Nearly a decade after the Vikings memorably drafted tackle Bryant McKinnie, the team has decided to let the veteran loose.
PFT’s Mike Florio reports via a league a source that McKinnie was released on Tuesday.
“Its been fun,” McKinnie wrote on Twitter.
Ultimately, dealing with McKinnie was no longer fun for Minnesota. He reportedly showed up to camp “extremely” out of shape and overweight, which forced the Vikings to place him on the “NFI” (non-football injury) list. He was due $5.6 million in total pay for 2011 and his play had fallen off quite a bit in 2010.
The Vikings anticipated this move. They went aggressively after Jermon Bushrod before he re-signed in New Orleans. They signed Charlie Johnson on Monday and he will likely handle the left side.
McKinnie had a very good run overall in Minnesota, but this should have been a fairly cut and dried decision for the Vikings.
UPDATE: Leslie Frazier commented on the move: ""This decision, while not an easy one, is in the best interests of our football team as we move forward.”
