Since news broke that Sidney Rice had undergone hip surgery that likely would sideline him for the first half of the season, I've received more than a few questions on Twitter from fans who want to know if the Vikings had an interest in San Diego unsigned restricted free agent Vincent Jackson.
My immediate thought was the Vikings aren't about to pay Jackson what he wants after just redoing Brett Favre's contract and potentially giving him $7 million more than originally planned for this season. The Vikings could end up paying Favre $20 million for this season.
Well, it sounds as if the Purple checked and decided it isn't interested in paying the wide receiver what he wants.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune hints that the Vikings made a call to the Chargers to check on Jackson's availability. Acee reports that NFL sources told him the Vikings "immediately balked" at what Jackson wants. That would be the same $50 million, five-year contract, with $30 million in guarantees, that caused Seattle to stop talking to Jackson's reps after they received permission to do so.
This is the key graph from Acee's story: "Several league sources said in recent days that no one is willing to promise $10 million a year to a player with Jackson's baggage and inexperience. Jackson has led the NFL in yards per catch over the past two seasons, but two seasons is a relatively small body of work to deserve such a mega contract. Moreover, Jackson has been arrested twice for driving under the influence, something that led to him being suspended the first three games this season."
That would be another major issue for the Vikings, considering Rice is sure to miss the first six weeks of the season and probably more. Jackson would be sitting out the first three of those games and that wouldn't help the Vikings cause.
