The Minnesota Vikings were fairly active on free agency's first day of tampering. Unlike most of the teams in the NFL, the Vikings focused on their own players. Here's what they did:
Signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a two-year extension.
Used the franchise tag to keep safety Anthony Harris in Minnesota for at least another year.
Re-Signed punter Britton Colquitt to a three-year extension.
Placed a second-round tender on linebacker Eric Wilson.
The Vikings' first move was to extend their quarterback. Cousins was set to become a free agent in 2021. This deal keeps him under contract for the next three seasons. It also gave the Vikings much needed salary cap room this year. The move allowed them to tag Anthony Harris. Going into this offseason, it was assumed that Harris had played his way out of the team's budget. The surprise move allowed the Vikings to keep one of last season's best defensive players. Hopefully, they can agree to a long-term deal and make playing under the franchise tag unnecessary.
In the more than quarter century of the franchise tag's existence, the Vikings have used it on only two other occasions. In 2003 they used the tag to keep Jim Kleinsasser in Minnesota. They did the same with Chad Greenway in 2011. Using the franchise tag this year on Harris was a surprise because of the possible $11.44 million cost. It was also a surprise because the Vikings so rarely use it.
The Vikings have had so damn many kicking issues since Blair Walsh lost the ability to put a football through the uprights. Those difficulties seemed to fade away when Britton Colquitt was signed before the start of the 2019 season. His holding brought immediate improvements to the kicking process. His punting was perhaps the best that's been seen in Minnesota since the days of Chris Kluwe. And Colquitt was apparently a delightful, interesting addition to the locker room. Everything was so much better with the late addition of Colquitt that re-signing him became an offseason priority. The Vikings did that yesterday with his three-year extension. Now, kicker Dan Bailey needs to be re-signed. Kicking has been a nightmare in Minnesota for too long. The Vikings have to keep those nightmares away by keeping Colquitt and Bailey together.
Eric Wilson has improved each season since being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He's excelled on special teams and has developed into a critical role player on defense. Injuries gave him the opportunity to play in the Vikings' base defense last season. His play in those opportunities might've secured the role moving forward. He's become an important player on the team and it was important to keep him in Minnesota.
It was a fun, player-retaining, tampering day in Minnesota. Then it wasn't. The Vikings traded receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.
Vikings receive:
2020 first round pick (#22)
2020 fifth round pick
2020 sixth round pick
2021 fourth round pick
Bills receive:
WR Stefon Diggs
2020 seventh round pick
It was shocking. I was shocked. I've come to realize that dealing with Diggs can be a chore. I always took his quirkiness to be interesting. Being a little different can be a good thing. Obviously, there was more to his quirkiness. For whatever reason, he wanted out. If he wanted out, it probably would've been best if he hadn't signed that contract extension. Whatever. If a player wants out, it's probably best to accommodate him. Things tend to fester. Things rarely get better. At least the Vikings received a nice draft haul from the Bills. In the past two decades the Vikings have unloaded Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, and now Diggs. Each was one of my favorite players, if not my favorite player, on each of those teams. I like receivers. Especially, supremely talented receivers. I always have. I always will. It sucks to lose another one. I survived the previous the loss of Moss and Harvin. I'll survive the loss of Diggs. Hopefully, the Vikings will do a better job of replacing him than they did the previous two.
A fun, active first tampering day in Minnesota ended with some tears. Skol!
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