Giving Rick Spielman a raise this offseason is necessary for the Vikings
By Adam Patrick
With a number of NFL teams currently searching for new leadership in their front office, the Minnesota Vikings need to make sure their general manager sticks around.
Rick Spielman takes a little too much flack sometimes for the draft picks and free-agent signings he has missed on since becoming the Minnesota Vikings general manager in 2012. From draft selections like Christian Ponder, T.J. Clemmings, and Josh Robinson to free-agent acquisitions like Jerome Simpson, Josh Freeman, and Andre Smith, the Vikings have definitely made some regrettable decisions with Spielman as their general manager.
However, Minnesota would certainly not be 10-2 at this point in the season if not for some of the recent moves made by their general manager.
Spielman played a big part in the hiring of Mike Zimmer back in 2014 and since then, he and Zimmer have worked together to build one of the best young teams in the NFL. Of Minnesota’s 11 current starters on their uber-talented defense, seven of them were drafted with Spielman as the team’s general manager.
He has attempted to build the offense in a similar fashion, but their recent success has mostly come from adding free agents during the offseason. Riley Reiff, Case Keenum, and Latavius Murray are a part of the Vikings’ most recent free-agent signings and their impact has definitely been felt in 2017.
Some fail to remember that this is only Spielman’s sixth year as Minnesota’s general manager. As each season has gone by since 2012, his offseason decisions have continued to improve and his hard work has the team currently in position to capture home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
His best work may have come this past offseason.
Minnesota Vikings
Following the Vikings’ disappointing collapse in 2016 after starting the year with a 5-0 record, Spielman went out and did as much as he could to make sure something like that would never happen again. The Minnesota general manager added a ton of depth through the draft with players like Dalvin Cook, Ben Gedeon, and Pat Elflein and through free agency by signing Keenum, Murray, Reiff, Mike Remmers, and even Michael Floyd.
Spielman also did his best to ensure the possibility of success remained for the Vikings’ next few seasons by signing Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, and Linval Joseph to contract extensions. The same should be expected to continue during the upcoming offseason also as Anthony Barr and Stefon Diggs will both be looking (and deservedly so) to get paid.
With teams like the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants now looking for some new leadership in their front office, Spielman seems like a candidate that could help in transforming another team into a model of success. Which is why Minnesota needs to make sure their general manager does not even get the opportunity to even think about setting a foot outside their door.
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By adding a few more dollar bills (well okay, obviously more than just a few) to Spielman’s salary this upcoming offseason, the Vikings would ensure that their franchise would be in good hands for an even longer period of time. It seems like Zimmer and Spielman have really found their groove recently and keeping these two together should be one of Minnesota’s top priorities during the offseason.