New Year, new thread...

@GoesslingESPN
27m
The Vikings announced they released guards Brandon Fusco and Mike Harris, beginning the makeover of an offensive... espn.com/espn/now?nowId…

Interesting!

As I've said, I truly believe we're going to assess this line in the right way. However, could this mean we're going all in on Zeitler??

They didn't waste anytime...so it begins the offseason moves.

Edit: Fusco's tweet

https://t.co/jFZbupr4JQ

Classy tweet. Anyone know the cap savings? I'd imagine Fuscos is decent.

The combined roster moves open up roughly $4.8M in additional cap space.

The purge begins. For the next bit of good news kalil will not return in free agency and clemmings gets cut

There's no financial incentive to axe Clemmings now. He makes nothing, so letting him come to camp for one last shot to make the roster won't hurt them. Ditching Fusco and designating him as a post June 1st cut saves $3.2 million. To cut TJ now they take a 260 thousand dollar cap hit and only save 483 thousand. I think they're going to bring him to camp and see if it finally clicks for him. Then they will cut him if not.

Brandon Fusco the person by all intents and purposes is a great person. I wish him well.

That being said, I have never been a fan of Fusco the football player - going all the way back to 2011 when we drafted him. Shouldn't have signed him to that deal. He was only average when he got it.

They shouldn't need one. He's been awful for two straight years, showing no real sign of improvement. I think they'd be better off giving his spot to someone else (even his camp spot).

You're probably right that they'll bring him back again though.

Its hard to imagine they'd give him another shot at Tackle. Guard seems like his only shot to make the team at this point. I guess there's little reason to release him now, but I wouldn't be mad if they did.

I'm neither condoning or condemning keeping Clemmings for the moment. I just think I understand the thought process.

At this point the only thing for certain on the line is Boone and Berger, and even then it's up in the air where they would play. Boone could land at either LG, RG or RT. Berger at either guard spot or Center. Right now Clemmings is young and cheap. That makes him worth bringing to camp to them. I agree with Fiesta, his best hope is likely making him a Guard and leaving him there. I don't have much hope for him though.

I wonder if Berger can be considered a sure thing. He was considering retirement a couple of years ago and he'll turn 35 in May. He suffered a concussion last season and he has a family. I haven't heard anything concrete about the possibility he could retire in 2017 but I don't think it would be a shocking development. He might decide to to call it a career and get out while still healthy.



I'm hoping they will just move on and give someone else Clemmings' spot and a chance to make the roster.

We should have Whitehair now instead of Alexander but nooooooooo, who needs linemen.

It's easy to say that now. However, what if Munnerlyn walked in FA? Do you have a plan at nickel CB?? My guess is....no. So that argument can go both ways

It was easy to say that before, during and after the draft too.



It goes a LOT deeper one way. The OL is a shambles and there's simply no excuse for the pathetic, halfhearted effort they made to address it in the 2016 draft.

Never said there was an excuse. But we could have easily went another avenue than a second round pick to take an OL. Alexander was a BPA type pick that filled a big need if Munnerlyn decided to walk

The same could have been said about Whitehair who would have addressed the area of the team most in need of improvement: the line. Alexander was an indulgence. Most picks can be justified but justifications like the one above are how we got here. Spielman's spent years making "BPA" picks and neglecting to adequately improve the line.

I get what you're saying. But at the same time, they could've simply been higher on Alexander which is what it looks like. We can sit here and pick apart draft picks all day but we would go nowhere with it.

It quite clearly leads somewhere: over the years, neglecting the offensive line in favor of "BPA" picks like Alexander has gradually led to a mess. Taking a "best player available" sounds great in the abstract but in reality, teams have to consider their needs and weaknesses and when they repeatedly fail to adequately address them, it can catch up to them with a vengeance. Passing over Whitehair for Alexander is a fine illustration of the consequences of that neglect.

I think BPA is more useful for truly rebuilding teams like Cleveland and Chicago. When you are supposedly close to contending like what the Vikings claim to be, you need to go more specific on your picks. Thats how i look at BPA anyway.

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If you had a numeric system, the reality is that you are seldom going to be looking at a player who ranks 8.6 while the next one down on your list is 5.9. You've probably got a cluster of players at 8.6, and a cluster at 8.5, etc. Need and position scarcity have to be factored in as well.

But if you have a guy you gave an 8.6 to that slid way down to where your next guy is a 7.9, I think there is a real case to go BPA, even if he plays a position you don't "need" at the moment.

Very true that's a good point. Like I said, Alexander was a projected first rounder in many draft nik circles. I'm guessing we had him ranked quite high. Probably much higher than Whitehair since we passed on him.

How is Whitehair doing anyway?

Forget it, I am an idiot...

Due to an injury, the Bears asked him to start at center last season and he performed very well. He had a strong rookie year.

Not bad for an old whitehair anyway.

http://nfltraderumors.co/dolphins-49ers ... -williams/

Interested in K'Wuan Williams - reportedly.