Sure, they can’t control where free agents wind up, but if that’s the case they could have traded him last season and gotten SOMETHING for him while making sure he didn’t land within the division. As it turned out, they did neither.

On the other hand, Jennings is in Minnesota to replace departed Percy Harvin who left for Seattle. From Minnesota’s perspective, they’re getting an upgrade. Harvin had a breakout season last year but has been a cancer to the organization with his grumbling, the migraine headaches, and durability issues.

Harvin’s the more versatile player by far. He can play from either the slot or from the backfield or even split wide on the edge despite his lack of prototype size. He’s too quick to consistently re-route, and he is an accomplished kick and punt returner. Jennings is the prototype wide receiver “only” type of player, but he’s a true #1 go-to receiver. The question now is how well QB Christian Ponder can get him the ball and how he matures. He has the NFL’s greatest star running back behind him and a top-five pick in Matt Kalil at left tackle. With any sort of threat at all opposite Jennings, Ponder should put up or shut up this season.

Jennings’ contract is 5 years and $47 million contract, $18 million of which is guaranteed.

The story on Elvis Dumervil is a bizarre one. Two different stories are coming out between the Broncos’ organization and Dumervil and his agent. What’s clear is he’s currently a UFA because his contract expired.

He said/they said. What appears to be true is that Denver made some last-minute changes/mistakes in some of the wording and figures of the contract, which was “faxed over” to the Dumervil camp. Dumervil’s agent then let the Broncos know they didn’t accept these terms and to fix the errors. Long story short, it didn’t get “fixed” by the deadline and Dumervil became a “paperwork casualty” and as a result, was released.

This just smells. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening and if Dumervil isn’t a Bronco next season I’ll have lost respect for them. If that’s the case, they’ll have been telling him one thing while planning a completely different path, and that’s just wrong. I do know they wanted him to take a pay cut and he refused, but if that’s the issue it should be openly discussed and negotiated by the two parties the same as other ADULTS do in every contract.

Keep your eyes peeled and ears open on this one. It could get uglier before it gets better.

In a bit of a head-scratcher for Vikings fans, the Vikes will get pick number 25 in the first round, the 7th round Seahawks’ pick this year plus a middle-round pick next year.

The Vikings are trying to develop a physically limited Christian Ponder at QB and it appeared they were making progress at least with the pieces around him when they drafted LT Matt Kalil and Adrian Peterson bounced back from a horrible knee injury with a 2,000-yard season.

They were thin at WR last year, and now….

What WR are you going to replace him with at 25 in the first round? Cordarrelle Patterson? Nope, he’ll be long gone by then. Same thing with California’s guy, Keenan Allen. West Virginia’s Tavon Auston might well be gone as well.

On the flip side, it gives the Vikings some interesting options to explore with their organic pick at 23.

What it doesn’t do is give Ponder a veteran threat anywhere at the wide receiver position now.

I think the Vikings are ultimately taking a step backwards with this. Unless there’s some durability concern or a near-future contract issue, this won’t help the team in the immediate future. A rookie isn’t likely to come in and take the NFL by storm like the much more highly-touted A.J. Green was, for example. He was a top-five pick and the first WR off the board in that draft – the Julio Jones trade draft for the Atlanta Falcons.

Seattle now becomes a Super Bowl contender with this move. Rising second-year sensation Russell Wilson now has an extremely explosive and versatile veteran at his disposal. I don’t think there’s anyone more ecstatic about this trade than he is right about now. With that defense, they’ve just increased the heat on the entire NFC West.

Don’t forget that the San Francisco 49′ers have more draft picks than they know what to do with now thanks in part to the Alex Smith trade. When you factor in they were a non-thrown penalty flag of probably winning the Super Bowl, it takes bold moves to keep up and be competitive on that level.

On the surface now it appears that the NFC West winner of 2013 is going to be one of those two teams. Watch the draft the Niners have. After that, come back here to catcrave.com where we’ll analyze how each division looks to be shaping up.

