The Vikings Need to Go After Eric Decker
Joe Johnson
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The Michael Floyd experiment has failed. As was reported by TMZ Sports, and then purplePTSD.com itself, it was leaked yesterday that recently acquired wide receiver and terrible decision maker Michael Floyd both refused and then failed a breath test on Sunday and Monday. It’s a bit confusing as it was reported that there were five “hits” for an elevated BAC, between 0.044 and 0.055 between Sunday and Monday. He was wearing an detector that can… Detect alcohol through the skin at one point, but he successfully argued to a judge that it’d impede his ability to play football so it was replaced with breath tests. So, I’m not sure if those hits meant he took that many breath tests or what. It doesn’t matter, as the point is that he failed multiple times and refused to take one as well. While Floyd has attempted to hit this thing head on, by saying that it’s completely “false” and that the results stemmed from Kombacha tea (Which has traces of alcohol in it), this looks really bad for Floyd and could mean jail time and a year long suspension by the NFL. Honestly, not to make this about me but every time I get jazzed about the team something bad happens. I have a feeling that people are going to be buying purplePTSD shirts by the boatload soon. If they existed, which they don’t… Yet.
The problem with the Kombacha argument is that if he inadvertently ingested alcohol via some tea, why would he refuse the breathalyzer? Why wouldn’t he just take it, thinking that he’d obviously blow a 0.00? So, that means that he knew he’d probably blow SOMETHING, and even if it did come from tea it meant that there was knowledge and thus intent that he was ingesting some alcohol. Not to mention the fact that he’d essentially have to chug a bathtub full of Kombacha to reach those levels in his blood, something that shows if true that he’s clearly got a problem. Coming from a guy (me) who used to literally take a swig of mouth wash to ward off a hangover, I can see the mentality there.
I wrote a piece about a month ago that basically predicted that something like this was going to happen. I’m an alcoholic myself, obviously, something I think the entire Vikings realm knows now that I brought up stories from the Intensive Inpatient treatment facility I attended for 27 days in April of 2014 during my interview on The PurpleFTW! Podcast last week. As the least preachy alcoholic ever, I saw so many red-flags that I made a reference to Minesweeper at one point. Floyd just hadn’t come to grips with his problem(s), has seemed defensive in interviews and essentially the fact is that even when you know that you have a problem, that you’re “powerless” (Step one, although I didn’t really follow the 12-Step program myself, as I find this logic counter-intuitive) against it, you only have a 5% chance of getting and staying clean. So, just based on the things he’d said (And rumors out of Boston that said he was saying the right things, but not DOING the right things), I ascertained that Floyd was basically just a walking relapse as if you can’t admit you have a problem you obviously can’t fix it. Perhaps this incident will end up being the catalyst needed for him to straighten things out, he’s only 27 and could stage a comeback after taking a year off to focus on himself. But, either way, this all points to Floyd being out for the year for the Vikings.
I take no pleasure in being right about that, in fact it really, really has made me sad. Sad for the team, sure, as I really was hyped about what Floyd was going to bring to the offense. But also sad for Floyd himself because he couldn’t even wait until Friday to drink (When his house arrest was originally going to end). Regardless of whether or not it was tea, he clearly knew there was alcohol in it and I can just see how things went down in his mind. One of the better ideas or exercises I learned in treatment was to consider the voice that justifies using, that urge, a separate entity. Something that you can argue with, or ignore, but really the point is to work on the voice that will find any and every way for you to get drunk. Once he learned that that tea had alcohol in it, that justification in his mind was only a matter of time, and the rest is what’s turning out to be really sad history.
So, perhaps the Vikings will stick by Floyd. I really don’t think they will, though, but do think they’ll wait until what the judge decides. Regardless of that decision, though, Floyd will probably miss a majority if not the entire 2017 season. I’m guessing that the judge will sentence him to treatment, something that won’t work unless he’s ready and considering that he’s denying that he got drunk on purpose, I don’t see that working. I also figure his contract had specific language about his drinking and since he’s violated that I’m sure they can cut him and take back any money that they did give him. Keep in mind that this is a receiver that was WEEKS away from hitting the free agent market and perhaps getting somewhere in the range of $40 million or more, when he was found passed out in his SUV and blew > .20 (Which is considered an “extreme DUI”) last December.
