Ray Edwards Would Still Like an Offer Sheet, But is He Worth It?

According to Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards is still expecting, or hoping, to receive an offer sheet that will get him out of Minnesota.

If that doesn’t happen, he says, he won’t sign the tender until the last possible moment.

“I won’t be [at the Vikings offseason workouts],” Edwards said. “Whenever I have to sign, that’s when I’ll sign.”

Edwards is upset, as are the other restricted free agents who should have hit the free agent market, that the years of service was changed from four years to six years in an uncapped year. However, he better make sure he doesn’t burn too many bridges in his little hissy-fit.

The reality of the situation is that Edwards simply isn’t worth a first-round pick. He’s been an average player in Minnesota surrounded by potential Hall of Fame guys — Jared Allen and the Williams Wall — on that line with him. To only be average with those guys around him says a lot about him as a player.

The first-round tender makes him untouchable as a restricted free agent, but I thought for sure he would have been traded by now. He is only an average to slightly above average player, but there are desperate teams out there who I thought would have been willing to give up a third or maybe a conditional fourth-round pick.

I’m not sure if there have been any offers or not, but it looks like the Vikings would want a first-round pick for him, and that’s just not ever going to happen.

He could be trade bait on draft day if the Vikings want to move up in the early rounds, but that’s about it. If he’s not traded in the three weeks or so surrounding the draft, then he will stay a Viking for 2010.

So, if he’s smart, he’ll shut his mouth now before he starts alienating his team.