Jerome Felton Opts Out of the Large Contract the Vikings Wouldn’t Have Paid Him
By Nick Fritz
As fun as it is to welcome newcomers to the Vikings organization in the offseason, it’s tough to see some familiar faces leave. The first of the familiar faces to not reach an agreement with management is Jerome Felton, who will opt-out of his contract and seek a new deal with another team.
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Felton is entering his eighth season in the NFL and the Vikings were not going to pay him the 2.45 million dollars he would have been owed. Restructuring the contract did come up, but in the end was not the best option for both parties. Not to mention, Felton’s role had been seriously cut down from previous years. He averaged just 10.5 snaps a game, when in years past he was bulldozing holes for Adrian Peterson on almost every play.
For Felton, it came as no surprise and there were no hard feelings. The writing had seemingly been on the wall for some time.
“The economics of my (contract) is they’re not going to pay me $2.5 million,’’ He told the Pioneer Press shortly after the season finale. “You wouldn’t just stay in a contract knowing your salary is that high. There’s no guarantee in the contract, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to opt in. So I’m a free agent after this season. If they wanted, they could re-sign me (at a lesser amount).’
Though Felton brought a lot to the team both on the field and in the locker room, this is definitely a good move for the Vikings. That 2.5 million dollars can be used much more effectively than for a run-blocker that plays 10 snaps a game. It’s a nice chunk of change that a solid corner or safety might be interested in this offseason.
Felton released these tweets in thanks to Vikings fans.
Admiration for what they've done for my family and myself!! Vikings fans are some of the best in the league and I want to say thank you for
— jerome felton (@jfelton45) February 3, 2015
All your support! No doors are closed but I'm excited to see what the future holds!! #skol #thankyou
— jerome felton (@jfelton45) February 3, 2015
Now the Vikings will have to make a decision on how to address the open fullback spot. It is most likely that Zach Line will get his chance to step up and grab the starting role. He can run, but his chance at the spot will depend on his blocking ability.
Another idea that has been thrown out there is to move Matt Asiata to FB. This completely depends on Asiata’s willingness to do so, but having an extra running back option in case something goes wrong is never a bad thing. On the other hand, Asiata just had a ten touchdown season and might be looking for a much bigger role.
Let the offseason moves commence for the Minnesota Vikings.
Next: Jennings Makes it Clear that Vikings Want AP Back
Dec 7, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings fullback Jerome Felton (42) celebrates his touchdown during the second quarter against the New York Jets at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports