Allen trade close for Vikings, Chiefs?
It appears the Minnesota Vikings may be close to securing a trade for Kansas City DE and NFL sack leader Jared Allen. Allen, who’s not happy in KC, is seeking a contract in excess of $70 million over six years.
For the Chiefs part, while they’d like to retain Allen, they’d be willing to give him up for a first-round and second-round pair of picks in this year’s NFL Draft, scheduled for next weekend. For their part, the Vikes are offering first and third round picks.
Allen would be a genuine upgrade to the defensive line, but he comes with baggage; he is one strike away from being banned for an entire season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, which makes him a huge risk; it also would add a player of questionable character to a team that has worked hard since Zygi Wilf bought the team and hired Brad Children as his heach coach enforcer, to steer clear of controversy.
I don’t mind giving up a first and third if Allen stays clean; but it would be a huge price to pay if he never even makes it to camp before screwing up. I’d favor a deal that has at least one of the picks be a conditional pick in next year’s draft. Say, perhaps, if Allen stays out of trouble, it becomes a second-round pick, but if he screws up and gets suspended within his first season as a Viking, the pick gets downgraded to a third-round pick.
Heck, toss in a Branson golf package either way for KC coach Herm Edwards and maybe we can get this deal done.
