So what happens with Rudolph?

[Spot & Stalk Vike]

Kyle has already stated that he's unwilling to restructure or take any sort of pay cut and his cap hit for 2021 is $9M+. Do we deal him on or before draft day or do we end up cutting him outright?

I just don't see a scenario where he stays put under the status quo given our cap situation and his declining output.

Hate to see it, really like the guy and he's a good human being but business is business as they say.

[StumpHunter]

The Vikings cannot pay him his full contract next season. He is set to be the 4th highest paid TE next season, and he is barely the 3rd best TE on the team.

Yards Per Route Run 2020 out of 48 qualifying TEs:
23rd

2019 out of 44 qualifying TEs:
33rd

He is a below average TE making top 5 money and his being on the field hurts the 2 TEs who are clearly better than him in Smith and Concklin. Time to move on.

[RandyMoss84]

Vikings should cut him and I do not see anyone trading for Rudolph due to his contract

[Spot & Stalk Vike]

I firmly believe and agree with what both Stump Hunter and RandyMoss84 stated above.

[S197]

Kyle is gone for sure. Reiff will be the interesting one. I suspect they'll move on since they almost did last year.

[YikesVikes]

Should have never been extended. Wanted him gone last season and he is killing our Cap.

[Bowhunting Viking]

Agree with all of you. I don't see any way that he isn't gone if he won't restructure.
I love the guy for all the great things he does off the field and all he represents, but his on field production in no way warrants the salary. Really is time to move on.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Love the guy but they have no choice here. That's a no brainer cut.

Other no brainer cuts IMO are Stephen and Reiff. Although Reiff could warrant picks for sure.

My only worry with Reiff is I can almost guarantee the Vikings are thinking "why cut an offensive lineman that played well for us last year when we dont have to?" Because it's going to ruin Ezra Cleveland and Reiff isnt in the long term plans. If they keep Reiff, Cleveland will continue to stay at guard where he is not nearly as good and they are going to think they have a "hole filled". Get Reiff out of there and put Cleveland at his true position. I'm so sick of not acquiring a TRUE guard, one that is solid and has played guard their entire career. Instead, all we've done is have a plethora of tackles and centers.....over the past few years this is what we've had...

True Tackles:
Reiff
ONeill
Cleveland
Hill

True Centers:
Bradbury
Elflein
Jones

True Guards:
NOBODY worth a damn

Stop putting a band aid over both guard spots and actually find a TRUE guard in free agency and the draft and send Reiff packing.

That gives us:
LT: Cleveland
LG: draft pick or FA
C: Bradbury
RG: draft pick or FA
RT: ONeill

You might actually see a spike in Bradbury's play if he's not surrounded by a bunch of garbage cans. You're on the verge of ruining him as well. I think the same happened with Elflein. He actually had Berger next to him in 2017 and played well. Following Berger retiring he was a dumpster fire.

I dont want to see another damn center or tackle playing guard again....ever.

[Spot & Stalk Vike]

Love the guy but they have no choice here. That's a no brainer cut.

Other no brainer cuts IMO are Stephen and Reiff. Although Reiff could warrant picks for sure.

My only worry with Reiff is I can almost guarantee the Vikings are thinking "why cut an offensive lineman that played well for us last year when we dont have to?" Because it's going to ruin Ezra Cleveland and Reiff isnt in the long term plans. If they keep Reiff, Cleveland will continue to stay at guard where he is not nearly as good and they are going to think they have a "hole filled". Get Reiff out of there and put Cleveland at his true position. I'm so sick of not acquiring a TRUE guard, one that is solid and has played guard their entire career. Instead, all we've done is have a plethora of tackles and centers.....over the past few years this is what we've had...

True Tackles:
Reiff
ONeill
Cleveland
Hill

True Centers:
Bradbury
Elflein
Jones

True Guards:
NOBODY worth a damn

Stop putting a band aid over both guard spots and actually find a TRUE guard in free agency and the draft and send Reiff packing.

That gives us:
LT: Cleveland
LG: draft pick or FA
C: Bradbury
RG: draft pick or FA
RT: ONeill

You might actually see a spike in Bradbury's play if he's not surrounded by a bunch of garbage cans. You're on the verge of ruining him as well. I think the same happened with Elflein. He actually had Berger next to him in 2017 and played well. Following Berger retiring he was a dumpster fire.

I dont want to see another damn center or tackle playing guard again....ever.

On this note there are a couple of other guys that could get gone. Does anyone think Bar could be trade bait or cut? Wilson didn't exactly stink and he's a whole lot more affordable. Harris is likely gone too. The defense could look very different this season.

[J. Kapp 11]

Stand by.

