Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 25-26 June 2022

We are 29 days away from the rookies reporting to training camp. Soon we will have new contestants for the DN Preseason Hall of Fame (DNPHOFR). A place where legends are born! Who will be the next DNPHOFR?

Vikings News

Justin Jefferson declares the Vikings’ offense isn’t “run first” anymore

“Our offensive style, it’s not a run-first offense anymore,” Jefferson said. “Just us being able to put different people in different positions and distribute the ball, really. I’m so excited in this offense. Us just being in OTAs, learning the plays, going through it with our defense, and stuff.”

This sounds great but makes you wonder why they want to have an 11.88M cap hit for Cook this year. Thankfully, they did not restructure his deal which I am inclined to believe is a sign. Next year, he has a 14.1M cap hit while taking him 11M in cash. He turns 27 Aug 10th and will be 28 to start the 2023 season. They would save 7.9M if he is moved prior to June 1st next year. Something to strongly consider when you see that only a handful of backs older than 26 had over 1000 yards the last 5 years (Carlos Hyde, Mark Ingram, AP, LeSean McCoy).

PFF thinks the Vikings handled their cap situation about as well as they could have

Considering they are bringing back the majority of the players who failed to make the playoffs the last two years this is true. They did a good job navigating the cap with the exception of the Hunter total restructure of his 18M roster bonus. If he does not play as well or gets injured again (knock on wood) and they want to move on next year, His cap hit is 13.12M in 2023. If he is moved before June 1st they would have to absorb another 5.74M in dead money bringing the total dead to 18.86M. It’s a risk.

NFL News?

Five scariest quarterbacks entering 2022 NFL season; where Gronk ranks among top TEs of all time

You already know who is NOT on this list.

NFL Free Agency 2022: Ranking the 10 Best Unsigned Players Under 30

I like Eddie Goldman, Eric Ebron, Will Fuller, and Landon Collins on this list.

Disney, Apple and Amazon keep waiting as NFL considers Sunday Ticket offers

Key Points

There’s no set timeline for a Sunday Ticket deal, which may also include a stake in NFL Media.

Disney, Apple and Amazon have all submitted bids for the package. DirecTV has not.

The winner of the rights won’t be able to significantly lower the price of Sunday Ticket from its current $300 because of contractual language with broadcasters CBS and Fox, sources say.

The last one is disappointing. Ideally, to me, they need to provide a package to individuals so they can watch only ONE team. They might surprise themselves and get more subscribers.

Media of the weekend

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

• No discussion of politics or religion
• No feeding of the trolls
• Leave the gender hatred at the door
• Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
• Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
• No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
• If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
• While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm.