Vikings’ Brian Robison Accepts Pay Cut
Vikings defensive end Brian Robison accepted a pay cut in order to return for another season, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). Robison was initially scheduled to make $3.5MM this season, but he’ll now make a base salary of just $1.015MM, plus a $90K workout bonus. 
[RELATED: Dalvin Cook Ahead Of Schedule]
Robison’s pay cut opens up $2.38MM in new cap space for Minnesota. Somehow, after an offseason which saw the additions of quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, the Vikings have $17.1MM in cap room. The Vikings will try to use that flexibility to extend standouts like linebacker Anthony Barr, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and defensive end Danielle Hunter.
After the season, Robison wouldn’t guarantee that he would return for another year. Last week, he affirmed that he would come back for his 12th campaign. Although he started in six straight seasons for the Vikings, he’ll come off of the bench for a second consecutive year in 2018 as he supports Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter.
Despite playing in a reserve role, Robison still logged 642 snaps in 2017.
Dalvin Cook Ahead Of Schedule
In late April, it was reported Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was on track to be ready for training camp in July. In an interview with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero on Sunday, head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed that report and added that the second-year back is ahead of schedule. 
“He’s done really well. He’s ahead of schedule and we’re excited about where he’s at. I think he’ll get in OTAs some but it’ll be limited until we get to training camp.”
The Florida State product got off to a hot start in 2017, rushing for 288 yards in Minnesota’s first three games. In Week 4 against Detroit, however, Cook tore his ACL and was lost for the remainder of the season. He returned to the field and participated in some on-field drills when the team held their voluntary workouts in April.
With Cook returning and the addition of Kirk Cousins in the offseason, Minnesota appears to have improved upon an offense that ranked in the top 10 in points in 2017. When Cook returns, he will share the load with Latavius Murray, who rushed for 593 yards and seven touchdowns following the team’s Week 9 bye week.
Vikings Looking To Extend Barr, Diggs, Hunter
Despite spending heavily on Kirk Cousins this offseason, the Vikings are still intent on trying to keep their core of young players together. This includes Anthony Barr, Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter, who the team hopes to extend according to Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 
Though they hope to get the deals done, the Vikings know that will be a tough task. General manager Rick Spielman said, “We’re still going to try. Is it going to be easy? No.”
Diggs and Hunter are some of the best bargains in the business at the moment, both costing just $1.9MM against the cap in 2018. The Vikings picked up Barr’s fifth-year option in 2017 and he is set to cost $12.3MM in the upcoming season. All three deals are set to expire after the 2018 season.
Scoggins adds that Spielman and team executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski have been planning for this for three years, which led them to signing Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph to extensions despite them having additional years remaining.
Though it might be difficult to keep everyone around, if they are able to crunch the numbers they won’t have any pushback from ownership. Spielman said they have never heard “no” from the Wilfs on a potential deal.
It would be difficult to see the Vikings parting with Diggs, who just authored arguably the most famous play in team history when his touchdown grab vs. New Orleans as time expired sent Minnesota to the NFC Championship game.
Poll: Which Team Best Addressed QB Spot This Offseason?
This turned out to be an important year for quarterback acquisitions. Many teams’ short- and long-term futures will depend heavily on the players they added over the past two months.
A fourth of the NFL made major investments in outside talent at the quarterback position this offseason. Which team did you think is in the best position after all the dominoes fell?
Three teams acquired their unquestioned starters via trade or free agency. The Redskins’ trade for Alex Smith ensured they were not going to pick a quarterback in the draft. As did the Vikings’ subsequent Kirk Cousins agreement. The Broncos entered the draft as a borderline QB destination, but John Elway valued Bradley Chubb more than Josh Allen or Josh Rosen, eschewing a Bills offer that would have given his team extra first- and second-round picks. So, Case Keenum is going to be Denver’s starter.
Four of the five teams that used first-round picks on quarterbacks made sure to add bridge-type solutions, with the Browns moving first to get Tyrod Taylor. The Jets and Cardinals then respectively proceeded to bring in Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon. And the Bills made the final stopgap addition in A.J. McCarron. But these players, for the most part, are 2018 placeholders — at best.
