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MINNEAPOLIS - There has been a lot of talk about the Vikings building for the future and not counting on being a contender this year, but if you ask coach Leslie Frazier, he doesn't believe that to be true.
"Not in our profession. Somebody else will be sitting in this seat if I look to the future," Frazier said. "I have to get our guys ready to have a good season next year. We need to have a good year."
While a lot of Vikings fans are unhappy because the team has signed only one player - tight end John Carlson - since the NFL free-agent market opened last week, Frazier said for everyone to be patient, because the club is still looking at signing some more players.
"We still want to find a wide receiver that can really threaten the field vertically," the Vikings coach said. "We also want to improve our secondary along with our linebackers, also.
"We're going to look to do that, we're going to look to upgrade our team. We may do it through free agency, but we're definitely going to do it through the draft, as well. But, yeah, we're still looking at some players in free agency. ... It's not closed, we're still looking."
Frazier believes that in Carlson, the former Seahawks player who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with $11 million guaranteed, the Vikings have found an impact player. "I think adding John Carlson to our football team is going to be a great addition," he said.
Frazier added: "We've got some other players that we're targeting (in free agency), along with this upcoming draft.
"We've got 10 picks in this draft, so we're going to get some good football players that will help our football team."
Young players will help
Frazier said there are some players on the current Vikings roster that he expects a lot out of as well.
Speaking about the offensive line, he said: "Brandon Fusco is going to be a guy who has to come along and play better for us, and we're looking forward to watching him develop. We think John Sullivan is going to be a better football player for us. We need Chris DeGeare to really come on for us. DeMarcus Love, a young man we drafted a year ago, we need those young guys to come along and play well for us." Love and Fusco were selected in last year's draft.
Regarding the defensive backs, he said: "We really need Asher Allen to really step up and play well for us. With our young secondary, Mistral Raymond, we need him to play well for us. We'd like to get Hussain Abdullah back from the concussion. We think we have a chance to draft some secondary help, which we'll have to be able to do.
"Jasper Brinkley (who missed last season) is going to be a big plus for us at linebacker, get him back in the fold, and hopefully we'll be able to sign some of our free agents as well," said Frazier, referring to brothers E.J. and Erin Henderson. "We're still in the process of trying to get some things done. I hope we get one or both of them back."
So stay tuned. According to Frazier, the Vikings will still make some moves.
Quickly
·One of the reasons the Tennessee Titans signed former Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson is not only that they believe he can still play, but they are confident the presence of Hutchinson on the offensive line will help them sign free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning.
·Defensive back Cedric Griffin, who was released by the Vikings after playing six seasons in Minnesota, has signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins.