Down time? What down time? The Vikings' 2012 season may have ended last weekend with a 24-10 playoff loss in Green Bay. But for the Vikings front office, the heavy lifting is about to begin. Over the next few weeks, General Manager Rick Spielman will preside over detailed meetings in which the Vikings deliver thorough evaluations of all of their current players, then attempt to put together an offseason to-do list for free agency and the draft.
On Thursday, Spielman met with Twin Cities media for a state-of-the-team back-and-forth, an engaging session in which the GM addressed everything from Leslie Frazier's impressive leadership to the team's quarterbacking situation to his own philosophy of building through the draft.
And of course, there was plenty of discussion on receiver Percy Harvin, whose impressive season was cut short in early November by an ankle sprain that ultimately ended his season.
Here is most of what Spielman had to say about Harvin as he marches into an offseason in which the Vikings will have to make firm decisions about the talented receiver's future, likely needing to work out some kind of contract extension if they are hoping to keep him around long-term.
On what went into the decision to put Harvin on Injured Reserve in Week 14 …
"I'm not going to say anything that hasn't been said. It's something that we felt was best for Percy. We didn't want to ruin any long-term or longevity issues and put him out there if he wasn't going to be able to play and risk further injury."
On whether the I.R. decision upset Harvin …
"Again, when we talk about that, Percy was, as any player, is so competitive that they want to play. Mentally you may want to play, but physically you may not be able to play. And then sometimes, when you make those decisions, you've got to make it in what you think is in the best interest of the football player for the long term. Because, for one, he's right in the prime of his career. He's 24, 25 years old."
