A few quick notes following Minnesota’s 14-13 win over Detroit Sunday.
With the win, the Vikings will pick eighth, which is where they were slotted coming into the week.
Since every team that will pick behind Minnesota came into the final week of the regular season with six wins, the loss doesn’t hurt the Vikings position.
Additionally, if you’re still bitter about the win, never fear, a loss would not have done any good for the Purple either, as they would’ve sat at 4-11-1, and Jacksonville, Cleveland, Oakland, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay all finished at 4-12 to take picks three through seven.
As far as the team the Vikings currently have, it may be changing significantly in 2014, something head coach Leslie Frazier acknowledged after the game when asked why he thanked players the way he did after the win.
“You know the team is going to be different a season from now,” Frazier said. “Just wanted to be able to thank those guys for what they’ve done this year. We didn’t always get the ball to bounce our way. Somebody told me we were something like 52 seconds away from being a 10-6 team. We weren’t always able to complete some things that would’ve helped us, but it’s not because they haven’t given us everything they have.”
A few big names that may be gone are Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, staples together on the defensive line the past six years.
Allen’s message postgame was largely of thanks, as he had nothing but positive things to say about the state and the team’s fans, regardless of if it was his last game in Minnesota.
As for Williams, he said he wants to play a couple more years, but did not know if that would be in a Vikings uniform or elsewhere.
Big names or not, many Vikings face decisions on their future, and 18 current players are up for renewals, or will have to find work elsewhere.
Via the Pioneer Press, here’s a rundown of all of them.
As far as the coaching situation, all parties were mum postgame, with Frazier saying he’s done everything he can as the Vikings head coach, and that he would like to “finish what we started” in Minnesota and be given the chance to coach out his contract next year.
As for the reality of the situation, it doesn’t appear to be in Frazier’s favor.