Follow me on Twitter @Ken_Dye

July 29, 2012; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) makes a catch during training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE

Jets @ Bengals, 7:30 pm – How will the Sanchez/Tebow drama unfold and is there a controversy? Their respective play tonight should begin to quell the “Tebow for starter” crowd unless Sanchez performs horribly and Tebow shows things he has yet to show. Ever. Also of interest is Jets’ rookie Stephen Hill. He’s a Megatron-like physical specimen, from the same college (Georgia Tech) as Calvin Johnson, but comes into the NFL very raw. Look for Jets OC Tony Sparano to try at least one deep ball to him, probably on a second-and-short or something in order to gain as favorable a matchup in the defensive play calling as possible. On the Bengals’ side, the “punk’d” WR Mohammed Sanu starts his attempt at becoming QB Andy Dalton’s #2 option at WR…after A.J. Green.

Browns @ Lions, 7:30 pm – Probably this is Brandon Weeden’s weakest opponent of the preseason…at least as far as their secondary goes. Louis Delmas is out indefinitely and the Lions have very little talent at corner. With the injury to Trent Richardson, look for the Browns to check out their “other new toy” more in the passing game while Richardson’s fellow RBs get a good look as coaches scramble in worry over Richardson’s return timeline. The Lions’ concerns lie more with their aforementioned pass coverage so look for ANYONE that might stand out there. They are in dire need now of playmakers.

Giants @ Jaguars, 7:30 pm – All eyes should be on 2nd-yr QB Blaine Gabbert of the Jags. He was dead last in just about every NFL passing category last season and looked completely lost most of the time. The result? The Jags signed Miami Dolphin cast-off QB Chad Henne. I think if Henne outplays Gabbert in the preseason, it’ll be very, very difficult for Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Mike Mularkey to start Gabbert. This is by far the biggest issue of any position battle on their squad and Gabbert really needs to start showing some street magic that he has yet to offer in his short career. We need to watch how the Giants’ run defense holds up the middle as they’ve done some retooling of their surprisingly soft, gushy middle from last season. Now, we start seeing if it holds. We know they can bring the heat on the QB as well as anyone.

August 3, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) catches the ball as defensive back Anthony Gaitor (26) attempts to defend during training camp at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Cardinals @ Chiefs, 8:00 pm – John Skelton is going to wind up being the starter in Arizona whether it’s due to better play than Kevin Kolb or because Kolb stubs his toe, falls down and breaks his collarbone walking through the tunnel before the game. Kolb needs to wear the red practice jersey every time he steps on the field, but I’m sure there are rules about that…(wink). The biggest thing will be how far along is rookie WR Michael Floyd, and will he deliver enough to help take some double-teams off of All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald? The Chiefs’ questions at this point are more sober…with a number of skill position players coming off IR from last season, this should help evaluate their recovery progress. If I had one player to watch with the Chiefs, it would be how Dontari Poe plays. He was the talk of the Combine earlier this year, but underachieved at a small college. He is probably going to wind up the poster child in the “tape vs. upside” discussion for his 2012 performance, fairly or unfairly.

May 24, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe (92) and offensive lineman Rodney Hudson (61) scrimmage during organized team activities at the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Vikings @ 49ers, 9:00 pm – Boy, if there ever was a game of the “haves” vs. the “have-nots,” this matchup is the one. The Vikings are entering the second season of their rebuilding phase and currently do so without their big star, Adrian Peterson. Even if Peterson were unquestionably 100% recovered from his ACL tear from week 17 last season, he wouldn’t be playing much in any of the preseason games in the first place, so that’s not the issue some think it is. The Vikings need to evaluate the progress of second-year QB Christian Ponder and how well #4 overall pick and Carolina Panthers’ center Ryan Kalil’s brother Mike is picking up the nuances of playing the left tackle. They also have similar issues that the Lions do in the secondary, so someone needs to step up and this is the time to start. The Niners’ main concern is evaluating all the new bodies they picked up at WR after having a massive 3 yards passing to the WR corps in their NFC Championship Game loss to the Giants last season. However, keep in mind the quality of the Vikings’ secondary while you do. RB Frank Gore may have peaked his career by now and they’re looking to see who can take a share of carries and the load off the guy.