There aren’t too many notable free agents still looking for teams, but the short list of them certainly includes tight end Visanthe Shiancoe.
Shiancoe has started 53 games for the Vikings over the last five years and gives you something as both a receiver and a blocker at times. He’s 32, so he’d work best in tandem with a younger tight end, but it is still surprising that he hasn’t found work at this point in the year.
According to Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com, Shiancoe turned down a one-year, $1.2 million contract offer from the Seahawks in March. We knew Shiancoe visited with Seattle back then and Shiancoe seemed like a good fit alongside Zach Miller in an offense run by Darrell Bevell, who coached him in Minnesota. Assuming the report is accurate, all of that was accurate and the issue was Shiancoe’s hope for a bigger deal.
With Kellen Winslow now the team’s second tight end, he won’t be getting it in the Pacific Northwest. He probably won’t do much better than that at this point given the total lack of chatter about interest in his services. He could find work when camps open or Shiancoe might have to wait for an injury to create an opportunity.