Thank God, if his freak injuries were just that he is a stud and would have killed me to see him walk after the season. Love Olu, Tipp and AVT being the foundation of the line.
I would imagine it’s because JD built such shitty OLs that it was necessary two years running to play AVT out of position which predictably led to consecutive season ending injuries
To me this was a no brainer. The option adds another year at a reasonable price. It also gives us another year to see if he can stay healthy before his next big contract.
I don’t think there was ever any doubt, it just seems like people overreacted to JD being unprepared for the question
AVT is a stud who got hurt twice because he was asked to play a position that requires entirely different technique and movement from the hips down since there’s much more lateral movement. What this coaching staff did to AVT is a downright crime.
Well it was enough of an overaction that Joe came back after the draft and announced the 5th year decision based primarily on a question by a reporter that he failed to answer a week prior. Teams don't do damage control unless there's doubt.
It makes sense. AVT only has ONE solid season. He has injury issues and there's no sense in signing him to a fat long-term deal at this point. Let him play another season to determine his value.
All those rumors and concerns was a lot to do about nothing in my view. Picking up the fifth year option was a no brainer. Hopefully he plays his position and not move him around.
Some experts have suggested that the short pre-season and lack of full-contact practices in pre-season have led to more injuries.
Let's hope so. Unless he can have a pro bowl type of year and does not get hurt, this move will look incredibly dumb. 15 mil is a lot to commit for a Guard. We need a healthy all pro caliber season to justify this money,
He was on his way there in year one. I fully expect a great season from him, barring a freak injury God forbid.
It's the time of year when a very limited number of players have option decisions to be made for them which should be at the forefront of a GMs mind. Even just a perception that the question caught Joe Douglas by surprise is enough to make people believe incompetence prevails. Hardly an overreaction.
This is interesting since it reflects on JD's history. Recall JD traded the 23rd pick plus two 3rds to take AVT. The Vikes selected Darrisaw with the 23rd pick and got 2 additional picks also. For those who don't know, Darrisaw is a LT and if we had him, we would not have used the 11th pick in 2024 on Fashanu. As good as AVT is, even JD was scratching his head about offering a 5th year--I just want to bring this to the boards attention, but imo, in toto, although we all like AVT, its ambiguous if this was a good trade. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profo...aw-agrees-to-four-year-extension-with-vikings
True indeed, although back then we where still living on the false premise that we had a LT on Becton.
Douglas almost has to pick up the 5th year option on AVT. If he doesn't, that would mean that none of the players taken in the 1st and 2nd rounds by Douglas in the 2020 and 2021 drafts are still on the team by the start of the 2025 season. That's not just a bad record, that's just flat out abysmal.
