MONDAY, 12:54pm: It looks like the Vikings will indeed get a visit lined up with Selvie this week, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.
SUNDAY, 4:45pm: After missing out on free agent Michael Johnson earlier today, the Vikings are still hopeful of improving their defensive end position. According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota has interest in George Selvie, and could meet with him later this week.
The Vikings first contacted Selvie on March 7, the first day of the legal tampering period, and have begun talking with him ever since, adds Tomasson. The 28-year-old Selvie has started 29 games for the Cowboys over the past two seasons, posting 10 sacks and 60 tackles. The former Jaguar, Panther, and Ram graded as the league’s 37th-best 4-3 DE among 59 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but those metrics showed a stark difference between Selvie’s run defense (where he excelled) and pass-rush (where he struggled).
Regardless, based on last year’s production, Selvie would be an improvement on Brian Robison, who’s been a starter at defensive end for the Vikings since 2011. Robison’s sack numbers have dropped in recent seasons, and he rated as the sixth-worst 4-3 DE in 2014 per PFF. I noted in my preview of Minnesota’s offseason that Robison could be a candidate for release, as the Vikings would save $2.65MM against the cap by cutting him now, or $4.65MM by designating him as a post-June 1 release.
The Vikings currently have about $12.6MM in available cap space, and given that Selvie shouldn’t command an exorbitant base salary or signing bonus, a deal should be able to get worked out, at least from a financial perspective.