Riley Reiff will be the Vikings’ left tackle in 2021. You heard it here first.

They paid him a $1 million bonus that they didn’t have to pay him, which indicates to me that they’re going to make overtures to keep him. And they really have few alternatives.

Here’s the thing that isn’t talked about, but should be. The Vikings’ philosophy is not set by Rick Spielman or Mike Zimmer. It’s set by Mark Wilf. He insists on winning now. Making the playoffs now, even if it’s as a Wild Card. He is the one who won’t allow anything remotely resembling a rebuild.

Therefore, they’ll keep Reiff because without him, they know they don’t come close to having an offensive line good enough to make the playoffs. And if they don’t make the playoffs, Rick and Mike are gone. They’ll find a way.

Scoff if you want. But remember this post when they announce it.

[CharVike]

Stand by.

Riley Reiff will be the Vikings’ left tackle in 2021. You heard it here first.

They paid him a $1 million bonus that they didn’t have to pay him, which indicates to me that they’re going to make overtures to keep him. And they really have few alternatives.

Here’s the thing that isn’t talked about, but should be. The Vikings’ philosophy is not set by Rick Spielman or Mike Zimmer. It’s set by Mark Wilf. He insists on winning now. Making the playoffs now, even if it’s as a Wild Card. He is the one who won’t allow anything remotely resembling a rebuild.

Therefore, they’ll keep Reiff because without him, they know they don’t come close to having an offensive line good enough to make the playoffs. And if they don’t make the playoffs, Rick and Mike are gone. They’ll find a way.

Scoff if you want. But remember this post when they announce it.

I agree with your post. They need to find another G and there are plenty out there. Seems to me that the NFL as a whole don't put much emphasis on the OL group. I'm sure there are some examples but even Bill B lets great OL players walk away. Reiff seems to play steady but will have the blow up game a few times a year. Most have those type of games. I don't see us beating out the Packers at this point. If Rodgers plays all year they win 12 plus games. The Wilf family is in this to make more money and max out the teams value. They also require fans in the seats which means selling out the stadium. If fans don't go say goodbye to Rick and the rest of his crew. Rick has no other choice but to put a competitive product on the field. The NFC has no dominate teams anymore. The Seahawks make the tournament every year but have not done very well once in as of late. Of course Rodgers is a HOF QB which is a tremendous advantage and now the Bucs have the ageless wonder who is playing like he's 30. Wildcard looks like the only way right now. Unless we rattle off 14 wins. That could happen but highly doubtful it will.

[StumpHunter]

Stand by.

Riley Reiff will be the Vikings’ left tackle in 2021. You heard it here first.

They paid him a $1 million bonus that they didn’t have to pay him, which indicates to me that they’re going to make overtures to keep him. And they really have few alternatives.

Here’s the thing that isn’t talked about, but should be. The Vikings’ philosophy is not set by Rick Spielman or Mike Zimmer. It’s set by Mark Wilf. He insists on winning now. Making the playoffs now, even if it’s as a Wild Card. He is the one who won’t allow anything remotely resembling a rebuild.

Therefore, they’ll keep Reiff because without him, they know they don’t come close to having an offensive line good enough to make the playoffs. And if they don’t make the playoffs, Rick and Mike are gone. They’ll find a way.

Scoff if you want. But remember this post when they announce it.

I think Reiff is the starter week 1 too.

The only difference I see on Oline this year is at LG. The fact Dennison remains the Oline coach tells us the Vikings couldn't have been too upset about the play of the line this past season.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Love the guy but they have no choice here. That's a no brainer cut.

Other no brainer cuts IMO are Stephen and Reiff. Although Reiff could warrant picks for sure.

My only worry with Reiff is I can almost guarantee the Vikings are thinking "why cut an offensive lineman that played well for us last year when we dont have to?" Because it's going to ruin Ezra Cleveland and Reiff isnt in the long term plans. If they keep Reiff, Cleveland will continue to stay at guard where he is not nearly as good and they are going to think they have a "hole filled". Get Reiff out of there and put Cleveland at his true position. I'm so sick of not acquiring a TRUE guard, one that is solid and has played guard their entire career. Instead, all we've done is have a plethora of tackles and centers.....over the past few years this is what we've had...

True Tackles:
Reiff
ONeill
Cleveland
Hill

True Centers:
Bradbury
Elflein
Jones

True Guards:
NOBODY worth a damn

Stop putting a band aid over both guard spots and actually find a TRUE guard in free agency and the draft and send Reiff packing.

That gives us:
LT: Cleveland
LG: draft pick or FA
C: Bradbury
RG: draft pick or FA
RT: ONeill

You might actually see a spike in Bradbury's play if he's not surrounded by a bunch of garbage cans. You're on the verge of ruining him as well. I think the same happened with Elflein. He actually had Berger next to him in 2017 and played well. Following Berger retiring he was a dumpster fire.

