Antoine Winfield Still Deciding Between Seahawks, Vikings

Nov 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield (26) reacts to being called for a penalty against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Antoine Winfield situation is yet to be resolved, despite reports late Wednesday afternoon saying he was headed for Seattle. As of Thursday morning there is still no final word on where Winfield will be playing in 2013. He could very well still head to Seattle. But according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, the Vikings have a shot to retain his services.

But do the Vikings really have a shot? You have to wonder what is really happening here. Winfield visited Seattle and though we don’t know the details of the visit, just going by what we know about that organization, you have to believe he liked what he saw. Certainly Seattle is better positioned than the Vikes to make a run. They have a top QB in Russell Wilson and a great defense. And oh by the way they also have Percy Harvin now.

Certainly Winfield, at his age, would prefer to play for a contender. Are the Vikings contenders? That depends on who you ask. Of course there’s also that other factor in play. Winfield was reportedly treated shabbily by Rick Spielman the day he was cut from the team. We were led to believe initially that Winfield would absolutely not return to Minnesota. But that cooled off, possibly after Winfield tested the market and found it not exactly hot.

You have to wonder how much the “angry at Rick Spielman” factor even plays into this. My suspicion? Winfield is still ticked at the Vikings and would prefer to leave. But it’s not like teams are exactly beating down his door. At least he’s gotten an offer from Seattle. But how big was that offer? I’m just guessing here by the way things played out on Wednesday, but I have to believe Seattle tried to lowball Winfield. And that’s why, all of a sudden, the Vikings were back in the running. Winfield’s agent probably got that out there as a way of goosing Seattle into upping their offer a little bit.

So is Winfield using the Vikings to leverage more money out of Seattle or is he really mulling a return to Minnesota? Unless another team jumps in, it appears to be Seattle or Minnesota – or nowhere – for the great cornerback.

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