It’s almost hard to believe that the Vikings were seen as Super Bowl contenders only six months ago.
Now they look like a team ready to rebuild, but Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe doesn’t see it that way. He still sees the talented core of the 2009 NFC title game participants, just needing a little help.
“I feel like the window is still open. It’s definitely getting smaller to me, before the rebuilding process [starts],” Shiancoe told NFL Network via Frank Tadych. “We have so many veterans and elite players right now on our team. A roster full of great players.”
We like Shiancoe’s optimism so soon after such an epic disaster of a season. While the offensive line is growing stale, the team does have plenty of playmakers.
“Offensively, we have all the skill positions [filled]. It’s an offensive coordinator’s dream,” Shiancoe said.
Fair enough. But the Vikings don’t have a quarterback, and they have a new offensive system to learn. More importantly, the defense needs a lot of work and the team has a huge amount of free agents.
Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman’s words this week were more telling than Shiancoe’s belief.
“Rookies are going to get forced into action. They are going to have to step up and play,” Spielman said.
Translation: We’re rebuilding.