Alexander to Bengals

[Mothman]

It's not a good sign that the team is losing so much "home-grown" young talent. Ideally, when trying to build, you want to be able to draft, develop and then keep talented players in their prime. What does it say about the Vikes that Waynes, Alexander, Diggs, Weatherly and Kearse are all moving on (Diggs via trade) after their first 4 or 5 years with the team?

Its concerning, isn't it?

Definitely.

[fiestavike]

Its concerning, isn't it?

Definitely.

I thought the team lacked fire and seemed flat most of last season. Perhaps that's attributable to something going on with the culture of this team behind the scenes. Several players seemed disgruntled, and that fact that so many of those players have left via FA or agitated for a trade might suggest there was really something to that. Hopefully it will be addition by subtraction (culturally speaking).

[Pondering Her Percy]

Spot on Jim...And it's not like Mac and Kearse signed for big money.
Loosing them 2 hurt.
Also sounds we might be loosing Dan Baily also.

Mac I understand. But losing Kearse wasn’t that big of a deal IMO. He was technically our 4th safety, sub package guy that was a decent special teamer. You can replace that anywhere

[Mothman]

I thought the team lacked fire and seemed flat most of last season. Perhaps that's attributable to something going on with the culture of this team behind the scenes. Several players seemed disgruntled, and that fact that so many of those players have left via FA or agitated for a trade might suggest there was really something to that. Hopefully it will be addition by subtraction (culturally speaking).

We'll see what happens. My concern is that there is a "cultural problem" within the organization or even that players might be seeing the Vikings as stagnant, plodding along under the same leadership, repeating mistakes and looking very much like a franchise that hasn't won a Super Bowl or been to one since the '70s. If the latter is your goal as a player, would you want to spend your career in Minnesota?

Admittedly, that might be a bit alarmist.

Maybe turning over a significant portion of the roster over the next two years will help reinvigorate the team. Let's hope so. It sure looks to me like the Vikings have entered a rebuilding mode (or a transitional phase, if anyone objects to the term "rebuilding").

[Pondering Her Percy]

Definitely.

I thought the team lacked fire and seemed flat most of last season. Perhaps that's attributable to something going on with the culture of this team behind the scenes. Several players seemed disgruntled, and that fact that so many of those players have left via FA or agitated for a trade might suggest there was really something to that. Hopefully it will be addition by subtraction (culturally speaking).

It can be a concern I guess but at the same time, we simply didn’t have the money to bring these guys back. It’s not like we’re sitting with $50 million in cap and just letting them walk. We’re operating on pennies at this point

[halfgiz]

I thought the team lacked fire and seemed flat most of last season. Perhaps that's attributable to something going on with the culture of this team behind the scenes. Several players seemed disgruntled, and that fact that so many of those players have left via FA or agitated for a trade might suggest there was really something to that. Hopefully it will be addition by subtraction (culturally speaking).

It can be a concern I guess but at the same time, we simply didn’t have the money to bring these guys back. It’s not like we’re sitting with $50 million in cap and just letting them walk. We’re operating on pennies at this point

Don't even get me gone on that...
Mac was a need we should have been able to afford. Problem was he was ready to leave, from what I heard.

Alexander: 1 of 5 CBs to play 500 snaps and not commit a penalty in 2019

[StumpHunter]

Spot on Jim...And it's not like Mac and Kearse signed for big money.
Loosing them 2 hurt.
Also sounds we might be loosing Dan Baily also.

Mac I understand. But losing Kearse wasn’t that big of a deal IMO. He was technically our 4th safety, sub package guy that was a decent special teamer. You can replace that anywhere

I think Kearse wanted to be more than that and didn't feel like he ever got a fair shake to do so.

He would be right too, if he hadn't gone and done what he did off the field.

On the field he always played well when given the opportunity, off the field it appears he is an idiot.

[Texas Vike]

Am I remembering right that Mac and Zimmer never really saw eye to eye, or at least had a very rough start, which involved a strained relationship for at least a season?

I would guess that has at least as much to do with his departure as anything. Our secondary stunk last year. We replaced our positional coach there and we're overhauling the CBs. I thought we should hold onto either Waynes or Mac. Now we have a ton of holes to fill.

[VikingsVictorious]

Spot on Jim...And it's not like Mac and Kearse signed for big money.
Loosing them 2 hurt.
Also sounds we might be loosing Dan Baily also.

