The Minnesota Vikings have 17 players who will soon be entering free agency, and these are five I am fairly sure will be back.
What will the Vikings do this year in free agency? Will they be aggressive in pursuing new players or will they take their normal boring conservative approach?
Before the Vikings can even begin to think about spending money on new talent, they first have to figure out what they’re going to do with their own pending free agents.
The Vikings have 17 players who will become free agents when the new league year begins in March. How many of those 17 will be deemed worthy of returning?
There may be some tough calls for the Vikings when it comes to who they want to bring back and who they are okay letting walk. The five players listed here I don’t believe will be particularly hard calls to make.
All five of these men bring value to the table and are worth bringing back at the appropriate price. And I think all five will be back.
Sherels’ punt return average dipped to 9.1 in 2015, down from 11 in 2014 and way down from 15.2 in 2013. But you know what? Who cares.
Sherels also ran one back for a TD in 2015, his first return touchdown since 2013. That TD earned him his first NFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week award.
But Sherels’ value isn’t only as a punt return man. He is also a beast as a gunner and he provides insurance as a backup kick returner behind the flaky Cordarrelle Patterson. All-around, Sherels is one of the most valuable special teams players the Vikings have had in recent years.
I see no reason why the Vikings won’t bring Sherels back for 2016. People will still put him on the bubble at the beginning of camp, and he’ll still be a Viking at the end of camp, because he’s just a solid football player.
Both Mike Priefer and Mike Zimmer surely appreciate what Sherels brings to the table and will want Rick Spielman to bring back the 28-year-old for at least one more year.
2. Mike Harris
Joe Berger was probably the Vikings’ best offensive lineman in 2015, and Mike Harris was probably a close second.
Who at the beginning of 2015 had Berger and Harris finishing as the top two Vikings O-linemen of the year? You’re lying if you say you thought that would happen.
The journeyman Harris was moved to right guard in camp and quickly solidified his spot as the starter. Originally seen as a stop-gap at the position, Harris soon convinced people that he could be the long-term solution. The journeyman label has since been dropped from before his name.
Now Harris is a free agent and if the Vikings truly do view him as a long-term solution, they will have to pony up some cash to keep him around.
At 27 and coming off by far his most effective season, Harris will likely get some offers. The Vikings would be smart to lock him up early if they have a chance.
Sendejo has been universally written off as a candidate to start at safety in 2016, and with good reason. He just wasn’t consistently good enough as a starter in 2015 to warrant a return engagement in that role.
It’s highly likely that the Vikings will look to address the safety spot by picking up a free agent or dipping into the draft. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Sendejo is out of the picture. The last I looked you still need backups, and for all his short-comings, at least Sendejo knows the defense.
Remember also that before he was forced into the starting safety role, Sendejo was viewed as a very good special teams guy. Re-signing Sendejo as a backup safety and special teamer makes all the sense in the world.
I’m all for having Sendejo back as long as he’s not out there starting week-to-week.
The list of Vikings who posted more than one interception in 2015 is very short: Terence Newman (3), Harrison Smith (2), Captain Munnerlyn (2), Justin Trattou (2).
Yes, defensive end Justin Trattou had as many picks in 2015 as Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith. It gets even flukier when you realize Trattou played in only five games and ended up with as many interceptions as tackles.
Okay, so Justin Trattou is not going to continue being an off-the-charts interception machine for the Vikings if they bring him back for 2016, but I still think they will bring him back.
The Vikings obviously are very high on Trattou. The defensive end was injured early in the season and by all rights should have ended up on season-ending IR at some point, but the Vikes kept him off IR, allowing him to return late in the year and contribute to their playoff run.
Clearly, Mike Zimmer sees something in Trattou. Those picks may be fluky but they also indicate that he has the ability to drop in coverage as a defensive end and make plays. Zimmer traditionally has liked to drop his defensive ends.
I personally would be surprised if the Vikings don’t bring back the 27-year-old Trattou for next year.
This is not another post about how Chad Greenway is really old and really slow and should have been put out to pasture two years ago.
At this point everyone knows what Greenway is and what he is not, including Greenway. Fans too should be realistic in their assessment of Greenway’s physical abilities at this point. At 33, Greenway is a borderline NFL player at best. That being said…sure, bring Chad Greenway back for 2016.
Bring Chad Greenway back for as little as he is willing to accept and let him play at the Will until you can groom his successor. Bring him back for his veteran presence, his leadership, his popularity with the fanbase.
Bring him back and let him help christen the new stadium.
I’m all for having Chad Greenway return for one last spin around the track, knowing that you won’t have to pay him much and that his replacement will already be on the roster, ready to take over when the last bit of tread wears off his tires.
Never mind that he’s old and slow and should have been put out to pasture two years ago.