Kansas City pass rusher scheduled for visit wth Vikings

Turns out the Vikings’ attention has been on more than the upcoming NFL draft of late. The team also has been in talks with Kansas City about a trade that could fill a glaring need by putting Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen in a Minnesota uniform.

Allen, who led the NFL with 15.5 sacks last season and has 43 in his career, was scheduled to arrive in the Twin Cities on Thursday to meet with Vikings officials. The Chiefs also have had discussions with Tampa Bay about the 26-year-old right end, according to Fox Sports’ website.

“It’s a situation that works out best for both sides,” Allen told Fox, adding he expects a deal to get done before the draft. “I can go to a team that is competing for a championship right now. The Chiefs can get valuable draft picks to rebuild with.”

Allen has wanted out since negotiations for a long-term contract broke down last year, according to the Kansas City Star.

Any team obtaining the 6-6, 270-pound Allen would have to pay a steep price to Kansas City and the fifth-year veteran. It placed the franchise tag on Allen, meaning he would make $8.8 million in 2008 (the average of the NFL’s five highest-paid defensive ends.)

While Vikings officials declined to comment Thursday, Chiefs President Carl Peterson issued a statement confirming the team has held “preliminary” trade talks for Allen with a “few” teams.

“Jared is not an exclusive franchise player,” Peterson said. “Therefore, based on the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, he has the right to visit and negotiate with other teams.”

As Kansas City’s franchise player, Allen could sign a contract offer sheet with another team, but that’s unlikely to happen because the price would be two first-round picks. The Chiefs also would have the option of matching the offer and retaining Allen.

Kansas City is rebuilding after a 4-12 finish in 2007 and looking to add draft picks. The Vikings are willing to give up their first-round selection (No. 17 overall) in the April 26-27 draft but would almost certainly need to include a second- or third-round selection.

The Vikings also must determine whether they can meet Allen’s contract demands.

A fourth-round pick in 2004 out of Idaho State, Allen could be looking for a contract similar to the six-year, $72 million deal ($30 million signing bonus) that Dwight Freeney signed with Indianapolis last July. That made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. Freeney had only 3.5 sacks in nine games in 2007.

A year ago the Seattle Seahawks signed free-agent end Patrick Kerney to a six-year, $39.5 million contract that included $19.5 million in guarantees. In March, Justin Smith left Cincinnati as a free agent to sign a six-year, $45 million deal with San Francisco that guarantees $20 million.

Smith was one of at least three free-agent defensive ends the Vikings targeted but did not get. Tennessee’s Antwan Odom landed with the Bengals and Jevon Kearse decided to rejoin the Titans.

The Vikings’ issues at defensive end are twofold. Starting left end Kenechi Udeze was diagnosed with leukemia this offseason and isn’t expected to play in 2008. Erasmus James, a first-round pick in 2005, is a question mark after battling knee injuries the past two seasons. The team also didn’t have a player with more than five sacks in 2007 and hasn’t had an end with a double-digit sack total since 2004. Allen also has 13 forced fumbles in the past three seasons.

Many have assumed the Vikings will target either Florida’s Derrick Harvey or Clemson’s Phillip Merling in the first round of next weekend’s draft, but giving up that pick to get Allen would provide more of a sure thing.

Allen’s biggest drawback is that he has had some off-the-field issues. He was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the 2007 season after twice being charged with drunken driving. That suspension was later reduced to two games, however, and Allen has since said that he quit drinking.

Etc.

Vikings free-agent defensive lineman Darrion Scott visited with the New England Patriots on Thursday, according to the Boston Globe.
Staff Writers Kevin Seifert and Sid Hartman contributed to this report.