So, I’m all for the Vikings supporting Floyd and hate to essentially jump on this and immediately start talking about his replacement, but it’s a sad reality and something that needs to be discussed. So, if he’s not going to be available to play for a majority of or the entire season, the Vikings have to make a move for another home-town favorite. Cold Spring’s Eric Decker. Decker was released by the New York Jets because the Jets are the Jets and they’re going to possibly have the worst team in NFL history this season. So far, Decker has been taking meetings but hasn’t made any decisions in regards to free agency. You’d think that he would’ve been snatched up by someone right away, as he’s shown to be an elite receiver since joining the league with a special nose for the end-zone. He did visit with the Tennessee Titans this week, a team that very well could be a contender this year and could be strong competition for his talents should the Vikings make a move.
However, as was mentioned by an agent of another Jets veteran that was released recently, the Jets essentially did Decker a disservice by releasing him long after free agency and the draft occurred. A lot of teams have already spent their money or set up their roster of training camp guys, so obviously Decker will find work but he may not receive the amount of money he otherwise would’ve had he been released a few months ago. That may mean that he’ll sign a one-year contract, which seems to be the Modus Operandi of a lot of free agent receivers this year as the salary cap will increase next season so it’ll be a better time to sign a longer term contract. The fact that Decker left Tennessee without a contract, to me, as a delusional Vikings fan, makes me think that he or his agent had heard about the Michael Floyd situation before it was leaked to the media. Perhaps he’s been biding his time so he’ll have a chance to join the team he grew up rooting for as a child (I assume).
While the Vikings do have depth at the wide receiver position, Floyd was brought in to be the physical, down the field receiver that the team has lacked in recent seasons. While it sounds like last year’s first round draft pick Laquon Treadwell is emerging in OTA’s and could perhaps help fill that role, he’s still young and has a lot to learn. Bringing in someone like Decker, who is essentially Adam Thielen on steroids (metaphorically), and you’ll see why I’m so excited about the prospect of bringing him in. 2016 was a disaster for the Jets (Hence the purge this off-season), but in 2015 Decker caught 12 touchdowns and crossed 1,000 yards receiving. He’s basically a white Cris Carter, a neo-Carter really, who would be a great fit in this Vikings offense.
The question would become then, assuming they sign him, what his role in the offense would be. Michael Floyd was just a roll of the dice, someone who the Vikings were going to use as a third receiver, or intermittently as the X receiver (Which comes with a lot of jamming at the line and tight coverage, something that Treadwell could excel at). Beyond that, though, Floyd would’ve had specific down the field plays but he’d by no means become the number one receiver on the team, which is an important caveat as it wouldn’t disrupt the current status quo when it comes to receivers and the depth chart. Decker is a different story, he’d cost a pretty penny and because of that he’d get featured a lot more on the offense. You’d have to think that he’d become the de facto number one receiver on the team, at least at some point in the season. But, the idea of Diggs, Thielen, Decker and Treadwell sounds pretty damn good to me, and I’m sure they’ll be able to figure things out.
We do have to address this quote from Rick Spielman, which came from an interview with The Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson after Decker was released and Vikings Twitter imploded:
“We always look at everybody that is released, but we feel pretty confident with our receiving corps right now, just watching Stefon Diggs [and] Adam Thielen. . . . Laquon Treadwell is totally different [from 2016]. . . . And to pick up a Michael Floyd, he’s been real impressive.”
Obviously things have changed, and man, it just really, really sucks. Spielman shouts out Floyd and so that could mean that they are now interested in Decker. Regardless of what does happen, the fact remains that Floyd was brought in for a reason and he was set to provide the Vikings offense with the deep threat that they haven’t had, again, for years. So, I think it’s worth the risk, the money and the effort to bring in Decker to fulfill that role. Sure, he’s the same speed as Thielen and Diggs, but he’s shown that he’s got the ability to get open down the field, especially in the red/end-zone and considering how much the Vikings and their offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur like to spread the ball around, it’d never hurt to have another skilled receiver out there. As much as I loved the Floyd signing (and still do, shows that they’re going for it) and do feel bad for him, the fact remains that the team has a job to do and if Floyd isn’t going to be a part of it then it may be time for Decker to return home and rock Purple and Gold like he does at home, anyway.