vikings/nfl

Defensive end Brian Robison was vacationing in Cancun when he learned of Winfield’s release, again reminded of the transaction tornado that blasts through the league every March.

“Life in the NFL, man, it’s a scary, scary deal,” Robison said. “Even on vacation, I’m wanting to sit back and have fun. But you start seeing guys getting traded and released and you have that fear that you’re going to be the next guy. That stress can be enormous if you think about it too long.”

Big picture

Still, a view of the big picture is required.

The Harvin trade landed the Vikings first- and seventh-round picks for April’s draft plus a third-rounder next year.

Spielman insists he couldn’t pass up that package, a haul that will allow the Vikings to draft players at Nos. 23 and 25 next month.

A year ago, Spielman maneuvered his way into a pair of first-round picks and wound up snaring difference-making starters on both offense (left tackle Matt Kalil) and defense (safety Harrison Smith).

So you can imagine the eagerness to score another exacta payday on April 25.

New players will arrive. Old teammates may disappear.

Anything’s possible.

Like a longtime Packers standout again migrating west to become a Viking.

To feel fully comfortable with that move, Jennings made sure to review film. He threw the Vikings’ tape on, he said, not so much to analyze intricacies in coordinator Bill Musgrave’s offense but rather to zero in exclusively on Ponder.

“I had to see what I was getting myself into,” Jennings admitted.

He had, after all, spent his first seven seasons catching passes from Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

In Ponder, Jennings said, he saw an athletic young quarterback with great potential — if only he had more help.

In the Vikings, Jennings sees a team on the rise.

“You want to go to a team that’s still a contender, that has an opportunity to win but the window isn’t closing. The window is opening up. And I saw that with this ballclub last year. They kind of snuck up on everybody.”

Dan Wiederer • 612-673-7900