Floyd Hasn’t Played In Purple—But He’s Already a Part of the Team’s Legacy
Joe Oberle
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So, now the Minnesota Vikings have a new word in the team lexicon of infamy to go along with: the original Whizzinator, the Love Boat and “I play when I want to play.” As of this week, we have the term “kambucha tea” to remind everyone of all the embarrassing episodes that the team and fan base have had to endure throughout the years.
Perhaps it’s just is part and parcel in the NFL these days. There is always some element of being in a crapshoot when drafting players or picking up free agents. But the Vikings have a voluminous history of celebrated embarrassments. So, when the team just got out from under the cloud of infamy associated with its former future HOF running back, it was concerning (then) and troubling (now) that they dove right into the Michael Floyd sweepstakes. That sweepstakes being that when you sign a free agent with baggage and you run the risk of that baggage spilling all over the team.
The Floyd baggage is currently staining the Vikings a bit—like a full cup of tea sloshing over the rim of a cup. You all know the story. Floyd was released last season from Arizona after a DUI arrest that included a viral video clip of the police waking up “Sleepy” Floyd in his car—that was stopped at a traffic light. The New England Patriots signed Floyd for the remainder of the 2016 season (in which Floyd garnered a Super Bowl ring for his part time play there).
And then the Vikings signed him to a one-year contract in May, despite the knowledge that Floyd would surely miss some games this season when the NFL levies their discipline for the DUI. Floyd was under house arrest (living with his old college roommate Kyle Rudolph) and had just five days remaining on the sentence when he was flagged for violating the terms of his probation (a positive alcohol test). He tested positive for alcohol and then blamed the readings on the alcohol contained in Kambucha tea.
As Joe Johnson pointed out on these pages, recently, Floyd would have to have ingested a boatload of tea to get the readings he had, but that was Floyd’s story and he was sticking to it. The courts in Arizona were not buying it, and earlier this week, Floyd was sentenced to spend a day in jail and then must finish up his previous house arrest session—a relatively light penalty for what appears to be a direct violation of the probation.
The Vikings, for their part, have stood behind Floyd since bringing him on board. And they released a statement that pretty much sums up the team’s feelings about the former Cretin Durham Hall star receiver:
“When we signed Michael Floyd, we hoped he would show signs of improvement and we continue to expect that he shows progress and a professional attitude. We believe Michael will be a productive member of the Vikings organization, both on and off the field. Pursuant to the ruling of the Arizona Court earlier today, Michael will serve the remainder of his sentence and we expect him to be with the team at the start of training camp in Mankato when the players report on July 26.”
The Vikings are doubling down with the troubled wideout, and despite where you come down on the kambucha tea alibi, the team is willing to give him another chance.
So, will Vikings fans do the same? They are a populace that has gone through plenty in their time rooting for the Purple, and they may likely find this offense to be smaller on the Vikings’ lengthy list of transgressions by its players. But it is just another in a long line of issues that have caused fans to either grin and bear it and spend their time defending the (occasionally) indefensible or just throw up their hands and walk away. Time will tell.
The Vikings needs the experience and field-stretching ability of Floyd (if they were expecting to get some leadership out of the six-year vet for the younger Viking wide-receiver unit, that hope may just have dimmed a bit). The Vikings are willing to take on Floyd and the baggage he carries, even if it is potentially only for a portion of the season. They brought back Adrian Peterson after his infamous incident with his son, and they were rewarded with a season in which Peterson led the league in rushing for the third time in his career.
But Floyd, is clearly on about his last legs in the league, even though his team is standing directly in his corner. Every move he makes now will be scrutinized mightily, as the term kambucha tea seeps its way into our local sports lexicon as a punch line for everything from fake news to foreign travel. Like this, perhaps:
When Michael Floyd goes to London with the Vikings this season, hopefully he chooses some Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea rather than his apparent favorite kambucha. Hopefully, by the time Floyd does take the field in Purple, this transgression is just a punch line from the past. All Vikings fans could use a break from the headlines such a thing might inspire.