Matt Birk reportedly leaves Minnesota Vikings for Baltimore Ravens

Matt Birk apparently is a Minnesota Viking no more. The St. Paul native has agreed to terms on a two-year, $9 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens, according to Scout.com , including $6 million in guarantees.

[Jim O]

This is just wrong

[Frank N Stein]

Cant blame Ol Birks.....

With having the WORST Head coach in the leauge and quite possibly the WORST Quaterback in the league.Baltimore looks live Nirvana........

I

[49ers and Raiders Country]

I am happy for all of you Vike's fans. I cheer for the Vikings myself unless it conflicts with my dedication to the 49ers and Raiders. In my opinion, either Birk never learned the system properly, or else he is just not cut out to play pro football.

Very often, he completely missed his blocking assignments and was just way too slow. Hew is a so-so snapper but there is a heckuva lot more to playing pro center than just snapping the ball.

I know he is one of your homeboys but the Vikings will be a much better team without him.

[Dicky]

What other free agent are we going to miss out on this year? Most of the good ones have already been snapped up.

[jeb]

that is a bummer but not the least bit surprising. don't think that birk ever bought in to klink's zone blocking scheme...but what does he know, its not like he went to Harvard or anything right!?...
thanks for many great years matt!! hopefully you taught sullivan a think or two last year, we are going to need him to perform well.

[jeb]

49ers and Raiders Country wrote:

I am happy for all of you Vike's fans. I cheer for the Vikings myself unless it conflicts with my dedication to the 49ers and Raiders. In my opinion, either Birk never learned the system properly, or else he is just not cut out to play pro football.
Very often, he completely missed his blocking assignments and was just way too slow. Hew is a so-so snapper but there is a heckuva lot more to playing pro center than just snapping the ball.
I know he is one of your homeboys but the Vikings will be a much better team without him.

yeah, he definitely did not flourish at center in the zone blocking scheme. matty was always more of a physical, proactive, push your guy around kinda player.

[Blair]

I'm not too worried about losing Birk. He seemed to put football on the back burner and spent more his time concentrating on his businesses and his portfolio. I wish him well in Baltimore, but I think we'll be okay.

[jeb]

Dicky wrote:

What other free agent are we going to miss out on this year? Most of the good ones have already been snapped up.

it sure seems that way. we really don't have that many drastic holes so i guess we are just sticking with tavi and sage and hopefully drafting a OT and a CB, WR or QB. has coles been picked up yet? in our management's defense, the free agency pool was not all that fantastic this year.

[40for60]

If Sullivan isn't ready to go prime time, then the Vikes made a huge error. Birk has been serviceable over the last couple of years, but that's about it. He said he wanted to play out his career here, but his actions say otherwise.

[gempler3]

what a very sad day for VIKING FANS
another fine move by our front office,how could you let him sign with another team?
a couple of more years with us and he would have molded john sullivan!!!
NICE JOB CHILLY,VERY NICE

[40for60]

Frank N Stein wrote:

Cant blame Ol Birks.....
With having the WORST Head coach in the leauge and quite possibly the WORST Quaterback in the league.Baltimore looks live Nirvana........
I

You forgot the most important, the worst fans.

[st paul]

who cares ? Matt has to feed his family. The Vikes are no good anyway, crappy coach,crappy stadium,why play here ?

[WZZO Barry]

ESPN says Vikes offered similar contract as Ravens. So what was our triad supposed to do? Apparently, he didn't really want to retire a viking. Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. We'll be fine without him. He was a bigger leader off the field than on anyway.

[NSTPAUL]

Chilly doesn't want him. If they wanted him they would have signed him to the same deal a year ago. Time will tell, but I think we will do worse this year then last. We are losing a lot of leadership, hopfully we will have someone step up and take charge.

[35 year HOLDER]

Well ....ANOTHER 11 million dollar house on the market, that wont sell...... THANKS MATT FOR NOT JUST PLAYING FOR A TEAM AND A TOWN THAT LOVES YA... hope the eating establishments tank !! harvard didn't teach street smarts !!

[OLD White Guy]

If anybody there finds out he was a Cretin he will have to do explaining

[Taste the change]

"This is just wrong" Jim O, how so? What, cause he's white and looks like you!? The Vikes only have 30 games left to play in Minnesota. As former coach Mike Tice said so well, "Enjoy the season." I say, enjoy the team before, in 2012, we all start rooting for the Cheeseheads or da Bears. Birk, we'll miss ya.

[Steve from Brandon]

Childress, Spielman and Wilf are apparently hypocrites. They say they want high character players. Yet they give non Pro Bowler, possible felon McKinnie a giant contract extension and are unwilling to pay multiple year Pro Bowler Birk more than the mediocre contract he signed with the Ravens. I think Birk left the Vikings because of the Napoleon-complex suffering Childress. Although Houshmandzadeh didn't mention Childress by name, he did say that the Childress high school QB talent pool was a reason he went with Seattle. Houshmandzadeh is also one of those character guys that Wilf and Childress and Spielman say they want on this team but don't actually get them on this team. The Vikings players deserve more that Childress as their coach. Fans deserve more than Childress's smells like ass offense.

[ALL THE ANSWERS]

This Viking team is like the eboli virus, each day it slowly kills us by eating away piece by piece. There is no reason in the world why Matt Birk should have ever even had to explore options. If you idiots who run this team had been with him since he was drafted you would feel the cohesion he brings to the team. Now you let him walk, I was a huge Matt Birk fan not only because he gave his all to this team when it was good and bad but he is a model citizen and role model in the community. This is another blemish on Childress and the Vikings brass. And I thought George W. was the biggest dummy on the planet, I have been proven wrong. What the team even worth watching now, you think one back in into the playoffs is going to hold us over a few years. The sooner Spielmann and Klink are gone the better. Birk was a leader, Childress is a coward.

[17kom]

Sullivan will do just fine with some playing time plus he will do blocking