Ray Edwards Has a Plan. It Involves Skipping Minicamp.

Ray Edwards has been the only notable malcontent on a Vikings ship that has, so far, been sailing smoothly through the off-season.

Ray’s gripe centers around his contract status, which went from UFA to RFA thanks to the expired CBA, costing him the chance to make big bank by either signing with another team or inking a long-term deal with the Vikings.

Since the Vikes have no desire to give Ray a long-term contract, Ray’s apparent preference would be to get traded. But since Ray lacks the leverage to make a trade happen, all he can really do is sit and sulk, and wait until the last minute to sign the one-year tender offer the Vikings gave him a couple months ago.

The last minute is coming up quick. It will hit next Tuesday, in fact. If Ray should for some reason wait beyond that deadline, the Vikings have the option of dropping their offer from $2.5 million to $1.1 million.

That last fact would make it seem like a no-brainer for Ray to sign the tender.

The only good news here for Ray is, by waiting until next Tuesday to sign, he gets to miss this weekend’s mandatory minicamp without incurring a fine (because a player who’s not under contract can’t be penalized for missing a camp).

Whenever Ray does decide to show up and participate in team activities, you can bet he won’t be in a very good mood. Let’s hope Ray is able to channel that anger in a positive way, and have himself a monster season.

Then, next year, he can leave the Vikings and be overpaid by someone else.