It seemed a little odd at the time when the Vikings announced Letroy Guion's move to nose tackle and then also re-signed backup nose tackle Fred Evans.
Not anymore. Not after the NFL just lowered the first round of booms on the Saints for their involvement in a bounty program.
Head coach Sean Payton will be suspended without pay for a year beginning April 1. Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the current Rams defensive coordinator who admitted to orchestrating the program, has been suspended indefinitely. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt has been suspended for the first six games of this season. GM Mickey Loomis is out for the first eight games. And the team was fined $500 K and docked second-round picks in 2012 and 2013.
That pretty much assures everyone that the NFL will never see another bounty program.
Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association has formally requested that the league hold off on disciplining the 22 to 27 players it cited until after the NFLPA has had a chance to complete its own investigation.
Vikings nose tackle Remi Ayodele was with the Saints when they beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010. That, as we all know, was the game in which linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered 10 grand to anyone who could knock Brett Favre out of the game.
Ayodele joined the Vikings before the 2011 season and was unproductive. He was a starter, but had a limited role, finishing with 15 tackles.
With Guion moving over to nose and Evans providing extra interior depth along with Christian Ballard, the Vikings seem to have prepared themselves for life without Remi.
