Birk signals displeasure in bypassing workouts

Will 2008 be Matt Birk's final season in a Vikings uniform? Evidence continued to mount Monday, as the center acknowledged he is skipping the voluntary portion of the team's offseason program.

A six-time Pro Bowl player, Birk is entering the last year of a contract that will pay him $5.72 million this season. Barring an extension, which the Vikings have not offered, Birk will become eligible for free agency in March 2009.

In a brief interview, Birk said he is "looking forward to playing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2008." But the St. Paul native, who has grown into a local celebrity while playing for his hometown team, said he will not beg for a new deal if the Vikings plan to move on without him.

"I don't feel like I need to plead my case for a contract," said Birk, the Vikings' longest-tenured player. "I think my career and my 10 years in this league speak for themselves."

Birk will work out this offseason with former Vikings long snapper Mike Morris, who annually organizes a group of local athletes at his home gym. Birk and Morris worked together in a similar capacity last year, but for the first time Birk will also sit out the Vikings' organized training activities (OTAs) that begin in mid-May.

According to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, OTAs and conditioning workouts are voluntary. Many players have incentive clauses to attend. Birk's contract -- signed in September 2001 -- doesn't.

The Vikings could fine him for skipping their mandatory June minicamp, but his intentions for that event were not clear Monday. Vikings coach Brad Childress declined to comment on Birk's absence, which officially began when the offseason program started March 17.

However, last spring, Childress made clear he didn't like the absence of cornerback Antoine Winfield from offseason workouts. But, Childress noted, Winfield never missed a mandatory event.

Like Winfield, Birk is following a time-tested approach for NFL players whose relationship with their team is strained but repairable. The player stops short of holding out but fulfills only the mandatory requirements of employment.

For example, Winfield eventually worked out through his differences with the Vikings; he said his issues revolved around communication with Childress and were not related to his contract.

Birk declined to comment on the reasons for his planned absence. But in the NFL, prominent players who enter a season in the final year of their contracts often are left to assume they are not in the team's future plans.

A similar case arose last season in Pittsburgh, where All-Pro guard Alan Faneca said the Steelers' refusal to offer a competitive contract extension meant he would be playing elsewhere in 2008. Faneca played out the final season of his deal, and last month the Steelers allowed him to sign a five-year contract with the New York Jets that included $21 million in guaranteed money.

Faneca and Birk will both turn 32 later this season.

Birk has resurrected his career since missing four games in 2004 and all of the '05 season because of multiple sports hernias and surgery to both hips. He hasn't missed a snap since his return, playing every down of the 2006 and '07 seasons, and is considered one of the top five centers in the NFL.

The Vikings have little depth behind him. Right tackle Ryan Cook was a center in college, and in 2007 he was considered Birk's backup and could eventually replace him. Starting right guard Anthony Herrera is the emergency center.