield. Memorably, Sowell caught a touchdown pass on a trick play against the Rams in December.
  • Former AAF quarterback Luis Perez recently worked out for the Lions, tweets Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio. Perez, who signed with the Rams after going undrafted in 2018 and just spent a month on the Eagles’ roster, tossed five touchdowns against six interceptions for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron. Detroit currently has Tom Savage and Connor Cook behind starter Matthew Stafford.

Kyle Rudolph To Attend Vikings OTAs

May 21st, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Ben Levine
  • While there’s no guarantee that he’ll be with the Vikings come the start of the season, tight end Kyle Rudolph told NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero that he’d be attending his team’s OTAs (Twitter link). We learned last week that the organization had offered the veteran a five-year extension, although there hasn’t been a lot of progress with negotiations. There were rumblings that the team could even look to move on from Rudolph after selecting Irv Smith Jr. in the second round of last month’s draft.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Vikings Offer Extension To Kyle Rudolph

May 17th, 2019 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have offered a five-year extension to Kyle Rudolph that would make him one of the highest paid tight ends in terms of new-money average, a source tells PFT’s Mike Florio. However, there has not been much progress in talks. 

The proposed extension would likely reduce Rudolph’s $7.625MM cap number for 2019, but the veteran says there is “no way” he will take a pay cut. At the same time, Rudolph says he wants to stay with the Vikings.

The Vikings apparently want to keep Rudolph, though they have insurance after selecting Irv Smith Jr. in the second round of last month’s draft. Ideally, they’d like to have both of the well-rounded tight ends in the fold.

Last year, Rudolph had 64 receptions for 634 yards and four touchdowns. Even though many tight end needs around the league have been addressed, Rudolph would still find a strong market if released by Minnesota.

Kyle Rudolph On Pay Cut: “No Way”

May 16th, 2019 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

Kyle Rudolph might not be a member of the Vikings for much longer. In an interview with Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune, Rudolph said there is “no way” he will accept a pay cut on his 2019 salary. 

“No I won’t [accept a pay cut],” Rudolph said. “I am too young for that.”

Rudolph, 30 in November, is slated to carry a $7.625MM cap number this year. However, that figure is completely non-guaranteed, so the Vikings can wipe his entire salary off of the books without cap ramifications.

Rudolph also reiterated that he wants to stay put and expressed enthusiasm about the offense under OC Kevin Stefanski and assistant head coach Gary Kubiak. But, given his contract, his refusal to adjust the contract, and the arrival of second-round tight end Irv Smith Jr., it seems likely that Rudolph will be traded or released this offseason.

The tight end had another productive season in 2018, hauling in 64 receptions for 634 yards and four scores.

Vikings Restructure Eric Kendricks’ Deal

May 14th, 2019 at 1:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks agreed to restructure his contract in order to keep the team under the cap, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The Vikings entered Tuesday with less than $700K in cap room, which did not leave them enough room to ink first-round pick Garrett Bradbury. With Kendricks’ cooperation, they were able to get the deal done. 

The revised deal will convert $2.15MM of Kendricks’ $4.15MM salary for 2019 into a salary bonus, which created about $1.72MM in space for the Vikes. That extra bit of breathing room may also bode well for the future of Kyle Rudolph, who is set to carry a $7.625MM cap hit this year. The Vikings have tried – and failed – to ink the tight end to a cap smoothing extension, but Kendricks’ gesture could go a long way towards keeping the veteran in Minnesota.

The Vikings inked Kendricks to a five-year, $50MM extension last year with $25MM guaranteed. And, in 2018, he kept up the good work. Kendricks finished out with 108 stops, one sack, and two interceptions in 14 regular season games.

Vikings Sign First Round Pick Garrett Bradbury

May 14th, 2019 at 12:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings’ draft class is almost wrapped up. On Tuesday, the Vikings announced the signing of first-round center Garrett Bradbury. 

