vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
What's next for Jerome Felton following arrest?
Posted by: Dan Wiederer under Vikings, Lions, Leslie Frazier, Leslie Frazier Updated: June 2, 2012 - 12:03 PM
Late Friday night, Vikings fullback Jerome Felton was arrested by Eden Prairie police and charged with second-degree driving while impaired. He is currently in the Hennepin County jail with his bail set at $12,000.
The Vikings have just released a statement on the matter.
Said team spokesperson Jeff Anderson: "We are aware of the situation and working to gather more information. We'll have no further comment at this time."
So what does this mean for Felton's future with the team? It's too hard to tell right now. The Vikings will return to the practice field Tuesday for their next session of organized team activities. And the Wednesday OTA session will be open to the media. Which means, at the very least, head coach Leslie Frazier will have to address the matter. It will be interesting to see if Felton will be back on the field with the team next week.
For perspective, when the Vikings signed Felton as a free agent in March, the move was generally greeted with a "Who's Jerome Felton?" reaction. After all, Felton is far from a household name. He has been on three different NFL teams (the Lions, Panthers and Colts) during his first four NFL seasons.
The Vikings have hopes that Felton can compete for and win the starting fullback job for the 2012 season. Ryan D'Imperio is the incumbent there. And fourth-round pick Rhett Ellison also has a skillset to play both fullback and tight end in a Jim Kleinsasser-mold.
Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave has vowed to use more two tight end sets in 2012 and has even hinted at going with three tight ends from time to time. That would likely mean using Ellison in a fullback-type role while freeing up Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson to show off their pass-catching ability.
It's never been expected that Felton would have anywhere near a headliner role this season. Yet it will be interesting to see how the Vikings react to his Friday night transgression. In early May, the team wasted little time releasing running back Caleb King after he was arrested on assault charges. The Vikings were far more supportive of cornerback Chris Cook, who was arrested last October on charges of felony domestic assault. Cook was suspended by the team for a brief period, then reinstated but exiled away from team activities. And when he was acquitted of all charges in March, he was welcomed back to the team with open arms.
explore the Vikings/NFL
ADVERTISEMENT
| NY Mets - LP: J. Hefner | 2 | FINAL |
| Chicago Cubs - WP: S. Feldman | 8 |
| Seattle - LP: O. Perez | 4 | FINAL |
| Cleveland - WP: C. Perez | 5 |
| Toronto - LP: B. Morrow | 2 | FINAL |
| NY Yankees - WP: D. Phelps | 7 |
| Cincinnati - WP: B. Arroyo | 10 | FINAL |
| Philadelphia - LP: K. Kendrick | 0 |
| Chicago WSox - LP: N. Jones | 9 | FINAL |
| LA Angels - WP: R. Coello | 12 |
| Tampa Bay - WP: A. Torres | 10 | FINAL |
| Baltimore - LP: J. Johnson | 6 |
| Houston | 1 | Bottom 7th Inning |
| Pittsburgh | 2 |
| Los Angeles | 1 | Bottom 8th Inning |
| Atlanta | 0 |
| Boston | 7 | Bottom 5th Inning |
| Minnesota | 3 |
| Arizona | 1 | Top 9th Inning |
| Miami | 0 |
| Milwaukee | 4 | Bottom 6th Inning |
| St. Louis | 4 |
| Detroit | 2 | Bottom 3rd Inning |
| Texas | 5 |
| San Francisco | 1 | Bottom 4th Inning |
| Colorado | 3 |
| Washington | 0 | Bottom 4th Inning |
| San Diego | 1 |
| Kansas City | 1 | Top 2nd Inning |
| Oakland | 0 |
| New York | 47 | 3rd Qtr |
| Indiana | 55 |
| Columbus | 1 | FINAL |
| Toronto FC | 0 |
| Portland | 2 | FINAL |
| Vancouver FC | 2 |
| Chicago | 0 | 2nd Half 5:00 |
| Philadelphia | 1 |
| New England | 0 | 1st Half 3:00 |
| Houston | 0 |
| FC Dallas | 9:30 PM |
| Seattle |
| Colorado | 9:30 PM |
| San Jose |
- Hartman: Vikings defensive line can walk after season
- Hartman: Webb shifts from QB to full-time receiver for Vikings
- Hold off on buying that Urlacher jersey ...
- Scoggins: Turns out, $1 billion will buy quite a bit
- New Vikings stadium unveiled
- Dayton turns to smokers to fill Vikings stadium funding gap
- Vikings' Chris Kluwe to sign with Oakland Raiders
- Vikings sign three more draft choices; only first-rounders left
| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| 2013 preseason | ||||
| Aug 9 - vs. Houston | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 16 - at Buffalo | 6 pm | |||
| Aug 25 - at San Francisco | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 29 - vs. Tennessee | 7 pm | |||
| 2013 regular season | ||||
| Sep 8 - at Detroit | Noon | |||
| Sep 15 - at Chicago | Noon | |||
| Sep 22 - vs. Cleveland | Noon | |||
| Sep 29 - vs. Pittsburgh (in London) | Noon | |||
| Oct 6 - Bye | ||||
| Oct 13 - vs. Carolina | Noon | |||
| Oct 21 - at. NY Giants | 7:40 pm | |||
| Oct 27 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 pm | |||
| Nov 3 - at Dallas | Noon | |||
| Nov 7 - vs. Washington | 7:25 pm | |||
| Nov 17 - at Seattle | 3:25 pm | |||
| Nov. 24 - at Green Bay | Noon | |||
| Dec 1 - vs. Chicago | Noon | |||
| Dec 8 - at Baltimore | Noon | |||
| Dec 15 - vs. Philadelphia | Noon | |||
| Dec 22 - at Cincinnati | Noon | |||
| Dec 29 - vs. Detroit | Noon |
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters