It's a question that we're going to hear a lot for at least the rest of the day today before Mike Zimmer clears the air during his afternoon press conference from TCO.
Does cutting ties with your rookie kicker only two weeks into his first professional season send a bad message to the rest of the team?
The thought clearly leans to more of a dog-eat-dog world kind of mentality that is but isn't part of the NFL. Certain teams lean a bit more towards that mentality than others do and I would generally say that the Vikings are not that sort of a franchise and Rick Spielman is not that sort of a general manager.
There's the side of the argument that would say that making such a rash decision could send a bad message to the rest of the team.
These players are already in an uber competitive environment and now they are led to believe that they will operate under the shortest of short leashes. Does that breed a walking on egg shells kind of vibe among the players? Does it set a standard for future free agents, future draft picks and the like that will consider the team in the future?
Those are all fair arguments...
May I offer a counter argument to this thought?
If you're worried about sending a bad message to the rest of the players, aren't you sending a bad message to them if you don't do everything you can to make the team better?
This is a team that is ready to win now. They've invested greatly in players like Kirk Cousins & Sheldon Richardson during the offseason to put a team together that can push for a Super Bowl right away.
The defense is already built for such a run, now the offense is built for this as well, do you really want to keep the special teams as a liability when there is an option in the wings that is seemingly waiting for Minnesota to call?
I would argue, and lean towards believing the argument that the players who are ready to win now would be more upset if you left a liability than if you cut ties a little too early!
Tell us what you think! Cast your vote in the poll below and see what other Vikings fans have been saying...