MEDIA: Vikes Cut Palmer

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Purple : One Thread

Vikes Cut Palmer

By: Viking Update Staff

Date: 2/14/2001

With big trouble facing the Vikings with the salary cap, the team made the first of many moves, cutting utility man David Palmer, the first of several cuts made in the wake of Jeff Diamond's signing spree. When Red McCombs first bought the Vikings, Jeff Diamond was in the middle of a big spending spree -- making sure that several key Vikings weren't going to get away as free agents.

That policy is coming back to haunt the Vikings as one of those players -- RB/WR David Palmer -- becomes the first of many casualties as the Vikings look to clear up cap room in the next two weeks.

The team will save about $1.7 million by terminating Palmer's contract -- one of the players at the top of the list that VU had targeted for cuts. Next up could well be defensive end John Burrough and offensive lineman Brad Badger, who both make about $1.2 million and could free up even more money.

The big fish are yet to fry and the Vikings may have to deal with at least a dozen players to get the job done. For example, of the $67.4 million salary cap, up to $10.1 million could be tied into players no longer with the team -- or even more. If the team trades or cuts John Randle before June 2, the Vikings will take a $5.5 million cap hit, the team is still saddled with $1.5 million against the cap for Randall Cunningham and faces a dilemma with Robert Smith.

VU has been told that Smith, as a favor to the Vikings, won't report his official retirement to the league until after June 1, which would result in a cap hit of $3.1 million for the Vikings both this year and in 2002. If Smith would announce his retirement and file papers with the league, the Vikings would face an immediate hit of $6.2 million -- meaning that simply losing Smith, Cunningham and Randle would count $13.2 million against the Vikings' 2001 salary cap with no players available.

VALENTINE'S DAY NOTES * Palmer may not stay unemployed long. The Washington Redskins are said to be very interested and targeting him as a return man and part-time receiver. * Chris Walsh got sentenced to 12 days in jail for a DWI he received in Arizona last spring. The problem for Walsh extends past the jail time in 'Zona. As his second drunken driving conviction in three years, he is subject to the league's substance abuse policy and could be facing a two-game or even a four-game suspension. * The Randy Moss rumors persist. First it inexplicably had him going to Denver, which made no sense. Now it has him going to the only team with more cap problems than the Vikings -- the Washington Redskins. A friend of VU's in the organization said that the rumor-mongering has gotten so bad that coach Marty Schottenheimer actually had to address the situation with the media, saying that, while Moss is talented, the Redskins don't have any interest in pursuing a trade and that he highly doubts Minne

-- Mark (Karch 222@aol.com), February 15, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