Now we know for sure that Zygi Wilf is serious about spending what it takes to win a championship. The Vikings did what I wanted them to do and offered Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson a deal that will hopefully be so prohibitively expensive that the Seahawks will decline to match it immediately, rather than taking the seven days that are allotted for them to respond.
ESPN reports that the Vikings offer would make Hutchinson the highest paid guard in NFL history: Seven years for $49 million with $16 million in guarantees.
The article states that it is believed the Seahawks were offering Hutchinson an average of $5.8 million before free agency started, while the Vikings’ offer averages $7 million.
Hutchinson is 6′ 5" and weighs 313 pounds. He was a first-round draft choice in 2001 and is a three-time Pro Bowler. He has started every game he’s played, but in 2002 was limited to four games because of a broken leg.
Hutchinson would give the Vikings an enormously powerful left side by adding him next to left tackle Bryant McKinney.
You can read more about Hutchinson at the Seattle Seahawks site.
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