Almost There

With the NFL lockout looking like it could end any day now, it's time to look at what moves the Vikings need to make in order to prepare themselves for a thankfully full, 16-game 2011 campaign. The Vikings will be led by former defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who took over for the much-maligned Brad Childress in the middle of last season. While signing their drafted players of 2011 is an obvious priority, the Vikings will have to focus a significant amount of attention on their unrestricted free agents, which include the likes Sidney Rice, Ray Edwards, Ben Leber, Pat Williams and Ryan Longwell.

The situation with Sidney Rice will be the first thing on the minds of Viking fans when free agency opens, presumably sometime this week. Rice only played in six games in 2010, due to a hip injury he sustained in the Championship game against the New Orleans Saints. However, Rice had a brilliant season in 2009 with Brett Favre at the helm, amassing 1,312 yards and 8 touchdowns. If Rice walks, the Vikings should be awfully concerned with the depth of their wide receiver position. The most talented receiver on the roster left would be Percy Harvin, who is extremely explosive in his own right but not number one receiver material. Bernard Berrian had a nice first season in Minnesota, but has flopped in the two years since. Greg Camarillo is a suitable possession target, but shouldn't be relied on as more than a third or fourth option. That leaves unknowns Jaymar Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias as the only other receivers on the roster. The Vikings need to have a back-up plan in the case Rice leaves, which more and more sounds like will happen. There are several receivers on the market in addition to Rice, with Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Mike Sims-Walker and others vying for big contracts. It would not be fair to throw rookie Christian Ponder into the fire without a true number one receiver at his disposal. Visanthe Shiancoe will be a reliable weapon for the former Florida State Seminole, but every young quarterback needs to have an option on the outside that he can trust. Besides Rice, the Vikings have no real free agent worries on the offensive side of the ball. Naufahu Tahi, Hank Baskett, Tarvaris Jackson and Greg Lewis are the notable offensive free agents.

Linebacker Chad Greenway would have been the most important free agent for the Vikings, but he was franchised by the team in February. Brian Robison was also re-signed by the Vikings this offseason, leading to an expectation that Ray Edwards will head to the free market unimpeded. Free agent Pat Williams was a huge part of the Vikings successful run defense a few years ago, but he will turn 39 this October and his play has fallen off quite significantly. South Dakota native Ben Leber has been a great leader for the Vikings since his arrival from San Diego, but odds are the Vikings will let him go as well, leaving an outside linebacker spot up for competition between Erin Henderson and Jasper Brinkley. If the Vikings make any kind of moves on the defensive side of the ball, it should be in the secondary. The Minnesota defensive back unit left much to be desired last season, although much of the futility could be attributed to starting cornerback Cedric Griffin's season-ending injury in Week 5. Antoine Winfield is still a hard-hitter, but at his age (34) rarely covers the best pass-catcher of the other team. Rookie Chris Cook struggled on-and-off with injuries for much of the season, and Asher Allen spent the majority of his second year in the pros being burned by opposing receivers. Things don't get any better when it comes to the safeties, where Madieu Williams and Husain Abdullah were average and unremarkable. If the Vikings sign any new defensive players, expect them to be cornerbacks or safeties.

In a perfect world, the Vikings would throw as much money as they could at Sidney Rice, retain steady kicker Ryan Longwell and find a way to sign a young, talented defensive back. However, that will be extremely difficult with perennial big-spenders such as the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles chomping at the bit. Nonetheless, Vikings fans should have faith that Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman and the other personnel in charge will make the solid, if not shrewd, decisions, as they have not let the faithful followers down yet.