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Before joining our Access Vikings team, Dan Wiederer covered Atlantic Coast Conference basketball for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer and was named North Carolina's top sports columnist in 2010. His previous reporting experience includes covering the Chicago Bears. 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.
Vikings, Taylor's rep meet
Posted by: under Vikings, NFC, Brad Childress, Adrian Peterson, Brad Childress, Chester Taylor Updated: February 26, 2010 - 10:04 PM
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Vikings and running back Chester Taylor's agent, Ken Sarnoff, held initial discussions at the NFL Scouting Combine and have plans to meet again. Taylor is set to become an unrestricted free agent at 11:01 p.m. next Thursday unless a deal gets done.
The Vikings could find themselves in an interesting situation with Taylor because the buzz around the combine is that interest is high in the veteran. Taylor will turn 31 in September but doesn't have that much wear and tear because he has been primarily a backup for seven of his eight NFL seasons.
All indications are that the Vikings' goal is to keep Taylor as their third-down back behind Adrian Peterson. Taylor has proven to be extremely valuable in that role.
Coach Brad Childress said Friday that he has not talked to Taylor of late, adding, " I know [running backs coach] Eric Bieniemy will end up speaking with him.”
Bieniemy said during the season that he felt Taylor could start for several teams. Childress said he did not know how attractive Taylor would find it to leave Minnesota to be the lead runner for a team. "You'd have to speak to Chester about that," Childress said. "To see what he aspires to right now. I know I met with all those guys [pending free agents] before they left and the conversations were good. He knows how we feel about him, but I’m never going to begrudge anybody an opportunity to make money.”
Asked if he felt Taylor had good years ahead of him, Childress said: “Yeah, it’s the old beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He’s done great things for us and obviously last time I saw him play he was up to speed. Some people I’m sure fall off the table but to quantify that and say, ‘Well, can he be a 35 carry a game guy?’ I don’t know. Whatever, your vision is for him. If they are going to pay him a lot of money than they are going to probably expect him to be a lead dog.”
As for potential interest in soon-to-be free agent running back Brian Westbrook, Childress simply wasn't going to bite on that question. Childress was Westbrook's offensive coordinator in Philadelphia from 2002 to 2005 and if Taylor leaves Westbrook would seem like a good fit as a blocker and receiver on third down for the Vikings. The issue with Westbrook is that he battled concussions last season and has a bad knee.
"I'm just going to say he's property of the Philadelphia Eagles and he was a good player when I was there," Childress said. "He's a good running back in a lot of different areas."
The Eagles do not plan to release Westbrook until the league's new year starts with one hour left in the central time zone next Thursday. The Eagles have given Westbrook permission to talk to other teams and he told a Chicago radio station that several teams have contacted his agent.
Westbrook and Taylor were both born in September 1979 and their birthdays are only 20 days apart. Westbrook has 1,308 rushing attempts and 426 receptions since entering the NFL in 2002. Taylor has 1,028 rushing attempts and 265 receptions since he came into the league the same season.
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