Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported this morning (via Twitter) that the Vikings will meet with representatives for multiple free agents tomorrow in Indianapolis, including quarterback Matt Cassel and defensive end Everson Griffen. However, speaking to local reporters today at the combine, GM Rick Spielman said he’ll actually meet with Cassel’s agent today, and added that the Vikings will meet with the reps for all their free agents this weekend (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports). Here are a few more updates from Spielman, via Pelissero (all links go to Twitter):
- The Vikings don’t anticipate using their franchise tag, which isn’t a big surprise — none of the team’s free agents are strong candidates to be franchised.
- Minnesota “definitely” wants and needs to add a young quarterback, according to Spielman. The team’s preferred setup would be to head into camp with a young QB, a veteran (perhaps Cassel), and Christian Ponder.
- Spielman didn’t close the door on re-signing Josh Freeman, though Pelissero would be “shocked” if the former Buccaneer returns to Minnesota.
- The Vikings would be interested in trading down from No. 8 overall, since they feel like there’s good depth at the quarterback position in this year’s draft class. According to Spielman, the team has eight or nine private workouts lined up with quarterbacks in advance of the draft.
- Minnesota will look to address its holes on defense in both free agency and the draft, says Spielman.