Yesterday, the Vikings cut ties with troubled WR Bernard Berrian, who had signed with the Vikings in 2008 for six years, $42 million. Tonight, Vikings' head coach Leslie Frazier sounded off on Berrian's dismissal from the team [via Fox Sports North]:
"One of the things we looked at was performance, for sure," Frazier said. "You like to get more from the position. Stephen Burton is a young guy we want to develop. We think he has some promise. We’re going to get a chance to look at him and see how he performs." [...]
"Bernard expressed to me he really wanted to be a part of our team and help us to be successful, but for what we’re trying to do and where we are, it’s just so important that every guy has to adhere to the way we want to get it done," Frazier said. "It’s one thing to say what I’m going to do. It’s another thing to do those things. For us, we’re trying to build something for the long term, not the short term. You’ve got to make decisions based on the bigger picture."
Although it doesn't discuss exactly what Berrian did to get on the Vikings' bad side, it is a little bit more than what was divulged to the media during Berrian's benching. When asked about it during the Vikings' last game by Pam Oliver, Berrian laughed and responded, "You know I can't talk about that."
Berrian caught seven passes for 91 yards this season and is still owed $1.9 million for the remainder of the year. In addition, the Vikings will be responsible for the rest of his contract unless he latches on elsewhere.