The Case Against Trading For Vincent Jackson
By Jon Merckle
Last night wasn’t pretty and this offense needs work. Favre missed his gameday dish of Sticky Rice more than most anticipated. Sticky was an absolute nightmare last year in one-on-one matchups. Without hesitation Favre would throw to him in coverage with Sticky oftentimes coming down with the ball. Hold on while I bang my head against the keyboard for memories of one miserable pass ending the ’09 season… Done. Double teaming Sticky left someone open and Favre (unlike TJax) would go through all of his reads before letting it fly. I’m also fully aware that Vincent Jackson has more potential to be both a downfield and red zone threat than any receiver on our active roster.
But the problem with trading for Vincent Jackson is three-fold. First of all, he’s suspended and we’d have to watch Favre gel with other receivers in the interim. Secondly Chargers are demanding a 2nd and 3rd round pick for him. This team has too many needs going into next season to dangle multiple picks. And finally, there’s no point to trade for Jackson unless he immediately agrees to an extension. Yesterday Miles Austin signed a 6 year 54 million dollar extension and you can guarantee that Jackson will want a similar type deal. We also have to take into account that Sticky becomes a free agent after this season (uncertainty around CBA does not guarantee that Franchise Tags) and a team that ranks near the bottom in league revenue simply can’t afford to keep all of Adrian-Sticky-Percy-VJax. Plus, who throws them the ball? We’re not going to the Promised Land with Tarvaris Jackson. Favre is likely to retire after this year and if (big if, I know) McNabb joins Vikings in 2011 he’s not playing for free. Tom Brady’s new deal sets a precedent on elite QBs earning about a million bucks a game.
My alternative and more affordable solution is as follows: Bring Javon Walker back for a cheap contract, keep the draft picks, cut Greg Lewis and wait for Sticky to heal. And if Sticky reverts to ’09 form give him a Miles Austin type deal. I know Lewis is forever adored by Vikings fans for last year’s catch against San Francisco, but WRs like him are a dime a dozen. Walker couldn’t have any worse chemistry with Favre than what we saw last night. He also scored two TDs in the preseason and accounted for over 100 yards of offense.
And yes there’s the argument that the window closes after this year, so just go all in. Without getting too in depth on next year, but you can’t tell me that a nucleus of Adrian-Sticky-Percy with a competent QB and Jared-Kevin on D is enough firepower to at least be competitive. Plus Sticky should be back by November and we have a few horses to move the ball on offense until then. Now if Chilly would only stick to running the ball with #28…
Jon Merckle may be followed on Twitter @thevikingpig