The Vikings were, for a time, among the teams thought to have an interest in drafting Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn. That all went by the boards on draft day when Chilly and the brain-trust, in their wisdom, passed on Quinn in favor of future superstar RB Adrian Peterson. There was, however, some concern among certain players that the Vikes might actually go the Quinn route – one in particular, star CB Antoine Winfield, went so far as to tell management that, should it be their intention to draft Quinn, he wanted to be traded (this according to a report on ESPN’s First Take, via Rube Chat user Unnecessary Spandex).
Antoine doesn’t have anything against Quinn personally that I know of – unless it’s just the old Ohio State guys have to hate Notre Dame guys thing. What Winfield was clearly signalling, by expressing his desire to play elsewhere should Quinn be taken, was his wish to not be part of the organization should it decide to go the rebuilding route. And you can’t really blame Winfield for this. He joined the team in 2004 thinking that, with stars like Culpepper and Moss in place, it was primed for a Super Bowl run. Obviously that run never materialized. The last couple of years have been tumultuous ones to say the least – controversies, coaching changes, personnel turn-over. Winfield, who figures he’s only got a few prime years left if that, is justified in not wanting to be around for a full-blown rebuilding. But, that was never the Vikings’ intention, from what I could tell. Coach Childress seems completely sold on Tarvaris Jackson as the QB of the present and future – so it never made sense that they would go after Quinn. Of course, Childress could just be talking Jackson up in public – you never know with that guy. At any rate, you can’t blame Winfield for being skeptical, despite the organization’s apparent disinclination to go with Quinn. He was just covering his butt by bringing up the trade thing. Fans should harbor no bitterness toward a guy who’s mostly said and done the right things since joining the team. And, unlike some people, at least Antoine doesn’t make a big public spectacle of questioning the organization. He isn’t quite that full of himself.