I can’t say I blame Matt Birk for wanting some guaranteed money for delaying his surgery; nor can I blame the Vikings for balking. As Kelly Cam would say, it is what it is, and in this case it means that we won’t get Birk back until mid-November, if at all this season.
For all intents and purposes, we’ve lost Birk for the season and Corey Withrow will be our starting center. Which sucks because while Withrow is a fine back up, he’s not as athletic as Birk can’t pull nearly as well, which limited our running game last year when Birk was out.
Unfortunately, the pickings are rather thin now on open market. Jerry Fontenot is available, I think, as is Gennaro DiNapoli. See what I mean? Billy Conaty signed just last week with Denny Green and the Cardinals, so he’s out.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone good will get cut soon.
But perhaps the most pressing question on Viking fans minds everywhere this morning is just who will call out the team’s primma donnas when they get out of line? Just who will be the team’s moral exemplar?