On the bright side for Minnesota Vikings fans, the Vikes should get quarterback Brett Favre back.
It’s true, if you believe Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the sports editor of the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder, who looked me right in the eye last Sunday on press row at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and said, “Yeah, he’ll be back. Of course, he’ll be back.”
That’s the good news for Vikings (and, yes, I believe Larry because he probably has the best NFL contacts of any media guy in, well, maybe the world).
Now the bad news. After losing versatile runningback Chester Taylor to the Chicago Bears, it’s very likely the Vikings won’t get veteran LaDainian Tomlinson either.
Tomlinson, who was released by the San Diego Chargers after an injury-plagued 2009 season, visited with the Vikings on Wednesday night and Thursday morning and then moved on to visit with the New York Jets.
And the Jets didn’t spend any time fooling around.
After visiting New York on Thursday evening and Friday morning, Tomlinson had planned to return home to San Diego on Friday afternoon. But the Jets convinced him to stay and according to fanhouse.com, Tomlinson, 30, will be offered a two-year $5 million contract that could be made even sweeter with as much as $3.5 million in incentives.
Tomlinson, who ranks eighth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 12,490 yards and second with 138 career rushing touchdowns, told the Jets he would go back to San Diego on Friday night, speak with his wife and make a decision. It’s likely he’ll choose the Jets where he will be the No. 1 back. He will not be No. 1 in Minnesota. That role belongs to Adrian Peterson and it isn’t going to change soon.
However, Tomlinson told reporters in the Twin Cities on Friday: “This is not the end of the road at all. I’m not retiring. So I am very excited. I really believe I am going to have that opportunity to win a championship.”
With Favre back, the Vikings are certainly as much a threat to win it all as the Jets next season. When it comes to acquiring Tomlinson as a No. 2 back, Favre is probably the only thing the Vikes have in their favor.
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8:30 a.m., Sunday, May 14: The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that it is “100 per cent certain,” that LaDainian Tomlinson will sign with the New York Jets.