Terence Newman may return, likely won’t play safety

Terence Newman is mulling returning to the Vikings for one more season but Rick Spielman indicates the veteran would not play safety if he comes back.

Injuries depleted the Vikings’ safety group so much last year that long-time cornerback Terence Newman was forced to switch positions for one week. Newman performed well enough in his one game as a safety that some folks think he should move there permanently.

But it doesn’t look like GM Rick Spielman is all that keen on having Newman switch positions.

Spielman spoke to reporters the other day about the possibility of Newman coming back for one more year and said he believes the 37-year-old is amenable to returning (via Minneapolis StarTribune):

"“I think Terence still wants to play. It’s funny, you talk to all these guys right after the season and especially with the emotion with everything that was going on Monday after the game. You listen and talk to the players, but then as things calm down and we get to the combine, we’ll discuss and have a lot of talks with the agents on our team and then the process will continue as we get up through that negotiation period and before the market kicks off."

Next: Bridgewater too cautious?

When asked about the idea of switching Newman to safety, Spielman said he thinks of Newman as a cornerback.

Newman may not be the man to fill the Vikings’ need at safety. Maybe one of these five free agents will be. Or the Vikings could look to fill the hole via the draft.