T.J. Headed West? UPDATED: Answer Appears to be No, Vikes Pushing Hard
By david
So says former Bengals DT John Thornton. He doesn’t specify a team, but Houshmandzadeh has visited Seattle, and the San Francisco 49ers were also said to be interested in him.
Update: Thornton says it’s a done deal. Still no team but the money is on Seattle.
Update 2: Per the Minny Star-Trib, Houshmandzadeh is still in Minnesota and talking with Vikings this morning.
Update 3: More from Thornton:
"Let me clarify my earlier report. If Minny lets TJ leave, it’s a done deal. This is very similar to the Bart Scott situation where the Jets had him close to a deal, and then reports surfaced that he gave the Ravens one last shot to get him. Like I said in my “West won out” post, anything can happen before that pen hits the contract. So don’t be mad at me for reporting what I hear. People, remember, this is the Internet, land of rumors and false statements. Maybe the Vikings will catch wind of this story and lock their doors and not let TJ leave without getting a deal done? Who knows. But if you hear reports that TJ has left the building, know his free agent tour is heading to its final stop."
Update 4: The Star-Trib’s bloggers (see update 2 above) say the Vikes appear to be going to the mat for T.J.
Update 8,472.5: Joe Reedy got in touch with Housh’s agent, who says tonight is still “decision night” for T.J. It appears he will make a call between the Seahawks, Vikings and Bengals.
Yet another update: Thornton says he’s getting out of the news business. Oh, and apparently T.J. isn’t set to head West if he doesn’t hammer out a contract with Minnesota. Today is starting to resemble one of those old SNL Rosanne Rosanadana skits. “Never mind…”
Blah, blah, blah…: Another update from the Star-Trib guys:
"Won’t get into too many specifics for security purposes, but free-agent receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is definitely going to remain in town for now. He and Vikings executives were just dropped off by the limo of which we have written so frequently today. What we don’t know is if negotiations are completed and Houshmandzadeh has agreed to terms or if talks are going to continue with the Vikings. Houshmandzadeh ended up spending about five-and-a-half hours at Winter Park today. Stay tuned and we’ll stay on it."
Jeebus Cripes enough with the bloody updates already: Geoff Hobson says that T.J. may now not make a call until tomorrow.