Bradbury, a North Carolina State product, was taken with the No. 18 overall pick last month. In his final year on campus, Bradbury won the Dave Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the best center in college football. The converted tight end is believed to be NFL-ready thanks to his core strength and blocking IQ.

With Bradbury signed, the Vikings have just one straggler left in Air Force long snapper Austin Cutting. Cutting, a seventh-round pick, reported to rookie minicamp after signing an injury protection agreement instead of his rookie contract. Cutting says he’s not signing “out of respect to letting the Air Force eventually give a final decision of if he can play in 2019.”

Here’s the full rundown of Minnesota’s frosh class:

Vikings’ Mike Zimmer On Kyle Rudolph

May 13th, 2019 at 1:47pm CST by Zachary Links

It doesn’t sound like Kyle Rudolph will be with the Vikings for much longer. On Monday, head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about Rudolph’s status and hinted at a parting of ways. 

“I’ve had conversations with Kyle and quite honestly I really love all my players,” Zimmer said (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press). “We expect Kyle to be here but sometimes business gets in the way.”

Zimmer’s comment jibes with last week’s report that contract negotiations between the Vikings and the tight end have come to a stop. The Vikings can save upwards of $7MM by moving on from Rudolph and the arival of second-round pick Irv Smith Jr. may give the team enough confidence to drop the veteran.

Rudolph is due $7.275MM in base pay for 2019 while Smith is set to make less than $5.8MM over the life of his four-year rookie deal.

Vikings, Kyle Rudolph Halt Negotiations

May 10th, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Kyle Rudolph could be on his way out of Minnesota. Extension talks between the tight end and the Vikings broke off on Friday morning, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The Vikings drafted Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the second round, a sign that Rudolph might not factor into the team’s future plans. By moving on from Rudolph, the Vikes can save more than $7MM. Meanwhile, Rapoport hears that there is interest in Rudolph around the NFL.

Speculatively, one has to wonder if the Patriots could be among the interested clubs. A trade to New England would give the Pats an established TE to replace Rob Gronkowski and would give Rudolph his first opportunity to play in Foxborough for the first time since September 14, 2014. In that one-sided Patriots win, Rudolph had a respectable five receptions for 53 yards.

The 29-year-old Rudolph had another productive season in 2018, hauling in 64 receptions for 634 yards and four scores.

Vikings Sign Five Draft Picks

May 9th, 2019 at 9:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings made more selections (12) than any other team in the 2019 NFL draft, but they’re nearly done signing their entire rookie class. Only first-round center Garrett Bradbury and seventh-round long-snapper Austin Cutting remain unsigned after Minnesota recently announced the following first-year players have inked their rookie deals:

Mattison was considered something of an over-draft at the end of the third round, but he could see a path to playing time during his rookie campaign, as he’ll compete with Mike Boone, Ameer Abdullah, and Roc Thomas for work behind starting running back Dalvin Cook. Mattison, who stands 5’11” and 211 pounds, surpasses 1,000 rushing yards in each of the past two seasons, scoring a combined 29 touchdowns on the ground during that time. His four-year contract should be worth $3.342MM and come with a signing bonus of ~$822K.

Samia was one of four Oklahoma offensive lineman selected in last month’s draft. The four-year starter was named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2018, and also earned first-team All-Big 12 and second-team All-American nods. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com calls Samia a “very able zone blocker,” which could help him adjust to the NFL as the Vikings implement some form of new offensive consultant Gary Kubiak‘s zone-based scheme. Samia probably isn’t in line for starting work immediately, as Pat Elflein, Bradbury, and Josh Kline will handle Minnesota’s interior, but he’s likely penciled as the club’s top guard/center reserve.

First-round contracts often take a bit longer to work out, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Bradbury is still unsigned. But Cutting’s situations is tied to his status as an alum of the Air Force Academy. He hasn’t signed his rookie deal as he waits for the Air Force to decide if he’ll first need to fulfill his service requirement before playing in the NFL. President Trump is reportedly considering a waiver to allow service academy prospects to immediately play professional sports and delay their military obligations.

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