ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that the Vikings are close to releasing WR Bernard Berrian. Berrian is one of several players in danger of being cut this week by teams looking to save salary money. If he his released, it impacts the St. Louis Rams in two possible ways.
First and more importantly, it means the Vikings, who have the 12th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, will almost certainly be looking for receiving help since they're likely to part with Berrian and Sidney Rice. That most certainly puts Julio Jones in play for Minnesota with the 12th pick. The good news here is that they also need a quarterback after their dalliance with the name that shall not be spoken. Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton could be in play, maybe even Jake Locker; the point being, they might not have the luxury of drafting Jones.
The second question in all of this is whether or not Berrian would make some sense for the Rams as a free agent. Simple answer: no. Berrian, 30, has had two poor seasons in a row with the Vikings. Last year, amidst the QB turmoil, he caught 28 passes for 252 yards. The year before he caught 55 passes for 618 yards. Berrian's yards per catch numbers really send up red flags. A deep threat, Berrian posted a 9 and 11.2 YPC in his last two seasons, after averaging 16.5 in five seasons prior, including 20 YPC in 2008. St. Louis already own a collection of question marks at receiver, what they need now are answers.