I dont want to see another damn center or tackle playing guard again....ever.

On this note there are a couple of other guys that could get gone. Does anyone think Bar could be trade bait or cut? Wilson didn't exactly stink and he's a whole lot more affordable. Harris is likely gone too. The defense could look very different this season.

I dont think Zim will ever cut bait with Barr. Barr is Zim's baby. I dont think he necessarily should be cut, he just needs a new contract. I feel like that contract was more Zims doing than anyone. But by the sounds of it Barr wants nothing to do with a new contract.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Stand by.

Riley Reiff will be the Vikings’ left tackle in 2021. You heard it here first.

They paid him a $1 million bonus that they didn’t have to pay him, which indicates to me that they’re going to make overtures to keep him. And they really have few alternatives.

Here’s the thing that isn’t talked about, but should be. The Vikings’ philosophy is not set by Rick Spielman or Mike Zimmer. It’s set by Mark Wilf. He insists on winning now. Making the playoffs now, even if it’s as a Wild Card. He is the one who won’t allow anything remotely resembling a rebuild.

Therefore, they’ll keep Reiff because without him, they know they don’t come close to having an offensive line good enough to make the playoffs. And if they don’t make the playoffs, Rick and Mike are gone. They’ll find a way.

Scoff if you want. But remember this post when they announce it.

Oh I dont disagree with you at all. I think he will be the week 1 starter as well which IMO, is stupid. Remember this post when Ezra Cleveland becomes another "ruined" offensive lineman because he wont ever live up to being a great guard because it's not his natural position. Maybe solid but never great. It's literally the equivalent of putting Brian O'Neill at guard right now. Like the exact equivalent. Sounds dumb right? Yeah, it's just as dumb to keep a true tackle at guard. No less on the opposite side of the line from where he played his entire life. I want athletes at tackle and bruisers at guard. But no, we have to find guys that "fit the scheme". Screw the scheme, find an interior offensive lineman that can actually move some people, not get tossed backwards onto Cousins lap.

Why do you think PA rollouts work so good in this offense? I've said it since last year. With two bad guards that have no anchor in pass protection and then pair that with your center that also has zero anchor in pass protection and doesnt benefit from playing next to two duds on each side of him at all, it's a recipe for disaster. ESPECIALLY when we operate under center 90% of the game when it's not out of reach. Cousins cant drop back 7 steps from under center and expect a clean pocket nearly as much as some other QBs in this league. This PA rollout works so well because it gets him away from the 3 duds in front of him that are usually sitting on his lap. I've always said, the worst possible thing to have on your OL if you have a pure pocket passer at QB is a bad pass blocking interior. And that is exactly what we have. A bad pass blocking interior and a pure pocket passing QB. If it wasnt for rollouts, Cousins might've been in a wheel chair at this point in his career.

And dont expect a huge change in this OL this year. I can already guarantee Zim has his picks locked and loaded gunning for defense. Which yeah, we have needs on defense. But we will end up finding a mid-tier Josh Kline type offensive lineman in free agency to fill that LG spot. That's not horrible if you actually had your offensive line headed in the right direction but when you have a brand new true left tackle playing guard, your priorities are as# backwards.

When I do my mock offseason within the next week or two, I'm going to have us following what would be my plan that I've discussed for a while now....find that mid-tier guard in free agency to fill one spot and DRAFT a guard (preferably in the 3rd and I already know exactly who I'm going to target). That would be my plan but I highly, highly doubt that will happen given how hell bent Zim is going to be trying to fix his defense. You might as well give Zim the reigns in this years draft because he's going to shoot down anything Spielman wants offensively mark my words. If I was to bet, I'd say our first 3 picks of the draft (round 1, and two in round 3) will be defensive players. You wont see an offensive player taken until our 4th pick or later.

[VikingPaul73]

It's difficult to say on Ezra and Reiff without being at practices or knowing what the Vikings think of Ezra.

1. I know a lot of the board think Ezra is a natural LT. That's what he played in college and that's what it would seem his size & athleticism would fit. But do we know if that's what the Vikings think? I thought there was some speculation right after the draft if the Vikings saw him as a G or an OT? I'm not sure, but are we 100% convinced the Vikings long term plans for Ezra are at OT?
2. How has he looked in practice at OT? I'm sure they've at least worked him out there....do they think he's ready to take over LT in 2021?

Either way, buckle your seatbelts....we're only a couple of weeks away from FA and it should be an exciting one....Lot's of decisions to make!!!!!!!!!