10 worst decisions by Rick Spielman during his Vikings tenure
By Adam Patrick
Signing John Carlson in 2012
In what was supposed to be one of his big free-agent signings in his first offseason as the general manager of the Vikings, Rick Spielman decided to sign former Seattle Seahawks tight end John Carlson to a five-year contract worth $25 million.
After catching over 50 passes in two of his first three seasons with the Seahawks, Carlson ended his first year in Minnesota with a whopping eight receptions. In two seasons with the Vikings, he started a total of 14 games and accumulated 40 catches for 387 yards and one touchdown.
Signing Josh Freeman in 2013
After starting the 2013 campaign with only one win in their first four games, Spielman decided to take a chance on quarterback Josh Freeman, who had just been let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Minnesota and their general manager quickly found out why the Bucs didn’t fight for Freeman to stay as his lone start in purple in gold still lives in infamy.
Despite being with the Vikings for less than a month, the quarterback was thrown into the fire almost immediately as he started in a Week 7 matchup against the New York Giants in front of a national television audience on “Monday Night Football”.
Freeman went on to deliver an embarrassing performance (38 percent completion rate, 190 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, 40.6 passer rating) and it turned out to be his one and only start in a Minnesota uniform.