StanM wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 11:24 am
VikingsVictorious wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:40 am
I have no particular issues with Kwesi, but I'm on the fence about him. I wanted Harbaugh. I like the signing of Hicks in particular. According to the usual draft compensation for trading a #12 pick he got fleeced, but the results sure look good. I loved his sticking it to the Puke getting 2 second round picks for 1. I'm a little troubled about him drafting Asamoah because I think he could have let the shared Ghanaian heritage influence him. I hope it was someone else pounding the table for him as they say. I've made my feeling regarding signing draft picks known. As Stan M said
"I look at rookie signings as a routine process. " So if it's routine than don't wait until the last minute just get it done. You point out there are some things that can make it less than routine, but I still think it's good to get it done in a timely manner rather than waiting until the last minute.
I retired from an office career so agonizing over the administrative details is the last thing I would do. I don’t watch sports because I like the paperwork, I watch for the action and entertainment. For some reason there seems to be an eagerness to jump on KAM for things. We don’t know what held up negotiations but it was more likely to be on the player and agent side. If this had been about talented veteran free agents courted by other teams it might be more of an issue but what is a rookie going to do? Sit out and refuse to play for the team that drafted them? That is extremely rare and has a negative impact on the player more so than the teams.
All we can do is speculate, so allow me to do that.
One reason could have been the offset language, as described in the Leigh Steinberg quote I posted. Andrew Booth has had an injury history. Let’s say those injuries resurface and he gets cut while he’s still got guaranteed money on the books. Now another team picks him up. If the language in his contract says the salary his new team pays him is subtracted from what the Vikings are required to pay him (the offset), then Booth loses money. His salary is set by the CBA, but offset parameters are negotiable.
I have no idea if that’s what happened. But it is a point of negotiation for a rookie, especially a first- or second-rounder who has some guaranteed money. Not so much for a sixth-rounder, who has none.
All this to say, we don’t know why it took until the day before training camp to get him signed — which to me means we shouldn’t wring our hands over it.
I’m far more interested in things like the report of Booth breaking up a pass intended for Imir Smith-Marsette, then trash talking him: “Don’t try getting physical with me!” That tells me that Booth has some Dawg in him, which I like!