Vikings Have Inquired About Benny Sapp

When last we saw Benny Sapp he was getting stiff-armed into oblivion by Wes Welker during Welker’s 99-yard touchdown catch-and-run on Monday night. After that debacle, it didn’t take the Dolphins long to decide Sapp’s services were no longer required.

It took only five seconds more for Viking fans to call for the team to pick up Sapp who as we remember was traded to Miami last off-season in exchange for Greg Camarillo. Viking fans hold a special place for Sapp in their hearts after the way he hung in as Antoine Winfield‘s replacement when Winfield got hurt late in 2009, and counted Brad Childress‘ decision to trade Sapp high on the list of his crimes against Viking Nation.

At least one Viking player, Winfield, went on record saying he would love to have the scrappy but sometimes not very heady Sapp return to Minnesota. When asked about Sapp himself, Leslie Frazier said he loves Benny but also said the Vikings “have a good situation at cornerback.”

On Thursday morning things developed a little further in the Sapp saga. Jeremy Fowler tweeted that the Vikings have “inquired” about Sapp but cautioned that “nothing is imminent” and suggested if Sapp is brought in it won’t be until after the Tampa Bay game.

The Vikings currently have a solid three-man corner line-up with Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin and the improving (but still penalty-prone) Chris Cook. The fourth spot is held by Asher Allen who was inactive week 1 due to a bad toe. Fifth is Marcus Sherels who is also the punt return man, meaning his job is safe no matter what. Sixth is rookie Brandon Burton who was also inactive against the Chargers.

If the Vikes did sign Sapp he would clearly not be playing in nickel defense, meaning he would not actually see the field much, if ever. At best he would represent an insurance policy in case one of the top three guys got hurt. Or perhaps with Sapp in the fold instead of the utterly worthless Asher Allen the Vikings would elect to go to their dime defense more often, or maybe go with four corners, two linebackers and one safety (since they only have one safety who’s worth a damn anyway).

The point here being, whatever role Sapp filled on the defense would be a limited one at best, unless someone got hurt. Would it be nice to have the entertaining Mr. Sapp back? Sure. Would he make much impact if he did return? Almost certainly not.

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