Losing Bailey is no big deal. I believe Vedvik is available.
Seriously Bailey had a forbath type year for us. Missed too many XPs, but very good on FGs. Hope he sticks around if the price is reasonable of course.

[J. Kapp 11]

Am I remembering right that Mac and Zimmer never really saw eye to eye, or at least had a very rough start, which involved a strained relationship for at least a season?

I would guess that has at least as much to do with his departure as anything. Our secondary stunk last year. We replaced our positional coach there and we're overhauling the CBs. I thought we should hold onto either Waynes or Mac. Now we have a ton of holes to fill.

It was mostly Alexander. His first couple of years on the league, he didn't like the idea of being a slot corner and didn't give the team his best in practice or games. He admitted as much. Once he grew up a little and accepted his role, he took the coaching better and became a solid player.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's leaving because he wants to be an outside starting corner, not a slot corner. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

[J. Kapp 11]

Spot on Jim...And it's not like Mac and Kearse signed for big money.
Loosing them 2 hurt.
Also sounds we might be loosing Dan Baily also.

Losing Bailey is no big deal. I believe Vedvik is available.
Seriously Bailey had a forbath type year for us. Missed too many XPs, but very good on FGs. Hope he sticks around if the price is reasonable of course.

Disagree. Dan Bailey had a near Pro Bowl season for us. Hit 27-of-29, including 3-of-3 from 50+.

Weird as it sounds, this might be salary based. Bailey only made $1 million in salary last year, but he also made an additional $1 million by making 90% or more of his kicks (he hit 93%). With the Vikings still mired in cap hell, they may well be looking to the kicker position as a place to save money.

By the way, there's a reason Kaare Vedvik is available, and I'm guessing it has to do with being traded twice and getting cut by the third team in less than a month.

[StumpHunter]

Am I remembering right that Mac and Zimmer never really saw eye to eye, or at least had a very rough start, which involved a strained relationship for at least a season?

I would guess that has at least as much to do with his departure as anything. Our secondary stunk last year. We replaced our positional coach there and we're overhauling the CBs. I thought we should hold onto either Waynes or Mac. Now we have a ton of holes to fill.

It was mostly Alexander. His first couple of years on the league, he didn't like the idea of being a slot corner and didn't give the team his best in practice or games. He admitted as much. Once he grew up a little and accepted his role, he took the coaching better and became a solid player.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's leaving because he wants to be an outside starting corner, not a slot corner. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

I wonder if he took less in Cincy because they told him he would get a shot to play outside and make bank as an outside corner in two seasons? Outside corners make significantly more than slot guys, so it might make sense financially.

Looking at their roster, is William Jackson any good? Sounds like they will be cutting Dre Kirkpatrick, but they didn't pay Waynes that much to not start outside.

[J. Kapp 11]

It was mostly Alexander. His first couple of years on the league, he didn't like the idea of being a slot corner and didn't give the team his best in practice or games. He admitted as much. Once he grew up a little and accepted his role, he took the coaching better and became a solid player.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's leaving because he wants to be an outside starting corner, not a slot corner. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

I wonder if he took less in Cincy because they told him he would get a shot to play outside and make bank as an outside corner in two seasons? Outside corners make significantly more than slot guys, so it might make sense financially.

Looking at their roster, is William Jackson any good? Sounds like they will be cutting Dre Kirkpatrick, but they didn't pay Waynes that much to not start outside.

Yeah, I'm not sure why else anybody in their right mind would go to a 2-14, dysfunctional organization like Cincinnati unless it was for either bank or future bank. Waynes and Mack are gonna be miserable when they don't have Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris covering their backsides.

[Maelstrom88]

I wonder if he took less in Cincy because they told him he would get a shot to play outside and make bank as an outside corner in two seasons? Outside corners make significantly more than slot guys, so it might make sense financially.

Looking at their roster, is William Jackson any good? Sounds like they will be cutting Dre Kirkpatrick, but they didn't pay Waynes that much to not start outside.

Yeah, I'm not sure why else anybody in their right mind would go to a 2-14, dysfunctional organization like Cincinnati unless it was for either bank or future bank. Waynes and Mack are gonna be miserable when they don't have Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris covering their backsides.

Agree. Maybe we can get some corners in here that actually get ints.

[S197]

So basically our secondary is gutted, our pass rush is down 2 large contributors, our OL is somehow worse and we lost one of the biggest weapons on offense.

But we have draft picks and Cousins so no one panic!