Was Baker Mayfield worth the No. 1 overall pick? Or did the Browns make what could turn out to be the costliest of their spree of modern quarterback misjudgments last month? Several Cleveland executives independently rated Mayfield as the draft’s premier passer, going against the grain of the many teams that viewed Sam Darnold as this year’s top passing prospect. The Jets appear to have appreciated this bold move, and Darnold is almost certainly going to see extensive time in 2018. PFR readers believe he will.
The Bills worked the phones relentlessly in an effort to install Allen behind McCarron, and the Cardinals reportedly had the Wyoming prodigy rated as their top QB as well. But Allen could need extensive seasoning, and as of now, a returning playoff team has a fifth-year player with 133 career pass attempts set to open the season and possibly close it as the starter.
Conversely, the player the Cardinals invested in was tabbed by many draft experts as the readiest pro. And Bradford being in front of Rosen for 16 games may be asking a lot from the injury-prone veteran. The Ravens are already planning Jackson packages, and although the player whom some teams wanted to work out as a wide receiver may need a season to develop, this draft’s most dominant college QB resides in Baltimore behind Joe Flacco.
Armed with one of the league’s most talented rosters, Minnesota had the most obvious case to pursue a veteran. And the Vikings made history by authorizing a $28MM-AAV fully guaranteed deal for the soon-to-be 30-year-old Cousins, who may be the safest option among all of these players. But he’s now the league’s second-highest-paid passer and tethered to the Vikings through 2020. Smith is coming off his best NFL season, but his Chiefs teams disappointed in two home playoff opportunities. Washington could also be much further away from contention than Minnesota, and the Redskins have now brought in quarterback who for all the stability he offers is four years older.
It’s debatable the Broncos’ contention window could still be open, with many of their core Super Bowl 50 performers still on the team and having played the past two seasons without much help at quarterback. But a 5-11 team armed with only its second top-five pick since 1992 passing on two coveted QB prospects to pursue the 30-year-old Keenum, a late-blooming talent or a player who benefited from better circumstances, could also be classified as a bold choice as Rosen and Allen’s careers unfold. The Broncos only committed to Keenum for two years and are paying Football Outsiders’ No. 4 2017 DYAR passer $10MM less per year than Cousins commanded.
So, with all things considered, which of these franchises is best set up after this offseason? Did one of the teams that spent a first-round pick on a QB ensure a decade and then some of stability and promise? Or did the teams that went strictly for vets get this right? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DE Patrick Afriyie, WR Justice Liggins, WR Nelson Spruce
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Nick Holley, S Afolabi Laguda, TE Codey McElroy, S Steven Parker, LB Brian Womac
- Waived/injured: LB Carlos Thompson
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: DT Dylan Bradley
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB KeShun Freeman, WR Eldridge Massington, FB Ryan Yurachek
- Released: LB Michael Mauti
- Waived from injured reserve: T John Theus
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: CB Jordan Thomas
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Nick Williams
Vikings Sign DL David Parry
The Vikings have signed defensive lineman David Parry, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Vikings met with the former Colts and Saints lineman last week and came to terms on Wednesday morning. 
Parry started 32 games for the Colts as a nose tackle in Indianapolis’ 3-4 scheme, but a bizarre incident in February of last year put his football future into jeopardy. Parry was alleged to have attacked a taxi cart driver, car(t)jacked the vehicle, and threatened police officers. At one point in time, Parry was facing jail time with four charges against him. One of the charges was for committing a “Super Extreme” DUI in the state of Arizona, since he operated the cart with a high blood alcohol level.
Eventually, the Saints took a flier on him, but an injury in Week 4 cost him the bulk of the season. He was later tagged with a suspension for the aforementioned incident, but he was able to serve his time while on IR.
The Vikings’ impressive defensive line features starting defensive tackles Linval Joseph and Sheldon Richardson. Parry will fight for a place in the rotation along with last year’s fourth-round pick Jaleel Johnson and Cashaud Lyons.
Speaking of the Vikings’ defensive line, Brian Robison has committed to return for his 12th NFL season. Robison is the team’s longest-tenured active player.
Brian Robison To Return For 12th Season
Brian Robison has decided to play at least one more season. The Vikings defensive end and the franchise’s longest-tenured active player announced (via Twitter) on Monday he will return to the team.
The 2007 draftee wavered on a previous stance that indicated he would play through the 2018 season, commenting after the Vikings’ season concluded that it wasn’t a surefire proposition he would return. Now, the 35-year-old defender will try for another season in Minnesota.
