Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Vikings FB Jerome Felton has sent in his notice of intent to void the remainder of his contract.
- Rapoport mentions that Felton will likely be the No. fullback on the open market.
- According to Rapoport, Felton is Adrian Peterson‘s “guy” and close friend.
Felton previously confirmed that he was going to exercise the opt out clause in his contract and test the open market, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
“The economics of my thing is they’re not going to pay me $2.5 million,’’ Felton told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “You wouldn’t just stay in a contract knowing your salary is that high. There’s no guarantee in the contract, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to opt in. So I’m a free agent after this season. If they wanted, they could re-sign me (at a lesser amount).’’
Felton added that his lack of playing time this season factored into his decision.
“I’m obviously not going to want to just play a few snaps,’’ Felton said. “All that stuff will come up (in talks after the season). But I’ve been positive this whole year and tried to be a leader in our locker room.’’
Last year, Minnesota reduced Felton’s salary from $1.95 to $1.45 million and in turn included the ability for him to opt out of the agreement following the 2014 season.
Felton has played just 122 of the team’s 743 snaps and only saw five snaps against the Packers in Week 12.
Pro Football Focus has Felton rated as the No. 7 fullback in the league, so even though fullbacks have found very little interest on the open market, there is a chance that Felton could have some opportunities next year.
Felton, 28, appeared in all 16 games and and carried the ball for 27 yards on four carries to go along with 36 kick return yards.
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