The Skoloholics Mailbag – THE 12-4 MAILBAG

Good Morning!

It’s time for our weekly mailbag here at Skoloholics. As always our staff will research your questions about the Vikings, NFL or life in general with a well thought out mediocre answer.

For salary cap questions I’ll continue using overthecap.com so I’m consistent with the numbers.

Any trades involving draft picks I’m using the updated NFL Trade Value Chart developed by Rich Hill available at https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart-Rich-Hill.asp

For evaluating or looking up draft prospects or rookies my go to is thedraftnetwork.com

If I can’t come up with what I think is a legitimate answer, I’ll ask someone who I think can provide one.
Leave us a question in the comments section, I’ll revisit it later in the week.

Enough from me, let’s see what’s on everyone’s mind.

Surly had some angry words and then pondered:
Will the Vikings finally move on from this QB that is useless when pressured?
He has enough history to prove that the narrative is correct most of the time.
He has a few outlier games where in prime time or in a big game he plays well.
Blind squirrel finding a nut.

I’m aware of the narrative that Kirk falls apart under pressure but this year he’s been very good when blitzed, his problems crop up when facing interior pressure. I looked at over the cap for Kirk’s contract…next year his cap hit is $36.2M with a dead cap of $48.7M and a negligible savings of $12.5M. He is not going anywhere next year, however 2024 is his void year, cutting him then is $12.5M dead cap. I’d expect the Vikings to move on from Kirk in 2024 in favor of a rookie.

Peterplaysbass pondered:
Who will be playing at center for the wildcard game?

If Bradbury can’t play it’s going to be Reed, I do think that the Vikings will try and poach a guy from someone’s practice squad as a back up but two weeks isn’t enough time to get a guy ready who wasn’t on the team.

Gone Fishin pondered:
In a way, I’m going to echo Surly. My question has a couple parts, but all pertain to the QB position.
Is Kirk the answer going forward? I think that in order to answer this, we have to ask a question or two.
Going by AAV, Kirk is the 9th-highest paid QB in the NFL. Is this commensurate with his level of play compared to the rest of the QBs in the NFL?
Can Kirk help you win a Super Bowl?
If he IS the answer, we obviously need to try to extend him, correct?
If he IS NOT the answer, then where do we go from here? We have Kirk for one more year.
Draft? Who is available in the late first or 2nd round?
Target a QB via trade or FA? Highly unlikely, unless you see potential in a guy like Mayfield or something.

Kirk has to be one of the most polarizing QB1s in the last four or five years, that’s even considering Watson and his suspension. The expectation when he was signed with the Vikings was that he was the final piece to a Super Bowl team, which as we all know wasn’t true and is likely a fan driven narrative.
I’ll give him this, he’s played well, stood tall in the pocket this year and taken a lot of hits, I don’t know if that’s because he’s still holding onto the ball too long (still) or somewhat by design.
Ideally, the Vikings could draft a future QB1, let him sit for a year and then give him the keys to the offense the following year, but the Vikings won’t have high enough of a 1st round pick to get a potential franchise QB.
I’m going to semi-punt your “who’s coming out in the first or second round” question until a later mailbag.
We’re stuck with Kirk for at least one more year due to his contract, after next year the Vikings can move on from him if they choose. He’s given the Vikings better than league average play, it will be a difficult decision by management.

Vikings22 pondered:
What will Kwesi do with the veteran contracts this offseason as he attempts to infuse talent for the defense? What position will he target in the draft if he doesn’t trade the pick again (Tyler Linderbaum would have been a nice upgrade in the 2022 draft.

I’m going to semi-punt your question until after the playoffs (and thank you for the idea, I’ll do a contract laden/draft only mailbag during the offseason) when have a better idea of how much the salary cap is going to increase.
What I don’t want is another “run it back” or “competitive rebuild” which was somewhat forced on this GM and HC by the owners…or so it seems, the Wilf’s won’t return my texts. Rick didn’t do the team any favors by pushing a lot of these veteran contracts down the road. As Filbert33 was fond of saying, “there’s always money in the banana stand” but at some point all money comes due.
Whether the Vikings continue with this 3-4 defensive formation is immaterial, they need help at CB, LB and Edge. It is somewhat concerning Cine wasn’t able to get onto the field as much prior to his injury.
At the time I didn’t mind the trade down in the 1st round, but I still think the Vikings went too low for their return and the player they selected. (yes I know it worked with all the draft charts)
The staff consensus here at the mailbag is 1st round picks should be a selection of players at premium positions: QB, WR, Edge, LT, CB…the Vikings need help at CB, WR and Edge, pick one of those.

Gone Fishin also pondered:
Which veteran long-time Vikings will NOT be on the roster in 2023?

I agree with Skoldiers: Kendricks doesn’t seem to be a good fit for this defense, plus he’s getting up there in age I would have considered the Hitman but his dead cap hit next season is too high (11M) however after next season the Vikings can move on from him, same with Cook.

Skoldiers pondered:
Should KOC rest everyone for Sunday or play them to get some confidence heading into the playoffs?

Considering the urban playground the Bears call a playing surface I’d think about resting every starter, but Reed and Kirk need to develop timing and get all the work they can together before the 1st round of the playoffs. I still haven’t heard what exactly O’Neil’s injury was, Udoh is going to need time in practice and game time working with the 1st team offense.
Get JJ his yards and get him off the field.
Anyone named Smith, Cook or Pat Pete needs rest.
Look for a heavy rotation along the defensive line.
Get out of Chicago with no significant injuries.

Rob pondered: Give us a score prediction.

Who cares, the Vikings are essentially locked into the 3rd seed. Get Reed and Udoh some time on the field with the first team offense then get the backup guys in there.