Having played in all but three games since the start of the 2007 season, Robison ranks fifth in Vikings history with 60 sacks. He stands to occupy a depth role again on Minnesota’s defensive line, being stationed behind Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter on the depth chart. Robison moved back into a bench role after being a full-time starter from 2011-16. Nevertheless, Robison enjoyed a busy workload last season, playing 642 snaps.
However, the Vikings also drafted two defensive ends this year — in fourth-rounder Jalyn Holmes and sixth-rounder Ade Aruna — so the franchise is preparing for Robison’s eventual departure. Robison stands to make $3.2MM in base salary as a part of his revised contract.
North Notes: Vikings, Taylor, Browns
While analyzing their new rookie class, the Vikings experimented with position changes for two players at their minicamp this weekend. The team has tried shifting fourth-round pick Jalyn Holmes from defensive end to defensive tackle and undrafted rookie Hercules Mata’afa was shifted from defensive tackle to linebacker.
“I’m up for the challenge and got good coaches that are actually teaching me what to do, so I’m up for the challenge,” said Holmes, who had limited experience playing defensive tackle at Ohio State, per Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Krammer notes that Holmes would likely need to add at least five pounds to his 285-pound frame to compete at the position. He also points out that Homles would be the team’s tallest defensive tackle at 6-foot-5.
At 6-foot-2, 254 pounds, Mata’afa who attended Washington State, was one of the Power Five’s smallest defensive tackles. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, via Krammer, also pointed out an example in which switching a player defensive line to linebacker panned out.
“There have been several guys who have gone from d-line to linebacker,” Zimmer said. “[Teddy] Bruschi is a great example. I’m not saying he’s Bruschi, but guys have done that in the past. It’ll take time.”
Here’s more from around the AFC around NFC North:
- Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wonders if Browns cornerback Jamar Taylor could be shipped off in a trade before or after training camp as the team has stacked up an abundance of depth at the position. The Browns added Ohio State’s Denzel Ward with the fourth overall pick in last month’s draft and also added Simeon Thomas, T.J. Carrie, E.J. Gaines and Terrance Mitchell this offseason. Cabot also reported that Taylor was on the trading block during the draft.
- Kabot also looked into some scenarios that could play out at left tackle for the Browns. Cabot believes that 2016 third-round pick Shon Coleman will get the first crack at trying to replace Joe Thomas. She also believes that Austin Corbett, who they selected in the second round of last month’s draft, will press Coleman for the starting job. Cabot also sees a scenario in which the team moves Joel Bitonio from left guard to left tackle and place Corbett at left guard to keep the highly-touted rookie on the field.
- On Saturday, we learned that the Lions signed offensive lineman Brett Kendrick and waived safety Anthony Sherrils
Vikings Meet With DT David Parry
The Vikings will meet with defensive tackle David Parry on Thursday afternoon, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This marks Parry’s first known visit since being non-tendered by the Saints earlier this year. 
Parry started 32 games for the Colts as a nose tackle in Indianapolis’ 3-4 scheme, but a bizarre incident in February of 2017 put his football future into jeopardy. Parry was alleged to have attacked a taxi cart driver, car(t)jacked said vehicle, and threatened police officers. At one point in time, Parry was facing jail time with four charges against him. One of the charges was for committing a “Super Extreme” DUI in the state of Arizona, since he operated the cart with a high blood alcohol level.
Eventually, the Saints took a flier on him, but an injury in Week 4 cost him the bulk of the season. He was later tagged with a suspension for the aforementioned incident, but he was able to serve his time while on IR.
The Vikings’ impressive defensive line features starting defensive tackles Linval Joseph and Sheldon Richardson. Last year’s fourth-round pick Jaleel Johnson and Cashaud Lyons project to serve as their backups.
Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/18
Here are Saturday’s draft pick transactions.
- The only Vikings draft choice to remain unsigned after Saturday is first-rounder Mike Hughes. Minnesota agreed to terms with second-rounder Brian O’Neill on Friday and today inked four-year contracts with fourth-round defensive end Jalyn Holmes and fifth-round tight end Tyler Conklin. Seven of the Vikes’ eight picks are under contract.
- Meanwhile, the Raiders reached their first agreement with a 2018 draftee, coming to terms with sixth-round linebacker Azeem Victor. While Victor is this draft class’ only linebacker, Oakland added four veterans in free agency — including a Friday accord with Derrick Johnson.