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During the 2007 season, Vikings coach Brad Childress was widely criticized for docking a paycheck from receiver Troy Williamson, who missed a game in connection with the death of his grandmother. Childress later reversed course, wisely.
This time around, Childress is getting it right in the first instance. The Vikings will place defensive end Kenechi Udeze on the non-football illness/injury list, and will pay Udeze his full salary of $807,500 for the coming season.
Udeze is fighting leukemia. He recently said that the disease is in remission, and he hadn’t ruled out playing in 2008.
The 2004 first-round draft pick is entering the last year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2009.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Childress is doing the right thing for sure. Let’s hope Udeze can come back in 2009 and be fully recovered.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Would he be required to make up the year to the vikings? Like Ricky Williams?
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May 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Wow!! This is what it is all about! Great Job Brad Childress and the Vikings.
Good luck Kenechi my thoughts and prayers are with you. You can beat this!
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May 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 am
Very pleased to hear this. Good job Childress. Good luck Kenechi.
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May 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Let’s give credit where credit is due? Who writes
the checks. Wilf is a class act and the best
ownership the Vikings have ever had…which isn’t
really saying that much. Wilf is building a lot
of Goodwill amongst fan, current players and future
FA players…smart move..for $800,000!
Childress was the one who tried to put the kaboah
on Troy last year becuase he was such a flop and
was sulking. Granted he had a family situation but
h was sulking and flopping way before that.
Childress learned that he is not in position to
determine paychecks….he’s on the same payroll!
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May 3rd, 2008 at 11:34 am
Just to be accurate, the Williamson funeral bit is not as Florio wrote it. Williamson asked for and was granted two or three days off for the funeral, I don’t recall exactly how many. He left the Vikings for eight or nine days, never once calling coach Childress to say what’s up and that he needed more time or that he’d be missing additional practices.
That is why he was docked the game check, which was subsequently given back to him after caving to uninformed public outcry.
Those facts change the entire story, don’t they?
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May 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
It is nice to see a good story coming out of the NFL, with all the crap that usually comes out of there.
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