The Vikings enjoyed signing Chester Taylor so much four years ago that they will try to do it again.
“Chester Taylor brings so much to this football team. He’s like the unsung hero of the offense,” Vikings VP of Player Personnel Rick Spielman said Saturday to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Taylor’s value will be tricky to establish. He turns 31 next season, but doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his legs. He’s one of the better receiving backs in the league and a weak free agent class could boost his price tag.
“He may be, as we look and we evaluate all the free agents out there, one of the top free agent backs coming out,” Spielman said. “Especially in that role he plays in third down, it’s so valuable for us.”
The uncapped year is taking most quality young backs off the market. We’d take Taylor over other unrestricted options like Willie Parker, Larry Johnson, and Kevin Faulk.
Taylor wants a chance to start again. He may not get that elsewhere, but he could possibly land a deal as a well-paid committee back -- a 1B. Taylor is a clear No. 2 in Minnesota, but extremely valuable.
The Vikings paid Taylor $3.6 million-per-season last time he was available, and that’s when he became a presumptive starter. We’d guess the team will have to approach that much pay in 2010 pay to retain him as a reserve.