What the heck is going on with John Sullivan and what does the Minnesota Vikings’ recent trade for center Nick Easton indicate about Sullivan’s status?
These questions are being asked by Viking fans and the team isn’t giving any answers that anyone really believes.
When asked about the Sullivan situation, both Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman said Sullivan is still on track to come back from IR-to-return after week 9 as scheduled.
Spielman was asked about the decision to trade for Easton and what that might mean for Sullivan and he said it doesn’t mean anything except that the team likes Easton and is always looking to upgrade.
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Pardon me if I don’t quite buy what Zimmer and Spielman are saying.
Why don’t I buy it? Because the Vikings have been less-than-forthcoming throughout the entire process with Sullivan’s injury.
The Vikings downplayed the severity of Sullivan’s injury from the get-go. Sullivan was just having back spasms, they said. Sullivan would be good to go week 1, they said.
At one point Mike Zimmer even talked enthusiastically about Sullivan coming back to practice. The next day, the Vikings revealed that Sullivan was having microsurgery on his back and would be out until week 10.
Given how dishonest the Vikings have been about Sullivan so far, why should I believe that he’s really on schedule to be back week 10?
And why should I believe the Vikings only picked up Easton because they like Easton and not because they’re worried Sullivan will be out for the rest of the year?
If fans are worried about Sullivan, it’s because they know how important Sullivan is to the team. Joe Berger has done a decent job for the most part but he’s no Sullivan.
If fans don’t trust the Vikings when it comes to Sullivan, it’s only because the team has failed to be totally truthful pretty much every step of the way.
Maybe I’m just a dumb fan but I’m concerned that Sullivan won’t be back, and the acquisition of Easton only adds to that concern.
I might believe the Vikings a little more on this stuff if they hadn’t been so shady about it from the beginning.
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