Vikings aren’t worried about Winfield’s absence

By Krupka  |   Monday, June 04, 2007  |  Comments( 14 )

Minnesota Vikings
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As most Minnesota Vikings fans and followers know, cornerback Antoine Winfield is reportedly displeased with the team's direction and his contract -- which are being deemed the reasons that he has been a no-show at early offseason functions.

Winfield's absence has allowed third-year corner Dovonte Edwards, who missed all of last season with a broken arm suffered in the preseason, to display his skills.

Edwards is best known by Vikings fans for his 51-yard interception return for a touchdown against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in his rookie season, 2005.

The North Carolina State product has been working with the first-team defense opposite of second-year corner Cedric Griffin. Edwards isn't as hard nosed or as good of a tackler as Winfield or Griffin, but he's instinctive, solid in coverage and has the ability to be a game-changer. He may remind some of former Vikings corner Jimmy Hitchcock.

Don't expect Winfield to become a distraction or try to force a trade like many unhappy athletes do today. Teammate Darren Sharper also believes there is nothing to worry about.

"I don't worry about him not being here. It's not being disruptive at all."

If nothing else, Winfield's no-show has helped Edwards make his case for the starting nickel spot, which he is competing against rookie Marcus McCauley for.

Sharper added, "The thing about this camp is that it's not mandatory. You can't really look down on a guy if he's not here. You always like to have your guys here, but one thing we know about Antoine is that when it comes to Sundays, he's probably our best player here. We know we can count on him."

And the Vikings can count on another productive season from their star corner known for his superb tackling. Lost in everything is Winfield's very solid coverage skills and his 11 interceptions in his three seasons with Minnesota, including his first career touchdown last year.


Eric Krupka is a senior writer for RealFootball365.com. He can be contacted at ekrupka@realfootball365.com.

Get more Minnesota Vikings coverage at RealFootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 14  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Russ		02:21 AM
06/04/2007
They need to cut him NOW. This a power-play moement between the coach and the players. Chilli must not show any weakness. Dovonte...
No.2
sean		08:31 AM
06/04/2007
yeah they dont need him with our awesome pass defense, hopefully child dress will be the one down the road when Tjack shows hes...
No.3
dimgim		08:36 AM
06/04/2007
Yeah they do need him...outside of Kevin Williams he's their best player period, on either side of the ball. But if he's gonna...
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